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Mergers and Acquisitions in 2000

The following is a partial list of mergers and acquisitions in the document management industry that occurred last year.

ACOM Solutions, a provider of MICR laser payment processing systems, electronic document printing solutions and e-commerce solutions based in Long Beach, Calif., purchased TAGSOFT Inc., a manufacturer of checks, coupons and financial forms in Jacksonville, Fla.

American Forms LLC, an affiliate of American Tissue, purchased the assets of Wheeling, Ill.-based CST/Star Products Inc., which liquidated its business. American Tissue is a $500 million company based in Hauppauge, N.Y., that produces various grades of paper, corrugated products and multiwall bags.

Art Plus Technology, a Boston graphic and information design firm, acquired R&K Consultants Inc., a document development consulting firm in Milwaukee.

Avery Dennison Corp., Pasadena, Calif., acquired the $75 million Adespan pressure sensitive materials operation of Panini S.p.A., a major European printing and publishing company based in Bomporto, Italy.

Award Printing Corp., a $10 million offset printing and graphic arts manufacturer in Chicago, acquired Davidson Graphics and Davidson Promotions, Chicago-based graphic arts and ad specialty firms.

Boise Cascade Corp., Boise, Idaho, commenced a tender offer for the minority public shares of Boise Cascade Office Products Corp. Boise Cascade Office Products is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of Boise Cascade Corp. Boise Cascade Corp. also acquired the fixed assets and trademarks of AllJoist, a subsidiary of Alliance Forest Products Inc. in Edmunston, New Brunswick. Boise Cascade Office Products acquired Blue Star Business Supplies Group from US Office Products.


CFC Print Solutions (formerly Continuous Forms & Checks Inc.), a Peachtree City, Ga., manufacturer, acquired Crown and Shield Business Forms, a manufacturer in Charlotte, N.C.

Champion Industries Inc., Huntington, W.Va., purchased the $7 million Huntington paper distribution division of The Cincinnati Cordage Paper Co.

Checkpoint Systems Inc., a provider of integrated security solutions in Thorofare, N.J., acquired Meto AG, a global provider of bar code labeling systems.

Consolidated Graphics Inc., Houston, acquired Piccari Press Inc., a commercial printer in Philadelphia; Keys Printing Co., a commercial printer in Greenville, S.C.; and Woodridge Press Inc., a manufacturer in Anaheim, Calif. Consolidated Graphics has companies in 25 states with combined revenues of more than $685 million.

Cowdin Printing, an $8 million West Caldwell, N.J., manufacturer of cut sheets, commercial printing and labels, purchased the manufacturing capabilities of Windfield Business Papers, a manufacturer of custom telephone message books, variable sized pads and laser cut sheets in Easton, Pa.

Creative Forms Inc., a Cary, Ill., distributorship, merged with BRIDGE® Information Systems Inc., a distributorship in Arlington Heights, Ill.

Creo Products Inc., Vancouver, British Columbia, and Scitex Corp. Ltd., based in Herzlia, Israel, entered into an agreement to combine their prepress businesses and create an entity named Creo/Scitex. It provides computer-to-plate and computer-to-film devices, digital front-end and variable information workflow solutions, ink jet and digital halftone proofing solutions, scanners, digital cameras, and imaging heads for digital offset applications. Creo/Scitex operates as a division of Creo Products.
Data Forms Inc., a manufacturer in Reno, Nev., acquired Precision Rotary Forms Inc., a manufacturer in San Jose, Calif.

Deluxe Paper Payment Systems, a business unit of St. Paul, Minn.-based Deluxe Corp., completed its acquisition of Designer Checks, a specialty check manufacturer in Anniston, Ala.

Document Systems & Solutions LLC, a supplier of paper-based products and services in Nashville, Tenn., merged with Atlanta-based Document Options.company LLC, which offers paper documents, electronic forms, imaging systems and other workflow solutions. The combined companies operate under the name Document Options.company.

Eagle OPG Inc., an office products manufacturer in St. Louis, and Adams Business Forms Inc., an office products manufacturer in Topeka, Kan., merged to create Cardinal Brands Inc.

Ennis Business Forms Inc., DeSoto, Texas, acquired the stock of Northstar Computer Forms Inc., a $46.3 million designer and manufacturer of forms with an emphasis on machine-readable MICR printing in Minneapolis. Northstar has three divisions: Northstar Financial Forms, General Financial Supply and Wisconsin Business Forms.

FRI Resources Inc., a St. Louis distributorship, acquired an interest in Hadler Printing Co., a St. Louis-based commercial printer.

Flint Ink Corp., Ann Arbor, Mich., purchased Alper Ink Group LLC, the parent company of five subsidiaries and affiliates specializing in inks and colorants for the packaging graphics industry: Progressive Ink Co., Alper Dispersions Co., Arcar Graphics, Patriot Printing Ink Co. and Mexico-based Kromos SA de CV. Flint Ink also purchased Creanova Ink Pty. Ltd., a manufacturer of flexographic and gravure inks headquartered in Dandenong, Australia.

Gilman Paper Co., a $380 million St. Mary's, Ga.-based supplier of bleached board and kraft papers for packaging, commercial printing and envelopes, was purchased by Mexican-based Corporacion Durango, Latin America's largest paper producer with annual revenues of $1.1 billion. The transaction included Gilman's bleached pulp, paper and paperboard facility in St. Marys; six woodyard operation centers in Georgia, Florida and South Carolina; and three converting facilities in Georgia, Tennessee and Pennsylvania.

Global DocuGraphix Inc., a document management and graphic services company and an industry consolidator based in Chicago, acquired three companies: Document Imaging, a digital image and electronic management company headquartered in Denver; Data Pro, a print, image and electronic management distributorship based in Huntsville, Ala.; and Structured Graphics, a Houston-based print, image and electronic management company.

Graphic Systems Inc., a supplier of graphic arts and prepress services in Moorestown, N.J., purchased the St. Petersburg, Fla., and Orlando, Fla., locations of HPS Inc., an Indianapolis-based graphic arts supply company.

iGetSmart.com Inc., the New York-based wholly-owned subsidiary of Workflow Management Inc., acquired PSE Data Products Inc., a logistics solutions provider based in Hayward, Calif., which operates under the name PSE Outsource Logistics.

The executive management team of Amherst, N.Y.-based International Imaging Materials Inc. (IIMAK) , a supplier of thermal transfer ribbons for bar code, color tag and label, ID card, and signage printers and fax machines, and Centre Partners Management LLC entered into a definitive agreement to purchase 92.5 percent of IIMAK from Paxar Corp., making IIMAK an independent, privately held company.

International Paper, Purchase, N.Y., acquired Shorewood Packaging Corp., a New York-based manufacturer of paperboard packaging, including specialty packaging, for the tobacco, music and home entertainment, cosmetics and toiletries industries in the United States, Canada and China. Also, International Paper bid $6.2 billion in cash and stock to acquire rival paper maker Champion International Corp., Stamford, Conn.

JetForm Corp., an e-forms provider based in Ottawa, acquired Joey Technologies Inc., a St. Petersburg, Fla.-based research and development firm specializing in access software for the hand-held mobile market.
Liberty Enterprises Inc., a Mounds View, Minn., manufacturer specializing in checks, database marketing and Web hosting, acquired Graphic Productions Inc., a sheet-fed commercial printer based in New Hope, Minn.

Mail-Well Inc., Englewood, Colo., a $1.5 billion consolidator in the printing industry, purchased outstanding shares of Atlanta-based American Business Products, a $461 million provider of printed office products and specialty packaging sold through its Curtis 1000, International Envelope, Discount Label and Jen-Coat business units. (Mail-Well sold Jen-Coat). Mail-Well also acquired Phototype Color Graphics, Pennsauken, N.J.; Strathmore Press, Cherry Hill, N.J.; Braceland Brothers, Philadelphia; Craftsman Litho Inc., a web and sheet-fed printer based in Waterbury, Conn.; and CML Industries Ltd., a manufacturer of envelopes and paper converted products in Toronto.

The Mattie Corp., a commercial printer in Charlottesville, Va., was sold to The Supply Room Companies, a $52 million office supply company based in Richmond, Va. The Mattie Corp. was renamed Colormark.

The Mead Corp. acquired the carbonless coating operations of Moore North America, a subsidiary of Moore Corp. Ltd.

Metro Label Corp., a Dallas-based manufacturer, acquired a process color manufacturing facility in Fort Worth, Texas.

The Millcraft Group, a Cleveland-based paper supplier, purchased the assets of Cordage Paper's Pittsburgh and Indianapolis locations.

Nashua Corp., a $170 million manufacturer of specialty coated products, labels, toner and developers in Nashua, N.H., acquired the stock of Rittenhouse Paper Co., a $140 million privately held Chicago-based firm that manufactures specialty paper, pressure sensitive labels and imaging supplies.

Nazdar, a Shawnee, Kan., manufacturer and distributor of premium screenprinting inks, supplies and equipment, merged operations with Photo Chemical Supply Co., a screenprinting supplies distributorship headquartered in Orlando, Fla.


New England Business Services Inc., based in Groton, Mass., acquired PremiumWear Inc., a designer and marketer of knit and woven shirts and other apparel for the promotional products industry, based in Minnetonka, Minn.

Plum Creek Timber Co., a real estate investment trust based in Seattle, agreed to buy Atlanta-based Georgia-Pacific's Timber Co.

Precept Business Services Inc., a Dallas-based distributorship, is attempting to sell its Transportation Services Division and Business Products Division.

ProForma Printing Specialties, Tempe, Ariz., acquired Phoenix-based ProForma Southwest, creating a $1.5 million graphic communications firm that retained ProForma Southwest's name. More than a dozen ProForma distributors completed mergers and acquisitions, including Dave Chase and Norman Mitchell, Willoughby, Ohio, and Dave Tetzlaff, Tampa, Fla. ProForma is a network of more than 500 distributorships.

Quick Tab II Inc., a Tiffin, Ohio, manufacturer of custom continuous and laser security checks and forms, acquired Coastal Graphics, a commercial printer based in Vero Beach, Fla.

RMF Printing Technologies Inc., a manufacturer in Lancaster, N.Y., acquired the assets of Ogilvie Press Inc., a Lancaster supplier of materials and printing for designers, architects, engineers and draftsmen.

The Reynolds and Reynolds Company, a large direct-selling manufacturer based in Dayton, Ohio, completed the sale of its Information Solutions Group (ISG), the company's document outsourcing and customer relationship management business, to the Carlyle Group, a Washington, D.C.-based private equity firm. The Carlyle Group named the new company The Relizon Company. Reynolds also purchased privately held HAC Group LLC, a provider of Internet services to car makers and retailers.


Royal Business Forms & Printing, a $12.5 million Brooklyn Park, Minn., manufacturer, acquired Pauly Business Forms, a Plymouth, Minn.-based manufacturer.

Royal Industries (formerly known as Royal Die Cutting and Heat Sealing Corp.), a $24 million Brooklyn, N.Y., manufacturer of vinyl promotional products, acquired the assets of FORWARD/HSI, an advertising specialties manufacturer based in South Bend, Ind. FORWARD/HIS is now a division of Royal Industries.

Saunders, an office products manufacturer and distributor in Readfield, Maine, purchased Graphic Utilities, a leading supplier of ink, ink delivery systems and ink jet imaging solutions to the digital color printing market. Graphic Utilities operates as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Saunders under the name Graphic Utilities, a Saunders Company.


SFI, the New York-based $122.7 million distribution division of Palm Beach, Fla., firm Workflow Management Inc., acquired ALF Graphics Inc., a $9.4 million commercial print distributorship headquartered in New York. Workflow acquired OEI Business Products, a $55 million graphic arts distributor and manufacturer headquartered in Chicago, and divested itself of OEI's manufacturing operations in several separate transactions: Workflow sold OEI's Lakeville, Minn., manufacturing facility to Performance Office Papers, also in Lakeville; Repacorp Label Products Inc., Tipp City, Ohio, acquired OEI's label plant in West Allis (Milwaukee), Wis.; Highland Computer Forms Inc. acquired OEI's Urbandale (Des Moines), Iowa, custom forms plant; Maggio Data Forms acquired OEI's custom forms facility in Bellmawr, N.J.; and United Computer Supplies Inc., Elk Grove Village, Ill., purchased the Chicago-area OEI headquarters and stock forms manufacturing facility.


Strathmore Press, a Cincinnati manufacturer, bought the assets and records of Durham Business Forms Corp., also a Cincinnati manufacturer.

Superior Printing Ink Co., a New York manufacturer, acquired Ink Services Inc., a privately owned sheet-fed ink manufacturer with offices in Culver City, Calif., and Mira Mesa, Calif.

Telpar Inc., a manufacturer of direct thermal and impact printers for kiosks, ATMs and gaming machines in Addison, Texas, merged with AccuScan, a provider of auto ID equipment and solutions. Telpar is a member of the Moore Corp. Ltd. family of companies.

USA\docufinish, an $11.3 million manufacturer of integrated labels and cards, affixing capabilities, variable high-speed imaging and mail inserting based in Chicago, acquired Affco South, an Atlanta-based firm specializing in affixing of cards, labels and stencils. Affco South's operations merged with USA\docufinish's Charlotte, N.C., location.
ValForms Inc., a distributorship based in Dublin, Calif., acquired Crown Business Systems, a distributorship in Pleasanton, Calif., that markets printed and promotional products.

Vanguard Direct, a distributorship in New York, acquired Heritage Business Forms, a Philadelphia forms printing and fulfillment company.

Weyerhaeuser Co., a paper supplier based in Federal Way, Wash., launched a $5.4 billion hostile bid for rival Willamette Industries Inc.