Allstate Print Communications Center Wheeling, Ill. Operating Budget: $30 million Full-time employees: 361 Part-time employees: 84 Jobs printed per year: 20,000 To keep a huge operation like the Allstate Print Communications Center productive and cost-effective, its management team must meet the challenges of changing technology and staggering workloads—while keeping costs low and bringing top-notch service to customers. "We are very successful at answering our company's printing needs and providing the most cost-effective solutions," explains Bob Tierney, print communication director. "Our cost-effectiveness is clearly our greatest strength." The Allstate Print Communications Center is not only a leader within its company, but also in the printing industry. It has
In-plant Profiles
Boeing Printing & Output Service Seattle Annual sales/budget: $56 million Full-time employees: 330 Jobs printed per year: 240,000 Bill Walker, senior manager of printing operations at Boeing, has seen a lot of changes in his 33 years—and he knows that as soon as one technology is mastered, it's time to prepare for the next. "We've about maxed out the gains in our printing operation," says Walker of the shift from camera ready art to the digital original. "Ten years ago, it was tough to get an electronic original because customers didn't think that way. Today, 95 percent of our originals come to us digitally." That change
Wal-Mart Printing & Mailing Distribution Center Bentonville, Ark. Annual sales: $22,052.310 Operating budget: $22,037,626 Sales minus costs: $10,858,458 Full-time employees: 325 Jobs printed per year: 12,000+ As the largest general merchandiser in the world, Wal-Mart Stores serves more than 100 million customers weekly at its 2,485 stores. In Fortune magazine's latest Fortune 500 list, the 37-year-old company overtook Exxon to become the third largest firm in the U.S. So it's only fitting that a company of this magnitude also has one of the country's top in-plants. Located about a mile from Wal-Mart's Bentonville, Ark., headquarters, Wal-Mart Printing & Mailing Distribution Center (PMDC) boasts 325 employees—or "associates," in the company's
University of Washington Publications Services, Seattle Annual sales: $15.8 million Operating budget: $16.2 million Full-time employees: 162 Part-time employees: 110 Jobs printed per year: 6,500 At 48,000 square feet in size and with 270 full- and part-time employees, University of Washington Publications Services is a monster of a university in-plant. And Acting Director Frank Davis predicts it will only get bigger—in terms of services, if nothing else. Of course, when you're serving a campus of 36,000 students and 18,000 faculty and staff members, it's hard to keep things on a small scale. Take color printing for example: A year ago, the Copy Services division averaged 10,000 to 15,000 color
The University of Kentucky's Karen Willmott watched her responsibilities skyrocket as the university consolidated its services under her umbrella. by CHRIS BAUER The successful reorganization of two departments at the University of Kentucky was a major reason Karen Willmott was chosen as Manager of the Year in 1994. In 1993, while director of publishing services, she took on responsibility for the University Extension Print and Graphic Design Shop and the Public Relations Graphic Design Shop. Though it was no small feat to incorporate three print shops into one, it pales in comparison to what Willmott has tackled since she was named
by BOB NEUBAUER It's been a great 32 years, but Ronnie Hooks is finally retiring from his beloved in-plant at Lockheed Martin Energy Systems. As he leaves, though, the 1998 Manager of the Year has a lot to be proud of. Hooks' dedication is what kept the Oak Ridge, Tenn., in-plant alive during the dark days of downsizing. His efforts to consolidate and reengineer his operation earned him the respect of employees and customers alike. Hooks always kept a close eye on technology changes, installing a DocuTech long before most shops had heard of the device. Perhaps his biggest accomplishment was his
Debbie Claybaker shared IPG's 1992 Manager of the Year award after only a year and a half as manager of printing and graphic services for Sprint Corp. She had caused sinking employee morale to do a swift upswing, and her departments had increased their combined volume by nearly 50 percent over the previous year. In addition: • She developed internal marketing to promote in-house facilities. • She established facilities tours for clients and potential clients. • She created a non-corporate client contact program to solicit outside printing business during slow periods. To top it all off, Claybaker and her staff of 21 received
by W. Eric Martin On his first day as executive director of printing and publication services at the University of Louisville, Ray Chambers learned that he would be managing a new campus-wide copier management program. "In that first year," said Chambers, "we opened five new centers and grossed $310,000"—a 56 percent increase over the previous year. That quick growth was just one of the reasons that Chambers shared IPG's 1992 Manager of the Year award. Chambers' ability to rise to challenges is best shown by the creation of Cardinal Class Ware, one of the first university copyright clearance centers. It has grown
This year's Manager of the Year has brought savings to his university through research, networking and an innovative managing style. IT WOULD be an understatement to say that this has been Mike Loyd's year. Going back to last December when Louisiana State University Graphic Services was ranked number 18 on the In-Plant Graphics Top 50 list and number five among all college and university shops, through June when he was named IPG Manager of the Year for 1999, it has been a year that he can look back on with pride. "Winning this award has brought prestige to me personally and to the organization,"
Since taking over as director of communication services at Duke Energy in 1993, Delilah Fisher has earned a reputation as a fair, efficient, customer-oriented manager who is willing to listen to new ideas and let employees make their own decisions. That's one reason her staff nominated her for Manager of the Year, an honor she earned in 1998. Fisher has spent the last 21 years at Duke Energy, a Charlotte, N.C.-based utility. When Duke merged with Pan Energy, Fisher was given responsibility for Pan's Houston-based in-plant, as well as its video production and trade show planning functions. Fisher has been traveling to Houston
