Ennis Announces New General Manager of PrintXcel

With the shrunken American book printing industry enjoying a revival, Wisconsin's Worzalla, an employee-owned book printer specializing in high-quality children’s books, cookbooks, and hardcovers that services many of the country's largest publishers, has begun the final phase of a three-part effort to expand its printing capacity. The last round of upgrades features a $10 million investment that covers the addition of a new casemaker with a wide range of casemaking applications and a non-stop case feeder for cutting and making covers of books. Worzalla has also purchased a Goss Sunday 2000 32-page Double Web Press that provides a broad range of print formats and page configurations. Installation of the press is expected to be complete later this year, and is projected to increase Worzalla’s large book format capacity by 30%. Over the last several years, the company has spent more than $30 million on new manufacturing equipment. In addition, Worzalla is looking to hire 40 new employees for a range of positions.

Highlights: *Increase in revenues and earnings in the Packaging Sector and the Media Sector. *Revenues of $802.2 million for the quarter ended October 30, 2022; operating earnings of $85.3 million; and net earnings attributable to shareholders of the Corporation of $60.4 million ($0.70 per share). *Significant contributions from the acquisitions completed during the fiscal year to the earnings of the Corporation.

Worzalla CEO and President Jim Fetherston was awarded the Signature Award at the Book Manufacturers’ Institute’s Fall Annual Conference. The Book Manufacturers’ Institute (BMI), a nationally recognized trade association representing the book manufacturing industry, created the Signature Award to recognize BMI members who have made a valued contribution to the welfare of the industry through the display of superior leadership qualities. The Signature Award, awarded only when the BMI board of directors identifies worthy candidates, has just 44 recipients in BMI’s 90-year history. “While there have been ups and downs for U.S. book printers during the last few decades, we have all learned one truth: the printed book is not dead and, in fact, is thriving,” said Fetherston. “It has been a privilege to help lead our industry to the fruitful landscape that we are experiencing today. I humbly accept the Book Manufacturers’ Institute’s Signature Award on behalf of all our industry partners who trust us to get the job done and the many people on the ground responsible for making each and every book that we are sending to bookshelves, libraries, schools, and homes across the country.”