George Glisan is President and COO of North Carolina based Hickory Printing. Hickory Printing Group offers a wide range of capability to the marketplace, including sheetfed - commercial and packaging up to 8 colors - and web printing. Additionally, we have a full service prepress operation that can handle conventional and CTP, and bindery capability that serves a wide range of finishing needs including die cutting and carton folding/ plus gluing.

The company’s sales volume is around $45 million. Hickory Printing has two plants: a web offset facility in Conover, NC and a sheetfed facility in High Point, NC. The prepress operations are centralized in High Point, with the Conover facility limiting itself only to stripping and/or platemaking activities. Their corporate and administrative functions are based in Conover. Each plant has sufficient space for make and hold work for its respective customers.




George, what equipment have you purchased for your two facilities?

Within the past year we have made a number of substantial investments in our business. We have added a second Heidelberg M600 press and installed a new JetWeb in-line finishing system to our M110 press. We have also placed two CreoScitex Trendsetter Spectrums in our High Point facility and one CreoScitex Trendsetter in our Conover facility. We have added an AutoCount 3000 system on all presses in the Conover facility and acquired an Albo skid turner for the High Point facility. Currently we are looking at our binderies with most of our attention being given to the possible addition of perfect binding capability.

Have you been satisfied with these equipment purchases?

Of all of the above most are too new to give much feedback regarding whether they have truly paid off. The M600 and new in-line, however, have been up and running for a number of months and they have made a significant difference in helping us build sales volume, reduce costs and provide greater choices and quality to our customers.

What pressures do you see on the printing process going forward?

Print is under a number of pressures that will negatively impact demand. Postal costs and regulations already are forcing decisions that reduce mailings and page counts, and this trend is likely to expand. Regrettably and almost inexplicably, we have had a number of customers moving budgets away from print toward other media, principally television.

What about the Internet?

Longer term - the internet will negatively impact print as marketers will put their catalogs on the desktops of consumers and allow them to output pages, chapters or whole catalogs on their color printers.

What is your view of the consolidation of paper companies that is taking place?

As the industry consolidates and shutters capacity, the clear objective is to raise pricing. Furthermore, the paper industry has a history of increasing its prices with major hikes, not in gradual increments. As this unfolds over the next 12-36 months, accompanied by the aforementioned other trends, it will force many who have relied upon print to either look to other alternatives for delivery of their message, stretch out how often the message is delivered, or simply stop the message altogether and go out of business. The implications of the foregoing to printers is clear: grow your customer base and increase the efficiency of your plants greater than you've ever imagined.

Do printers need to examine web based print solutions to offer their clients?

We have difficulty seeing the value-added that is brought by some of these vendors. Nevertheless, some of the broker services like 58K.com bring opportunities to printers that otherwise would not have happened. Each printer, however, needs to assess not only the short term value brought by e-commerce but the longer term strategic implications.

What about your company?

We have been slow to move to web-based applications, but not to the use of the integration computers and telecommunications. There is no surprise that these collaborations will expand between printers and their customers. While they may improve efficiency somewhat, the real driver behind their use is eliminating and compressing time out of the cycle for producing printed products. The concern that most printers have, ourselves included, is the interjection of independent firms who claim to offer solutions that are good for the printer as well as the customer. I continue to believe that any printer who allows an entity to interpose itself between you and your customer is not good for the long term health of your business.

Furthermore, if a customer comes to you and tells you that such an entity would add value to the relationship, then what they have really told you is that you haven't done your job. In other words, you have focused on your business to the exclusion of asking yourself, "is what I am doing good for my customer?"

Can you tell us how Hickory Printing markets to print buyers?

No comment at this time, which simply is my way of saying that I think what we are doing is working and I would like to keep it to myself.

What type of proofing equipment do you use besides the Spectrum?

We offer a variety of proofing options to our customers from Sherpa 2, to Epson 9000, and Spectrum. We also are exploring ways of shortening the process via the Internet as well as through remote proofing.

What advice do you have for our subscribers who buy print?

First, they should print with Hickory Printing Group! I do believe, however, that the best buyer is one who has taken the time to understand not only what they want, but has taken the time to know the printing process. By understanding that process, and knowing its potential as well as its limits, print buyers will have a better chance of realizing their objectives. Additionally, print buyers should go beyond looking at samples of the printer's work, and research how the printer works with customers. Examining that relationship will reveal much to a print buyer. There's always a story to tell about how the ink got on that paper.

Your thoughts on the associations - NAPL and PIA.

It is difficult to comprehend the value of what PIA, GATF, NAPL and PICA - our regional association - bring to us and our customers. They are a resource that insures that the cause of printing is continually being advanced and improved. It they did not exist we would have to create them.

As an executive, what role do trade magazines play in compiling information?

While I appreciate the valuable role that trade publications have played over the years for printers, I must confess that as each day passes it becomes increasingly difficult take the time required to thoughtfully read all of what I receive in the mail. I find that I do more "scanning" of publications received than anything else, and when something of value to our situation at HPG catches my eye, I copy it and send it to someone in our organization that I believe may benefit from it. I also ask for a response.