St. Louis - Midtown Printing Company was one of a select group of companies nationwide, and the only company from Missouri, to receive a prestigious Management Plus Merit Award and admission to the Management Plus Society from the National Association for Printing Leadership (NAPL), the printing industry association for excellence in business management.

"Management Plus Award winners are dedicated to exemplary managerial performance, and extend that commitment into every area of their organization and their interactions with customers, vendors, and their communities," said Joseph P. Truncale, NAPL President and Chief Executive Officer. "They are the companies that not only set the management bar for our industry, but continue to move it higher. We are pleased to welcome Midtown Printing Company to the Management Plus Society."

Recipients of the Management Plus Award are selected on the basis of their overall performance against industry standards in seven management areas: leadership, strategic planning, financial performance, marketing, operations, human resources, and community relations. Only 18 companies nationwide were selected for the awards this year. The awards, sponsored by NAPL, manroland Inc., and American Printer magazine, were presented at the Best in Business Awards Banquet during NAPL's annual Top Management Conference.

"I am honored that our efforts have been recognized by NAPL," said Tom Auffenberg, Midtown President and Owner, who added that it was especially gratifying since this was the first year the company had entered the Management Plus competition. 

Founded in 1965, Midtown is a family-owned full-service commercial printing business with a long history of providing its customers with quality graphics, friendly responsive service, on-time deliveries, and competitive prices. With an eye to the future, it has recently expanded its Web-to-print, digital printing, high-speed offset printing, print-on-demand and direct-mail printing capabilities.

"We recognize that the needs of our clients are changing and we have responded with expanded services that can meet them even more effectively," said Auffenberg, noting that Midtown is also now GRACoL 7 Qualified to provide its customers "with the highest quality match from proof to press."

"Midtown has the latest technology and equipment, and well-defined markets we focus on," said Auffenberg, "but none of that would matter if we did not have great people here. Our people are our greatest strength, allowing us to live up to our company slogan, 'Service and Satisfaction are What We Print Best.'" It requires dedicated, customer-oriented people who are willing to do whatever it takes to succeed in an industry with peaks and valleys such as ours," he continued. "And we have them."