ViaTech's Superior deal planned as first of many

But the company decided the 110-employee operation at 424 N. Cedarbrook wasn’t enough.

ViaTech has reached a tentative agreement with Superior Image LLC owner Darrin Clark to purchase his three-year-old printing shop at 1913 S. Stewart, Ste. D, for an undisclosed amount. The deal should close Jan. 5.

The acquisition, ViaTech Chief Operating Officer Ron Simmons said, will help the company expand into new markets.

“It’s part of a long-term strategy,” Simmons said, “but it’s the first of its kind.”

Simmons said ViaTech currently specializes in printing on-demand technical manuals and other corporate literature for many Fortune 500 companies.

However, ViaTech’s corporate focus on “just-in-time printing” and its adoption of digital printing technology have limited the size of the print runs it can efficiently accomplish.

ViaTech has been outsourcing about $2.5 million in third-party offset printing every year, but that should cease with the acquisition of Superior, which can print 50,000 pages per hour versus ViaTech’s current 5,000-per-hour pace.

ViaTech’s clients include Sony, ITT Sheraton, DuPont, Kodak, Compaq Computers, Boeing, Gospel Publishing House, McGraw-Hill, John Deere and Caterpillar.

Superior’s clients include Tracker Marine and James River Assembly of God.

Simmons said the acquisition would help ViaTech add advertising brochures and other large-print-run products to its arsenal of services.

“We thought that we could improve the delivery cycle … by having our own offset print business,” he said.

ViaTech, based in Bay Shore, N.Y., has 14 locations internationally. Though Springfield will house the company’s first offset print shop, Simmons said offset acquisitions are planned for cities in New York, California, Georgia and Illinois.

“The company looks to Springfield as our hub of advancement,” said Simmons, who noted that company officials have considered moving their headquarters to Springfield.

Clark said Superior, which has sales of about $1.5 million per year to 200 clients, 40 percent of which are national, is slated to move from its 12,000-square-foot location to 25,000 square feet in ViaTech’s facility in June. It is projected to grow into a $5 million operation with the demand generated by ViaTech’s 2,500 clients.

“The biggest thing I wanted to do was to create better resources for my clients,” said Clark, who will remain with ViaTech as a printing consultant.

Clark said his 15 employees will stay on under ViaTech, and additional employees will be needed after Superior moves.

Superior has four printers. Simmons said ViaTech plans to add one or two six-color printers at a cost of about $1.5 million apiece.

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