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This week we are going on a field trip to Quad/Graphics. To get there from Martinsburg, take Route 9 west and turn right at the second red-light past I-81 on to General Motors Access Road. At the end of the road, turn right onto Caperton Boulevard. Follow Caperton Bouelevard to the end and take a left at the flagpoles.
As we arrive, we will be directed to a meeting room where sandwiches, chips and beverages will be available. The Plant Manager will do a presentation on the layout of the facility and general information while we’re eating. We will then break into groups of 10 for the tour. If we have any members that do not wish to take the tour (it’s a lot of walking), they will go to an imaging room for a separate presentation.
Anyone taking the tour must have closed-toe and closed-back shoes. ABSOLUTELY no sandals!
Quad/Graphics has been a breakaway company since Day One. The late Harry V. Quadracci founded the company in 1971 with the belief that doing things differently – and better – could propel a tiny upstart into an industry-leading printer. Today, Quad/Graphics is a leading global provider of print and multi-channel solutions for consumer magazines, special interest publications, catalogs, retail inserts/circulars, direct mail, books, directories, and commercial and specialty products with 50-plus print-production facilities on three continents. Their employees are encouraged to think and act like owners and innovate solutions that push print’s boundaries to strengthen its value to clients.
As a printing industry innovator, they are committed to redefining the power of print in a multimedia world. They have ramped up the aggressiveness of ink on paper by strategically applying data to create targeted, relevant print messages and then connect those messages with other forms of digital, mobile, electronic and online media. This way, marketers and publishers can get the right message to the right person at the right time to maximize response and revenues.
Quad/Graphics is the embodiment of one man’s dream to find “a better way.” That man was Harry V. Quadracci (left in the white shirt), a man who has come to be celebrated as much for his printing industry accomplishments as for his forward-thinking management philosophies. Using a $35,000 second mortgage on his home and capital raised from a handful of associates, Harry launched Quad/Graphics on July 13, 1971, in an abandoned millwork factory in Pewaukee, Wis. While the company’s beginnings were humble — survival hinged on a rented press and a borrowed binder — Harry and his 11 co-founders agreed to build a business unlike any for which they had ever worked.
Quad/Graphics’ success was neither immediate nor easy. As with most new concerns, the first years were lean and print jobs were few and far between. With patience and a can-do attitude — a characteristic that continues to distinguish us from other printers — work slowly trickled in, but usually only because no other printer would take it.
Quad/Graphics’ big break came when we landed Newsweek in 1978. A turning point for our fledgling company, the weekly magazine work enabled us to establish a consistent workload and the opportunity to prove ourselves as a quality-minded, innovative print services provider.

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WV Treasurer