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"The J Press is extremely productive,"
said Gilson. "It has substantially higher
margins than 40-inch offset. We run
general commercial work on it," such as
brochures and marketing literature. The J
Press at Gilson is limited to 2,000 sheets
for non-variable work.
The company also has Fujifilm W
inkjet web press, which it uses for book
and booklet work. Gilson called it "faster
than toner." It is also used for medium
runs of coupons and flyers at 600x600
dpi resolution. The unit now accounts
for about 30 percent of the firm's work,
he added, and that volume is growing at
about a 10 percent annual pace.
Looking Ahead
Gilson will continue offering an array
of services and maintain its focus on "key
growth areas and cross-selling additional
services to existing accounts," its presei-
dent reported.
Growth in the year ahead will come
primarily in digital and design, he pre-
dicted. "I think that marketplace is grow-
ing, that there is a growing demand for
it, and that we are good at what we do
there. I think we've got the capability to
give our customers what they want when
they want it, and at a price point that
they can afford."
Marketing continues to be an area of
focus. The company brought aboard
Kim Hasenbank in 2013 to serve as
its first-ever marketing manager and
developed a marketing department. As
he heads into 2015, Gilson said he is
keeping his options open because "the
crystal ball is cloudy."
For more information, visit MyPRINTResource.com/10006760
Geography and the marketplace may
conspire to slow Gilson's growth-through-
acquisition strategy, he explained. "We're
always looking for an acquisition that
might be a good fit, but I don't necessar-
ily see that happening. We try to limit
ourselves geographically to within an
hour or two's drive, and I am not aware
of any companies within that radius that
are currently looking to be bought."
The major challenge during the year
ahead, Gilson projected, will be con-
trolling costs. "Everyone talks about
health care, but in the state of Michigan
there is now, just as a small example,
a one percent tax on your health-care
payments. Obamacare has what my
health insurance agent calls a 'belly
button' tax (actually a 'reinsurance fee'
paid by every company that provides
insurance). Then on top of that, you
have four mandated coverages that you
didn't have before that came into effect
over the last two years."
Gilson sees these as "growing, com-
pounding costs on health care that are
making it difficult for businesses to con-
tinue to offer the quality health-care ben-
efits they want at a price point that they
can afford." ◗◗
Jeff Paleteire (from left), Dave Gilson, and
Dave Osbourne shared inkjet details on their
firm's J Press 720 as well as its J Press
540W web-fed model.