MONTREAL, QUEBEC--Transcontinental today conducted the grand opening of its new direct marketing plant in Warminster, PA. Transcontinental Direct is a 205,000 square-foot facility situated 25miles north of Philadelphia and specializes in full-package, high-volume direct marketing solutions. It relocates under one roof the company's prepress, data processing, printing, finishing, personalization, lettershop and postal processing capabilities. The event was attended by customers, suppliers and media who had the opportunity to meet Remi Marcoux, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Transcontinental Inc.; Luc Desjardins, Transcontinental's President and Chief Operating Officer; and Guy R. Manuel, President of Transcontinental's Marketing Products Printing sector. "This state-of-the-art plant is symbolic of what Transcontinental offers its customers - leading edge technology in a one-stop shop," Remi Marcoux said during the ceremony. "In this plant are some of the best people in the business. And I am very proud to be associated with each and every one of them. To me, they stand for everything that customers deserve: competence, quick responses to changing needs, and strong customer relations." "Our customers told us they wanted a 'one-stop' solution to their direct marketing requirements. This new plant meets that objective," said Clif McDougall, Transcontinental's Vice-President of Sales for USdirect marketing operations. "This plant is laid out with direct mail in mind to give our customers greater marketing flexibility and reduced cycle time. The detailed architecture improves communication and maximizes workflow efficiency. We've also improved the security of our facility to help ensure confidentiality that is so important to our clients. We can produce a customer's entire direct mail package: personalized direct mail in all formats, buckslips, brochures, data services, lettershop and logistics. A customer's job goes from electronic file to the mail with no hand-offs between suppliers - providing complete peace of mind. Our customers are mostly Fortune 500 companies in the financial, insurance, retail, publishing and telecommunications industries." One of the 10 largest commercial printers in North America, Transcontinental is Canada's leading printer of flyers, direct marketing products, books and newspapers, and a strong second in the printing of magazines, catalogues and directories. The Corporation is Canada's leading publisher of consumer magazines and the second-largest publisher of local and regional newspapers. It is also engaged in the door-to-door distribution of advertising material. Transcontinental has close to 12,000 employees in Canada, the United States and Mexico, and reported revenues of C$1.8 billion in 2002.