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Major Fire at Quad/Graphics Lomira Plant Confined

Press release from the issuing company

July 15, 2002 -- (WhatTheyThink.com) -- On Friday evening, Quad/Graphics experienced a major fire in a paper/product storage building adjacent to their main Lomira, Wisconsin, printing plant. The storage building primarily contained unfinished magazine and catalog pages that were waiting to be compiled into finished magazines and catalogs. The company said all damage was confined to this storage building. The Lomira manufacturing facility itself remains undamaged and fully operable. All Quad/Graphics printing plants are already reprinting the magazine and catalog pages that were destroyed in the fire. There were no serious injuries to Quad/Graphics employees. However, the Dodge County Sheriff's Department said there was one loss of life of a non-employee. Keith Freiberg, 22, an employee of Aero Building Maintenance, was trapped in a vehicle next to the plant and died in the blaze according to Brownsville Fire Company spokesman Bill Carter. Press reports said only two forklift operators were in the newly completed addition to the plant, though some 330 people were working in other areas when the 10-story building collapsed and burned. Carter said it was amazing that people were able to get out of the building and that there was no other loss of life. Harry Quadracci, Founder and President of Quad/Graphics said he did not have an estimate of the damage but told the Press that some of the plant's 1,800 workers were back to work Saturday. Quad says the Lomira plant is the largest printing facility in the Western Hemisphere with about 2 million square feet covering several city blocks. The plant has a luxury apartment complex, a full-service medical clinic, cafeteria and several other amenities. Quad/Graphics Inc. employs about 14,000 people and has estimated annual sales of about $2 billion. It has more than 20 plants across the U.S. and in foreign countries. The cause of the fire has not yet been determined.