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Demand causes Canfield & Tack to add 60-ton press

KARIN VON VOIGTLANDER staff photographer

Canfield & Tack's new $2.8 million printing press is so large, seven tractor-trailers were needed to deliver it. The growing company is excited about being able to offer customers more services. Some businesses measure growth in terms of revenue and profits, others by square footage of their plants.

Rochester printer Canfield & Tack is growing in those regards. But the 80-year-old company is also measuring its growth in tons.

Canfield is adding a 60-ton, $2.8 million printing press that is a both a response to growing customer demand and an expression of hope about the future, company President Dan Mahany said.

Over the last several weeks, technicians have been installing the huge machine. It took seven tractor-trailers to deliver the press. "Having that press delivered has really energized everyone in the company, I think," Mahany said.

It's also the latest move for a company that's been growing over the last two years.

Canfield has added 15 employees in that time to bring the total to 94. Last fall, the company opened a 20,000-square-foot warehouse and mailing center on Lyell Avenue to go along with its 45,000-square-foot Exchange Street headquarters. Revenue grew 10 percent in 2005 to $14.5 million, and Mahany expects similar growth in 2006.

The company has also added a Kodak NexPress digital press to its arsenal of machines, giving customers yet another option. Digital printing now accounts for about 6 percent of Canfield's business, said Ray Brown, vice president of digital services.

Mahany said Canfield has become more focused on offering customers mailing capabilities, storage and other services.

"As corporate staffs have shrunk, people want one-stop shopping," he said. "The more we can provide them, the better."

Customers say they're impressed by Canfield's quality and commitment to service. For example, after Canfield won the business of a subsidiary of Constellation Wines, which had a substantial presence on the West Coast, Canfield put a worker in Rochester on a West Coast schedule to deal with requests.

"They really accommodate us," said Melissa Larkin, a manager for Centerra Wine Co. Constellation has been doing business with Canfield for at least 15 years, she said.

The new press will have the ability to print color on one side and black and white on the other. That ability comes in handy for items such as the rebate tags that hang around the necks of many wine bottles.

"That's really going to cut our costs," said Larkin.

Paychex Inc. has been using Canfield since 1989, said Sasha Trouslot, a senior graphic designer. She said the payroll giant counts on the printer's expertise.

"They might come up with a better idea on how (a job) could be done more economically or look better," she said.

Even with the new Lyell Avenue facility, the employee-owned Canfield is "bursting at the seams," Brown said. With business coming from California, Washington, D.C., and New York City now, Canfield is becoming more than just a local printer.

But the company has no thoughts of moving, Brown said.

"We're excited about being in the city," he said.