WANTED: one intrepid executive to put his or her reputation on the line as the CEO of a leading NYC-metro area commercial printing firm in one of the most competitive markets in memory. Must be able to a protect a list of top national accounts while seizing every opportunity to broaden service offerings and sharpen manufacturing efficiency. Will be considered where the buck stops' in terms of growing the business and managing the output of almost 300 people in a multi-plant, round-the-clock production environment.

Carl S. Grossman, the president and CEO of Applied Printing Technologies (APT) in Moonachie, N.J., didn't land the job by responding to this imaginary classified ad. He wouldn't have had needed the details anyway, as he knew full well what he was stepping into when he transitioned from serving as a consultant to APT to becoming the person in charge of everything and everyone in it.

It's a role that few would have the skills, or, frankly, the nerve to take on in these enduringly hard times for commercial printers, but for Grossman, it's a challenge that he claims to relish. He says he took the job because he wanted the thrill of building a great company, and a thrillor something equally visceralis almost certainly what he will get as he strives to expand APT's portfolio of services in a marketplace that seldom fails to punish status quo.