COVID-19 Outbreak: Official Statement From Our CEO To Our Customers

March, 16th 2020,

Business Continuance

This situation is changing daily, but we are confident that both our standard practices and enhanced safety measures will allow us to adapt to this important health concern and minimize near-term business impact. We value and appreciate the loyal partnerships Marquis has built with our customers. In the event of disruption, we will capitalize on our available production resources, flexibility of services and regular communications to help our publishers sustain their businesses.

Marquis has invested in a common business ERP and production platform that will allow us to sustain operations and transition projects effectively in any of our 3 plants. Our staff has secure access to customer CRM and data that will support our continued operations, should remote work be necessary. Our Customer Support Representatives (CSRs) are all paired with back-ups and work in teams to ensure continuity of customer communication.

Marquis has production redundancy built into our 3 plants in the event we experience a plant shutdown due to COVID-19 incidence including:

• Inkjet backup between 2 plants
• Offset backup between 2 plants
• Sheetfed backup across all 3 plants
• Softcover backup across all 3 plants
• Hardcover backup with strategic partnerships

We are working with our suppliers to understand how they are responding to this health crisis, as well as creating contingency plans for individual projects as needed. At this time, our 3 major paper suppliers, all located in Québec, Canada, have confirmed that they will have full service. Ink, plates and other supplies are also secured.

Marquis will expand our services wherever possible should our customers require us to replace services traditionally provided by other partners.  Supporting customer logistics and product distribution would be a primary extension of current services if current channels or publisher fulfillment partner services are disrupted.

In our plant and office locations

• Communication of best practices for hand washing and protective measures
• Increased cleaning of common and high contact public surfaces
• Sourcing and distribution of additional sanitizing supplies for employee use in personal workspaces
• Limiting and restricting plants visit for customers and suppliers

People and movement

• Business travel by plane has been suspended until further notice
• Promoting the use of social distance techniques (video conferencing, emails, telephone, etc.) to limit contacts and travel
• Encouraging employees to work remotely where possible, and to restrict travel by public transportation

We appreciate knowing about your approach to the 2019 Novel Coronavirus and will be collaborating with you in keeping our workforce safe and healthy, and protecting our communities. Should you have a specific concern with regard to your projects or needs, please reach out to your Sales Representative for discussion. We will continue to update you on our guidelines and approach as they evolve.

Our hearts and thoughts go out to the people who have been affected by this unprecedented event and we appreciate the dedication of healthcare workers, local communities, and governments around the world working on solutions.

Respectfully,

Serge Loubier

President & CEO – Marquis Book Printing Inc

The recent Webcom acquisition defined by Print Action as ‘the most defining moment of the industry in 2018’!

Read the whole article here: https://www.printaction.com/headlines/defining-moments-of-2018-5337

Marquis Book Printing of Montmagny, Que., in October acquired Webcom, creating one of Canada’s largest printing companies with an annual production capacity of over 100 million books produced in three plants. As a result of the deal, the Marquis team grew from 400 to 600 employees. The purchase comes after the partnership agreement with EPAC in June, which involved a C$9-million investment to install three inkjet production lines in Montmagny.

Marquis Book Printing : Webcom won two Bronze prizes at Canadian Printing Awards

Webcom, a Division of Marquis Book Printing Inc. won two Bronze prizes in Digital Printing at Canadian Printing Awards. 

The prizes were presented to Danny Goulart, Manufacturing Manager, Operations.

The winning titles are:

• Arc Land, ChiZine Publications

• Directing the Story, Focal Press, Taylor & Francis Group

Now in its 13th year, the Canadian Printing Awards is organized by PrintAction and parent company Annex Business Media. 

This year more than 110 Gold, Silver and Bronze Awards were presented in five program sections:

Industry Achievement, Print Design, Printing, Technology and Environmental categories. 

We would like to acknowledge our fantastic team for producing the award-winning books and congratulate all companies who submitted books and received awards this past week.

Congratulations !

Marquis Book Printing Inc. Acquires Toronto-based Webcom Inc.

PRESS RELEASE
For immediate release

MARQUIS BOOK PRINTING INC. ACQUIRES TORONTO-BASED WEBCOM INC TO BECOME CANADA’S LARGEST BOOK MANUFACTURER

Montreal, October 3rd 2018 – Marquis Book Printing Inc., headquartered in Montmagny, has announced that it has acquired Webcom Inc. This transaction creates an annual production capacity of over 100 million books produced in three state-of-the-art printing plants. Our combined strengths will help book publishers successfully navigate changing supply chain dynamics with POD, automatic stock replenishment, and complete “life of title” management solutions.

For publishers in North America and Europe, this joining of forces means access to an impressive array of latest-generation inkjet presses for short-run book printing. It also means that Marquis’s team of technological innovation and high-quality book production enthusiasts will grow from 400 to 600 employees.

“This acquisition attests to our confidence in the future of printed books,” stated Serge Loubier, Marquis President and CEO. “It will help us better handle the new challenges of the publishing and book printing industry, which is undergoing a transformation. It is a new strategic milestone on our roadmap to making Marquis a leading book printer in North America.”

“I am thrilled about our new journey together’’, said Mike Collinge, President and CEO of Webcom. “The two companies complement each other perfectly. Marquis’s leadership serving trade publishers dovetails well with Webcom’s digital inkjet leadership supporting educational and professional reference publishers.”

This acquisition comes after the partnership agreement with U.S. firm EPAC announced in June, which involved a $9 million investment to install three inkjet production lines at the Montmagny plant, one of which is already in operation. ($9-Million Investment at Marquis Book Printing Inc.)

“Beyond advancements in production, our main priority is to maintain a strong relationship with our customers and to supply them with their books as quickly as possible,” enthused Serge Loubier.

About Marquis

Established since 1937, Marquis offers the best solutions for content owners in the publishing and communications industry in Canada, the U.S. and Europe. It has earned its leadership position by offering one-stop shopping for file management, graphic design and traditional printing, primarily in the book sector but also for many other types of associated printing. Marquis also excels in the deployment of multiplatform digital content through its Marquis Interscript division as well as in the printing of yearbooks and agendas through Marquis Le Laurentien.

End

Source: Marquis Book Printing Inc.

For information and interviews: Marie Morneau, ARP

marie@mariemorneau.com

Telephone: 514-448-1670 or 418-580-1994

Following with the announcement of Marquis Book Printing acquiring Webcom Inc., several media made a coverage of the news

Following the announcement of Marquis acquiring Toronto-based Webcom Inc., several media made a coverage of the news in their platforms:

Here are some examples:

1- Printing Impressions

To read the whole article:

https://www.piworld.com/article/marquis-book-printing-acquires-webcom-now-largest-book-printer-in-canada/#ne=0db8858f497f4554f756cffc87a35c9b&utm_source=today-on-piworld&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=2018-10-03

2 – Graphic Arts

To read the whole article:

https://graphicartsmag.com/news/2018/10/marquis-book-printing-acquires-webcom-to-become-canadas-largest-book-manufacturer/

Press release : $9-million investment at Marquis

Marquis Book Printing announces a partnership with U.S. firm EPAC and a $9-million investment at its Montmagny plant. This major initiative is launched to meet market imperatives and the needs of book publishers, and initiates a shift to a new industry 4.0 model.

Our environment is changing and Marquis is adapting. We are following our plan towards becoming the best printer in Canada and North America! The entire book and printing sector is changing. Print runs and order volume are increasing and require a quick turnaround; print-on-demand and on order is up, with a trend toward zero inventory. Perfectly balancing supply and demand is becoming a necessity for content publishers, for all titles. In reaction to these dominant trends, Marquis announces a partnership with EPAC and the addition of new equipment at its Montmagny plant. This investment is one of the first steps on our roadmap to accelerate our growth, increase our global productivity, and better meet our clients’ business needs. 

The EPAC solution manages equipment from different manufacturers in a single integrated and automated work flow. Therefore, Marquis can combine cutting-edge technologies so as to offer its clients the same high-quality products as traditional offset printing, but manufactured on demand with unprecedented efficiency.

The transformation of our Montmagny plant is already underway. The first step has already begun, with the installation of three digital ink jet presses, two assembly lines and two perfect binder lines. This first phase, which requires a $9-million investment, allows us to produce an additional 3 billion pages at our Montmagny plant. Other steps will be announced later in 2018 and will deploy incremental capacity. 

The key component of today’s announcement is that all of the new equipment to be installed will be interconnected using an automated production flow developed by EPAC and called PACEX. This industry 4.0 version technology enables direct communication with the equipment without human intervention and cutting down on paper usage. EPAC’s new production software is already used by some of the largest publishers, including Interforum. According to Eric Levy, President of Interforum and Editis COO :

“Since June 2017, Interforum has partnered with EPAC to propose a revolutionary new print-on-demand solution: Copernics. We are thrilled to hear that the leading printer in North America has chosen to work with EPAC. Together, we are going to reinvent the world of publishing and printing to open new worlds for our publishers and booksellers.” 

Marquis clients will therefore have access to the EPAC network, which includes facilities in Asia, the United States, Europe and Latin America. Starting now, Marquis is an even more efficient gateway for the production in North America of books from Europe. Furthermore, this network opens horizons for all of Marquis’s current and potential Canadian clients wanting to print closer to their readers for most export markets. Discussions are taking place on this subject between Marquis’ and publishing leaders to create decentralized printing solutions. The technical performance of the Marquis–EPAC partnership, along with simplified ordering on our Marquis Express platform, which is powered by SoBook Hub, will allow booksellers, distributors and publishers to more efficiently deliver books to readers.

Serge Loubier, Marquis President and CEO, stated: “Aligning technology with publishers’ needs has always been one of Marquis’s strengths. The entire Marquis team is convinced that this new, carefully considered investment, will give our clients wings on all the local, national and international markets. This shift allows us to once again adapt and remain the book printing leader in North America.” 

Marquis is therefore continuing to pursue its mission of being a preferred partner of book and bound publication publishers, through its innovative, integrated graphic production and printing technological solutions.

Serge Loubier added and concluded: “It’s a major milestone in Marquis’s history and teamwork is what allowed us to achieve this technological breakthrough. We are following our plan. I’m very proud of my team—the best team in the industry—and you haven’t finished hearing about us!”

Our team will be pleased to answer any questions you may have.