Chanhassen, MN (October 17, 2007) - IWCO Direct, the nation's leading provider of integrated direct mail production services and marketing solutions, has announced it will undertake strategic initiatives to meet the rapidly expanding demand for response management and trigger based programs to complement the growing area of acquisition mailings. These initiatives include expanding capacity at the IWCO Direct North Carolina facility and advancing response-driven mail capabilities at the New York facilities.
Expand Capacity in North Carolina
In October 2006, IWCO Direct announced an agreement to purchase Cox Target Media's Valpak production facility in Elm City, N.C. The agreement included a phased transition to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2007. Based on performance results and operational costs to date in Elm City, the facility will be expanded beyond the initial plan to include an industry-leading "Super Commingle" site to drive postal optimization strategies for IWCO Direct clients. "IWCO Direct is already the largest commingler of standard mail in North America," said Jim Andersen, IWCO Direct president and chief executive officer. "The value of commingling has been proven by the May postal rate increase. We have clients who have seen a decrease in postage cost since May based on IWCO Direct's commingling, logistics, and address hygiene solutions. This expansion will allow us to continue to offer unsurpassed value to our customers with leading postal optimization strategies."
IWCO Direct's commingling capacity will increase by 35 percent. This expansion is in addition to IWCO Direct's previously announced plans to invest $30 million in the Elm City facility during the next three years.
Expand Digital and Response-Driven Communications Solutions in New York
To meet growing demand for specialized direct mail programs such as trigger mailings and response management services, IWCO Direct will consolidate three operations from its Long Island facilities into one location at 75 Marcus Drive in Melville, N.Y. In conjunction with realigning equipment across all facilities, IWCO Direct will invest more than $2 million in the Melville facility, including the addition of four-color digital print capabilities. These changes allow IWCO Direct to capitalize on New York's expertise with highly-personalized loyalty, trigger, and critical document solutions programs for customers.
Based on anticipated efficiency gains that will increase throughput and lower operating costs, IWCO Direct will add new positions, primarily in Elm City, during the next 12 months to handle the capacity and capability expansion created by these moves. With a net gain of more than 350 new jobs, company-wide employment will total more than 2,000.  The consolidation of facilities will result in the reduction of approximately 200 positions in New York.
IWCO Direct anticipates continuing to demonstrate the strength of its market-leading vertically integrated solution by increasing its geographic reach through an acquisition in the western US in the second-half of 2008.