Business Spotlight: Viatech Publishing Solutions

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When Viatech Publishing Solutions took over ownership of McBee Looseleaf Binders at the corner of Cedarbrook and Chestnut Expressway in 1996, the facility received a makeover. Some changes were obvious, like ripping down the chain link fence along Chestnut that COO Ron Simmons referred to as "barbed wire," and changing the name. Other changes couldn't be seen, but could be felt such as the workers' new attitudes, a result of restructuring the organization.|ret||ret||tab|

"The employees there were kind of like worker bees," said Simmons, based in Viatech's home office in Bay Shore, N.Y. Now structured as a "flat" organization with employees reporting directly to Simmons rather than filtering through layers of supervisors, Simmons said workers feel empowered and, in turn, take more ownership of their jobs and the products they produce.|ret||ret||tab|

The facility continues to produce some of the items that McBee was known for, including custom binders and index tabs. In addition, Simmons said, "We've reinvented the way documents are produced."|ret||ret||tab|

Viatech prints manuals and books for their clients, but Viatech prints only the number of copies the customer needs rather than hundreds or thousands of copies, like most traditional publishers do. Rather than wasting copies of manuals that become obsolete as fast as the technology they describe, Viatech offers print-on-demand services to customers.|ret||ret||tab|

Manuals and books that used to take up thousands of square feet in storage space, housed in Springfield or at Viatech's customers' facilities, are now stored digitally.|ret||ret||tab|

And the list of customers using Viatech's services is impressive DuPont, Kodak, Compaq Computers, Boeing, Dale Carnegie Seminars, McGraw-Hill, John Deere, Franklin Covey and Caterpillar. One of its biggest customers is Sony.|ret||ret||tab|

Ron Hertenstein, former human resources director with Viatech, now consults for Viatech through his own Springfield-based company, The Melrose Group. Hertenstein said that McBee moved to Springfield in the 1960s and was part of the Royal McBee Company. After a number of buy-outs, Italy-based Olivetti purchased McBee. In 1996, DVC took over the company, and a year later it was renamed Viatech Publishing Solutions.|ret||ret||tab|

Viatech Publishing Solutions has eight locations in the United States Springfield; Atlanta; Irvine, Calif.; Longview, Wash.; Bay Shore and Rochester, N.Y.; Washington, D.C.; and Worcester, Mass. and Simmons said the company is looking at opening facilities in Chicago, Phoenix, San Francisco and Texas. Viatech recently expanded internationally, with the opening of Viatech Publishing Limited in Oxford, England.|ret||ret||tab|

Because of its central location, lower operating costs and efficient work force, the Springfield facility supports the other locations. Jobs accepted at another location can be sent electronically to the Springfield facility.|ret||ret||tab|

The Springfield location is the top-producing Viatech facility. Company-wide revenues are at $52 million a year with about $25 million out of Springfield, Simmons said. McBee was purchased as an $18 million company with about 400 total employees, he added.|ret||ret||tab|

"This facility is split up into three product lines," said Doug Campbell, general manager of loose-leaf products. While one line runs polyethylene and loose-leaf binders, another runs turned-edge binders. The third line handles the printing machines.|ret||ret||tab|

Inside the facility, old equipment was replaced with Xerox DocuTech and DocuColor machines, at a price tag of about a $250,000 each. Two or three machines have been installed at each Viatech facility. |ret||ret||tab|

DocuTech machines can print 135 pages a minute at 600 dots per inch, and DocuColor machines can print as fast as 60 pages a minute, Simmons said.|ret||ret||tab|

"We become the invisible merchant who moves (books) straight on to their customer in Sony gear so it looks like it's totally out of Sony. In fact it is. We're just printing it for them," Hertenstein said.|ret||ret||tab|

Viatech receives electronic orders on behalf of its customers, like Sony, when technicians need repair manuals or customers need instruction manuals. The orders are processed and the books are printed and shipped to Sony's customers without Sony touching the order.|ret||ret||tab|

Viatech prints more than 7,000 separate titles for Sony alone, with an average of 35 pages per manual. "Last I knew, they were shipping I believe 115,000 manuals a year for us," said Mark Frye, customer service/publications manager for Sony World Repair Parts Center of the Americas based in Kansas City.|ret||ret||tab|

Sony has been a Viatech customer for about five years, Frye said. By using Viatech's services, Sony has reduced its workforce by five and freed up about 1,500 square feet of floor space that used to be taken up by manuals. "We found ourselves destroying a lot of manuals that didn't sell at the end of the life of that product."|ret||ret||tab|

Springfield's Gospel Publishing House is another Viatech customer. Mike Murphy, production operations manager/print buyer, said Gospel Publishing House started using McBee's services around 1992. "We've got anywhere from 300 to 400 books in production at any time," Murphy said.|ret||ret||tab|

Murphy appreciates Viatech's quick turnaround, versatility of capabilities and the staff's "can-do" attitude. "Even though we're a printer, we've learned over the years we can't be everything to everybody."|ret||ret||tab|

Campbell, who started working as a janitor at McBee in 1985, said that 142 employees work at the Springfield facility, and about 15 were added this year. |ret||ret||tab|

Since implementing the "flat" organization, Campbell said workers have become happier in their jobs.|ret||ret||tab|

Other positive changes Viatech instituted include monthly bonuses based on how well the facility does and the pay-for-skills program. Instead of reviewing workers for advancement when the calendar says it's time, Campbell said workers have the chance to receive raises as they conquer new skills.|ret||ret||tab|

"Some people just want to do a certain job and they're fine with that but other people that we bring in can advance fairly quick because we believe in a cross-trained work force," Campbell said. He added that employees are rewarded for learning more skills, how to operate equipment and even for reading certain books on business and management.|ret||ret||tab|

Goals for the future include continued growth, Simmons said. "I'd like to see us going to about $35 million in that facility and growing 30 percent beyond the employees we have."|ret||ret||tab|

Viatech may be well on its way to reaching its goals with the addition of new projects, like winning the contract to launch the new training manuals for Avon's independent sales force.|ret||ret||tab|

As for the future of print-on-demand, Hertenstein said: "There's always going to be a crowd that prefers to read off hard copy. I happen to be among them. It's going to change. There are going to be more and more things done electronically. That's where we have to go. We can't keep putting out carriages in an era of jet aircraft. We will keep changing as the market changes and as the demands change." |ret||ret||tab|

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