Kennesaw, Ga. –  Two long-standing industry peer groups, PrintAmerica and The Peer Group, announced that they have merged. The group consists of 14 market-leading companies located across the U.S., representing combined annual revenues of over $400 million. The newly merged group will retain the name PrintAmerica. The organizations making up the new roster of PrintAmerica are highly diversified, offering specialized services including agency, creative and branding expertise as well as automated, programmatic and analytic marketing solutions. These offerings are in addition to extensive print, mail, fulfillment, display graphics, inkjet, and other products and services.

PrintAmerica focuses on strategic renewal and growth of its members by providing opportunities for learning, sharing and collaborating. Of particular importance is growing the network of peer interaction beyond the CEOs and owners and deep within each member company – including operations, sales, marketing, HR, finance and IT. Membership in PrintAmerica also assures disaster recovery and reciprocal back-up agreements across the network.

Members of PrintAmerica include Aradius Group (Omaha, NE), Best Press (Addison, TX), Cohber (Rochester, NY), Corporate Communications Group (Upper Marlboro, MD), DCG One (Seattle, WA), The DOT Corporation (Irvine, CA), Garlich (Fenton, MO), GLS/Next Precision Marketing (Brooklyn Park, MN), Graphic Visual Solutions (Greensboro, NC), Heeter (Canonsburg, PA), Standard Press (Atlanta, GA), The Standard Group (Reading, PA), Suttle-Straus (Waunakee, WI), and Trabon Group (Kansas City, MO).

“We celebrate a major milestone today as we merge The Peer Group with PrintAmerica, another highly-regarded peer group within our industry. Under the PrintAmerica umbrella we will combine decades of experience, leadership, and expertise. Our goal is to create a strong fellowship among the members, while remaining focused on the sharing of technology, innovation, and information to help the leadership of each member company rise to new levels within their markets,” said Michael Marcian, CEO, Corporate Communications Group.

Bryan Hall, President, Graphic Visual Solutions added “we’re excited to participate in this merger which significantly enhances the business and growth strategies of our individual organizations. We intend to push the boundaries of the industry with this incredible opportunity to upgrade and expand the collaboration between 14 of our industry’s leading companies.”

Bill Woods, Executive Director of PrintAmerica, described the group’s networking opportunities and events as “not only tours of member’s facilities and strategic suppliers, but also hosting speakers and visits to operations that are completely unrelated to print and graphic communications, but which provide thought-provoking conversations and ideas.” Woods went on to say “examples of previous meetings include Zappos headquarters and a deep dive with their customer service team, and a Harley-Davidson plant visit which focused on custom manufacturing, just-in-time inventory management and continuous improvement.”

“Having the privilege of being a member of both groups years ago as the owner/CEO of my company, I understand the incredible value that peer groups provide,” Woods added. “Peer groups tend to run out of steam due to a lack of engagement and new ideas. The commitment these members have made to PrintAmerica and to each other through this merger is exciting and refreshing. To our members, this is an important use of their time and talent, and we will build toward their vision of making the group an even more valuable asset to them.” http://www.printamerica.biz.