The sincerity of the state of Virginia was never in doubt when they put their money where their mouth is, to the tune of an estimated $4,000 in costs associated with getting me there. I thought, “Virginia is for Lovers” – having seen the phrase on TV for years.
But it seems “Virginia loves Business” and it is prepared to invest a few dollars to bring it to their communities. What a novel concept!
There were six of us from a variety of publications. Several of the journalists were relatively young and inexperienced and were using this trip to view the printing processes and technology they write about.
The tour's agenda started with a trip to James Madison's Montpelier – former home to the fourth President of the US. Then we visited the Barboursville Vineyards, an estate winery located on 830 acres near the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Von Holtzbrinck Inc
Our first stop was the incredibly large Von Holtzbrinck Inc. plant. There are three stories of racks with very narrow aisles with rubber-tired vehicles whizzing back and forth at relatively high speeds. Their operators are picking up and transporting every manner of publication from high in the air down to ground level. These vehicles are 'wire-guided' by a radio signal emitted from a wire buried along the entire length of the aisles.
There are miles of conveyor belts. There are miles of overhead belts carrying boxes. There are miles of book pickers packing boxes. I watched a worker filling an order and placing the books in a carton. She presses a button to inform the automated system her order is complete and her carton travels a short distance towards the next station. But never makes it. It's kicked out of line and mechanically returned to her station. A book was missing from the order and the system knew it.
American Press LLC
They describe themselves as a premier printer and distributor of special interest magazines and catalogues. Judging by their bookshelves of samples, they definitely have a wide range of publications. This is the first shop where I hear CREO's name mentioned. Four other shops on the tour use CREO equipment or are waiting for an installation. They apparently have an expansive footprint in the US.
Lexis Nexis/Michie Tour
This is a niche player specializing in one huge niche – online and hard copy legal texts. Every lawyer needs a set of books to fill his or her bookcase and these folks produce most of them.
Lunch at Progress Printing
How can everything be so big? Even the box lunches served in the boardroom of Progress Printing in Lynchburg were large! The gracious hosts treated us to an interesting history of the company and a tour of their plant. Their prepress department is larger than many of Toronto's print shops.
On to Mid Atlantic Printers
This was a medium-size operation with a distinctly Toronto feeling. Charles Edwards, President of Mid Atlantic Printers, spoke plainly and sincerely. He expressed his appreciation for the loyalty of their customer base, which he maintains through competitive pricing and the client service provided by his team. He was a man happily doing his job.
The last day - a double-header
Eight forty-five is too early to be at RR Donnelley, one of Lynchburg's largest employers. They are everything you think they are – sophisticated plant, defined processes and sufficient quality control feedback loops to maximize production. Afterwards, we toured the Roanoke Times, which runs a Mainstream 80 press by Heidelberg. It is gigantic. When it comes up to speed it roars. Finished newspapers are transported across the street to another building by a belt of grippers for bundling and shipping.
Printing on plastic
I have never seen anyone print on a plastic bag, let alone make the bags. I was astonished to see what appeared to be a pair of enormous balloon at Trinity Packaging Corporation – a late addition to my tour.
One was white and the other was black. Here's how it works. A tube, the diameter of a garbage bag, has a high volume fan inside blowing upward. At the top lip of the tube a bead of melted plastic is formed. As the loop of plastic flows, it is lofted by the fan several stories into the air. At the top, each tube becomes sufficiently cooled and pressed flat into a continuous ribbon which is either fed directly into a press in one continuous motion or stored offline. The quality of the printing is exceptional. Web printers often complain about their webs moving around – they should try to work with plastic!
So to the point
The State of Virginia spent a considerable sum of money to have this writer as a guest in the hopes of generating some favourable comments in print. Their message is clear: If a Canadian business is considering expansion into the US market, Virginia not only wants it to locate there, they are prepared to do everything they can to facilitate the process.
This trip left me wondering if there are comparable voices in Ontario, explaining to the world our exceptional country, its resources, people and business opportunities.