ENPOINTE Adds Second Production Facility in Minnesota

Books endure. We discard newspapers the day after, magazines stick around a bit longer, junk mail not at all, but books we keep. After we read a book, we shelve them, we show off our book collection as backdrops in our Zoom calls, we stack books in corners, we store them in boxes, we might drop them off at a used bookstore, we might even make books into works of art, but we almost never just toss them out. Printed books endure. Book printing company Grafica Veneta, located in the Italian province of Padua, a half hour drive from the causeway to Venice, announced the acquisition of a majority ownership stake in Lake Book Manufacturing. The acquired company is close by Chicago’s O’Hare airport, likely an enabling factor in the decision by an Italian book manufacturer to invest in a US-based partner. The owner of Lake Book, Dan Genovese, noted that his family’s Italian heritage also played a part in the decision to seek and accept an international investment in the company, especially one based in Italy. Both companies are positioned to manufacture a wide range of book products for the publishing trade, with capabilities ranging from one-color to full-color text, paperback and hardcover editions, along with fully decorated book jackets.

Net sales in the first quarter were $1.17 billion, down $43.8 million or 3.6% from the first quarter of 2020. The decrease includes a $6.5 million impact from the previous closure of our operations in Chile and an increase of nearly $15 million due to changes in foreign exchange. The current period continued to be negatively impacted by the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and last year’s Census project, which was completed mid-2020. Organic net sales declined 4.3%. The Business Services segment was up 3.2% on a GAAP basis and 2.4% on a non-GAAP organic basis while the Marketing Solutions segment was down 22.5% on a GAAP and non-GAAP organic basis from the first quarter of 2020. The Business Services segment experienced growth in several of our strategic focus areas including Packaging, Labels and Supply Chain Management, while net sales in Marketing Services were negatively affected by last year’s Census project. Income from operations was $25.1 million in the first quarter of 2021 compared to income from operations of $33.1 million in the first quarter of last year.

Worzalla congratulated the winners of their “Reel It In For Reading” ice fishing competition and announced their $1,500 donation to support the Portage County Literacy Council (PCLC). Worzalla’s donation will go towards PCLC’s one-on-one tutoring and small group instruction programs. The winners of the inaugural Reel It In For Reading ice fishing competition are: First-place winner, Zach Fuller of Iola, won $200 and an additional $100 for being the Worzalla associate with the largest catch. Fuller’s catch, a 103-pound sturgeon caught at Lake Winnebago, measured 71.3 inches. Fuller says that the sturgeon he caught is one of just 15 males over 100 pounds since the 1930s, when data first began being recorded. Second-place winner, Kyle Weeks of Iola, won $150. Third-place winner, James Liebe of Stevens Point, won $100.