GRAPH EXPO In-Plant Panelists Announced; Experts Focus on War Stories, Wise Ideas

A perennial favorite, the in-plant panel at GRAPH EXPO is back again. This year, the session, titled "In-Plant Panel: War Stories, Wise Ideas and Q&A," will be held on Monday, Sept. 29 from 8:30 - 10 a.m. I'm happy to announce the members of this year’s panel and pleased to have the honor of moderating again.

The panelists are:

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  Ron Balderson, Navy Federal Credit Union. Balderson is the print and logistics manager for the largest credit union in the world, with over 250 branches worldwide serving five million members in U.S. Armed Forces, U.S. Coast Guard, DOD and related personnel. The in-plant has a staff of nine plus five buyers (who purchase $13 million in print and 21 million direct mail pieces), and produces 31.5 million annual impressions plus significant wide-format banner and poster work. Volume is about 50 percent offset and 50 percent digital, with typical work being disclosure documents, forms and member kit collateral materials. Balderson will share his war stories about turning around an ailing operation.
• Tim Smith, State of Wisconsin. As bureau director, Smith leads the 17^th largest in-plant in the United States, with 58 employees, printing 110 million impressions and outputting 44 million mail pieces annually. The in-plant produces datacenter transactional and on demand work that includes: court documents, parking tickets, tax bills, newsletters, social services and kids program materials, unemployment materials, DOT work (licensing, registrations, etc.) and historical museum materials. Smith's war stories will include his campaign to change a statute to offer services outside of the Enterprise in Madison to enable them to purchase and implement aWeb to Print solution.
• Staci Hill, Freese and Nichols. Freese and Nichols is an engineering and architectural consulting firm with 18 offices from Texas to North Carolina. During her tenure, Hill has navigated the "shark tank," transforming the Dallas shop from a cost center into an emerging profit center, upgrading staff and center capabilities, replacing equipment, and leveraging her background, industry memberships, relationships and resources, to grow the print centers value to Freese and Nichols. Hill's war stories and wise ideas will reveal how the "hedgehog beat the sharks."

Register Today and Watch this Blog for Stories About Each Panelist

Watch RSA’s In-plant Insights blog for in-depth stories about each of the panelists and their operations in coming weeks. These stories will offer a sneak peek at what sets these in-plants apart, their war stories, and the valuable information that they will share in the session.