Archive for December, 2011

NORTH ADAMS, MA– December 5, 2011 – Excelsior Printing Company‘s Chairman David Crane and CEO Brendan Burns today announced the formation of a new company, Excelsior Integrated, LLC.  Excelsior Integrated has acquired the assets of Berkshire Information Systems, Inc. (“BIS”), a leading  provider of fulfillment, inventory management and electronic commerce services since 1978.

“For several years now, Excelsior Printing has worked with Berkshire Information Systems on various projects that mutually benefited our customers.   We have grown to admire the capabilities of BIS and, especially, its people,” said David Crane.  “When the opportunity arose to acquire the assets of the company and work more closely with its customers, we felt we had to act quickly.  It is very exciting to establish a new company that complements our existing business and keeps important jobs in Berkshire County.”

Excelsior Integrated, LLC is an independent company and continues to maintain its current customer relationships with numerous corporations, media companies and tourism offices.  “Our customers will now benefit from a tight integration with the capabilities or our new sister company, Excelsior Printing,” said Shawn Ouillette, Executive Vice President of Excelsior Integrated and former BIS executive.  “In the past when one of our tourism customers asked us to help them create a brochure or other marketing materials we would make suggestions of companies to work with, but ultimately had no real influence in the process.  Now, with Excelsior Printing we can create integrated product offerings that allow for great value and outstanding service.”

The joint capabilities of the two companies create a powerful combination from a customer’s point of view. “Over the last several decades the Printing Industry has experienced a lot of pricing pressure due primarily to the proliferation of technology,” said Brendan Burns, CEO of Excelsior Printing.  “Ultimately, this has benefited customers.  What has been more difficult for customers is that they face their own competitive pressures and often need to manage three or more vendor relationships to support their marketing and business development needs.  Now, together with our new sister company, Excelsior Integrated, we will be able to jointly offer a streamlined solution for most of their needs, and at great value along with the outstanding service Excelsior has always been known for.”

Excelsior Integrated, LLC management will consist of Brendan Burns, CEO (also CEO of Excelsior Printing), David Crane, Chairman, Shawn Ouillette, Executive Vice President and the former employees of BIS.  The Company plans to remain in the former BIS  facilities in Lee, MA.

Founded in 1892 and reborn in 2005, Excelsior is dedicated to providing its customers with creative, cost-effective printing, digital communications, mail and distribution programs that provide a competitive edge. Specialty business divisions include SeedPrint, packaging for the seed industry, and Oatmeal Studios, greeting card publishing.  For more information on Excelsior, follow us on Facebook and Twitter, visit us at www.excelsiorprinting.com, or email Julianne Fruscio at jwfruscio@excelsiorprinting.com.

Excelsior Winner in New England Regional Printing Awards of Excellence Competition

NORTH ADAMS, MA– November 23, 2011 – The Printing Industries of New England (PINE) has announced that Excelsior of North Adams is an award winner in the Association’s New England regional Awards of Excellence Competition. The announcement was made November 15 during PINE’s 2011 Industry Awards Gala, held at the Newton Marriott in Newton, MA, with hundreds of industry professionals in attendance. PINE’s Awards of Excellence Competition,  attracted over  200 entries from 30 printing and imaging companies  across New England who competed in a variety of printing and graphic communications categories such as best annual report, direct mail campaign, corporate identity package, and more.

Excelsior won Awards of Recognition for a brochure produced for MCLA’s PMBA program and a specialized UV coated seed packet, for Olds’ Seed, and an Award of Merit for McGaw Graphic’s product catalog. A panel of judges with extensive experience in printing and print production, were brought in to examine the wide range of work submitted. Each entry was judged anonymously on its own merit in a category with similar printed pieces. The judging criteria included: registration, clarity and neatness, sharpness of halftones and line drawings, richness and tonal qualities of color, paper and ink selection, ink coverage, difficulty of printing, effective contrast or softness, overall visual impact and bindery.  Mark Gebbie, Pressroom/Bindery Supervisor at Excelsior says, “It’s a major accomplishment for Excelsior to be recognized by the Industry for their work and dedication to making memorable products for our customers.  Getting not only one, but three, Awards of Excellence from PINE says a lot about the high quality pieces that are produced by this company.”

Founded in 1892 and reborn in 2005, Excelsior is dedicated to providing its customers with creative, cost-effective printing, digital communications, mail and distribution programs that provide a competitive edge. Specialty business divisions include SeedPrint, packaging for the seed industry, and Oatmeal Studios, greeting card publishing.  For more information on Excelsior, follow us on Facebook and Twitter, visit us at www.excelsiorprinting.com, or email Julianne Fruscio at jwfruscio@excelsiorprinting.com.