Printing industry leaders, including Quad/Graphics executives, educators and government leaders gathered in Pewaukee on Friday, April 7, to celebrate the groundbreaking for a new printing applied technology center to be named the Harry V. Quadracci Printing Education and Technology Center in honor of Quad/Graphics' founder. Our Windhover Foundation made a $1 million gift toward the new $4 million facility at Waukesha County (Wis.) Technical College. The Harry V. Quadracci Printing Education and Technology Center will be a national hub for technical education and technological innovation in printing and graphic arts, and will be constructed adjacent to WCTC's existing Harry V. Quadracci Printing and Graphics Center, one of the nation's leading printing education facilities. Construction of the new 23,600-square-foot center will take about one year. "My father was a fierce competitor in business, but he also was a firm believer in the print industry as a whole," Joel Quadracci, Quad/Graphics President & COO, told the audience of 200 people assembled in a large tent on the WCTC campus. "To him, the success of the industry meant a strong approach to education and a strong approach to research and development. "We at Quad/Graphics continue to believe in the power of print. Therefore, it was important for Quad/Graphics to be a catalyst in the creation of this new printing applied technology center," Joel said. In fact, Chairman & CEO Tom Quadracci and QuadTech Vice President of Business Development Randy Freeman both served on the technology center's task force. Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle, said the new printing technology center will help Wisconsin remain the No. 1 printing state in the country. "This will be the center for research and training for the world in the printing industry," he said. Gov. Doyle was a key supporter of the effort to build the technology center, which began more than two years ago after Printing Industries of America/Graphics Arts Technical Foundation (PIA/GATF) decided to keep its headquarters in Sewickly, Penn., even though it had scouted other locations, including Wisconsin. "When we were turned down by PIA/GATF, we decided … we can do it here anyway, and we can do it better," Gov. Doyle said. "For generations, we are going to see people coming to this facility to get the skilled training that will allow them to go as far in this industry as their hard work will take them," the governor added. Other speakers at today's groundbreaking included Niall Power, president of the Printing Industries of Wisconsin, a PIA/GATF affiliate organization; Eric Delzer, president of a Wisconsin-based Delzer Lithograph Company, chairman of the PIA/GATF and a member of the WCTC Foundation Board; and WCTC officials. Mr. Power said the vision for the new center is "to make this region the Silicon Valley of the printing industry." He said printing employs about 46,000 people in Wisconsin. Mr. Delzer thanked the Quadracci family and Quad/Graphics. "With this gift the Quadracci family and Quad/Graphics once again demonstrate their generous and ongoing commitment to the entire printing industry," he said. Offices for Industry Organizations In addition to being a major economic force in Wisconsin, printing is one of the major industries in Waukesha County, employing about 11,000 people in the county, including Quad/Graphics employees at our Sussex and Pewaukee locations. Three national industry organizations will help boost the vision for Waukesha County to become the "Silicon Valley" of printing by maintaining offices in the new center: the Printing Industries of Wisconsin, the National Council for Skill Standards in Graphic Communications, and the professional development group of the National Association for Printing Leadership (NAPL). The Printing Industries of Wisconsin is the Wisconsin affiliate of the PIA/GATF and represents more than 170 Wisconsin companies, including Quad/Graphics. The National Council for Skill Standards in Graphic Communications is a non-profit organization that defines requirements for successful performance of graphics-arts job tasks. The NAPL, an industry association based in New Jersey, relocated its professional development department to WCTC last year. The department provides printing management information and educational activities. All three organizations are currently housed in offices on the WCTC campus.