States Largest Commercial Printer To Bring 55 Jobs To Delaware, Governor Minner Announces
Newark, DE - 2003-04-22
Company To Double Workforce With New Technology, Venture Funding, and State-Supported Training
Dover - Governor Minner announced today that Foxfire Printing and Packaging, Inc., headquartered in Newark, plans to double its Delaware workforce to more than 106 employees and increase revenue from $14 million to $20 million by year-end. The company's expansion is supported by $2 million in venture capital funding and State workforce training funds.
Governor Minner said, "Supporting the innovation of Delaware companies such as Foxfire provides the greatest return on investment for the State. Facilitating the success of our existing employment base creates long-term benefits for our economy and our residents."
Foxfire, the state's largest commercial printer, currently employs 53 people in Delaware. The company's client list includes national retail chains such as Eckerd Drugs, Toys 'R' Us, Acme, Pathmark, Trans World Entertainment, and Happy Harry's. By May 1, 2003, the company will relocate 35 jobs to Newark from the Baltimore Sign Company, a Maryland-based company it acquired in December 2002. Foxfire plans to create more than 18 additional jobs over the next year. In order to accommodate its growth, Foxfire has expanded its Newark facility from 33,000 square feet to 65,000 square feet, representing a capital investment of $2.5 million.
John Ferretti, Foxfire CEO, said Foxfire's centralized location has helped support the company's rapid expansion. Ferretti noted, "I located Foxfire in Delaware due to its proximity to so many major cities. Having 33 percent of the U.S. population and a multitude of retail stores within a 350 mile radius gives us a distinct advantage on distribution costs. We have customers nationwide, requiring distribution to thousands of retail stores on a weekly basis."
In October 2002, Foxfire was selected as one of five businesses in the U.S. to test Xerox's new iGen3 color digital printer. Thanks to the Xerox DocuColor iGen3â„¢ and sophisticated database management software, Foxfire is now able to individually customize point-of-purchase signs and printed materials, giving its clients the ability to deliver one to one marketing to their customers. For example, Foxfire can print a group of 100,000 coupon postcards, with the content of each postcard tailored to the purchasing habits of its recipient.
The Delaware Economic Development Office (DEDO) plans to allocate workforce training dollars to help Foxfire employees learn the new iGen3 technology. In 2001, DEDO provided nearly $17,300 in training funds to Foxfire, enabling the company to expand its market share and hire 11 new full-time workers.
Judy McKinney-Cherry, director of DEDO, said, "Foxfire's story is a great example of how technology transfer can completely re-invent the way a company does business. However, the training needed to adopt new systems can be cost prohibitive for small to mid-sized companies. DEDO's workforce training funds help offset these costs, helping to keep Delaware businesses on the cutting edge."
The company's expansion is supported by the Delaware Innovation Fund and three Pennsylvania-based venture capital funds, which have invested a total of $2 million in Foxfire.
"Foxfire is a wonderful growth company for Delaware and the surrounding region. The application of high technology data management coupled to traditional printing has established a unique customer offering. With the acquisition of Baltimore Sign and the continuing growth of customer acquisitions via its proprietary technology, Foxfire is becoming well known in the retail point-of-purchase sector," said David Freschman, president of the Delaware Innovation Fund.
Foxfire is a full-service printing and fulfillment company with 170 employees at print facilities in Newark, DE and Upper Marlboro, MD, and sales offices in Doylestown, PA, Greenville, NC, and Los Angeles, CA. The firm's offerings include general commercial printing, data asset management, graphic design, digital print-on-demand, warehousing, fulfillment and industry-specific solutions and outsourcing services for clients in software publishing, book publishing, retail chains and other industries. For more information, visit www.foxfireprinting.com.
The Delaware Economic Development Office, 99 Kings Highway, Dover, DE, is dedicated to retaining and creating quality jobs for Delawareans. For more information, call 302.739.4271 or visit www.state.de.us/dedo.
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