Is RR Donnelly Going Out Of Business? According to LSC Communications, two Lancaster County Factories were set to be closed in January 2023. The remnants of the longtime county – RR Donnelley is one of them, announced to be completed in January because the print catalogues and magazine demand have declined.
It is reported that the company also announced layoffs in which around 656 workers were affected. By March 31, they lost their jobs due to reduced demands for long-run print magazines and catalogues. LSC Communications made the move in which two RR Donnelley plants located in Lancaster were closed.
RR Donnelley started to operate its business in Lancaster in 1960. According to reports, the company employed 1,200 workers a few years back.
Reportedly, On March 31, 2023, LSC confirmed two Donnelley plants. These Donnelley’s West Plant and East Plant, located at 1375 Harrisburg Pike and 216 Greenfield Road, respectively, have also closed their doors.
The Department of Labor and Industry’s notice reads: “Two printing plants are going to be closed that are located at Lancaster City.” In December 2020, Greenwich, Connecticut-based private equity firm Atlas Holdings acquired both of the plants.
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Does R.R. Donnelley still exist?
The deal was done as part of LSC Communications in a 347.5 million US dollars bankruptcy sale. Lancaster West, 1375 Harrisburg Pike, had 380 employees. At the same time, Lancaster 216 Greenfield Road had 276 employees.
When these plants were acquired by Atlas Holdings, at that time, they had around 1,200 people responsible for producing catalogues, magazines, and newspaper advertising inserts. The company also disclosed its plans to consolidate a few of its operations this year.
As two Lancaster facilities have been closed, but work is producing. It will move to long-run print facilities in Warsaw, Indiana, and Maple Grove, Minnesota. According to one of the spokespeople, “No changes will be made. People will be served as before.”
According to Melissa Noebes, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Communications for LSX Communications. The LSC Leadership Team is currently working with all the affected associates in Lancaster as it provides job placement assistance and severance packages and facilitates local support.
The facilities that are supposed to be closed now. But they were expected to be open and remain operational by the second quarter of this year.
The company’s CEO, Stephanie Mains, stated, “We are doing and trying everything possible. Because a few years back, the company emerged from Bankruptcy. We have tried everything to stabilize our business. To do so, we planned to grow in the future through the Coronavirus pandemic and beyond.”
Also added, “It is observed that paper and ink costs are continuously increasing.
On the contrary, the demand is decreasing for long run catalogue and magazine printing.”
“A huge decline has been seen in page counts and print runs as most customers are now moving towards marketing channels. Moreover, they force the company to observe things closely in its operations. Moreover, try to position itself for winning in a new marketplace.”
Mains said, “We have closed two plants. But the decision has nothing to do with the quality of work at the Lancaster plants.”
They also added, “This consolidated move is the perfect option here as it fits better in the situation where we are now. As we’ve found no other alternatives for the business.
There is nothing to do with the abilities or commitment of our team members. They are all peculiar people, and we are also doing our best to support them in this transitory phase.”
“In America’s rich printing history, our company – RR Donnelley Our company has earned a reputed position. It all has become possible because of our Lancaster team members; We are so grateful to have all of them.
We are thankful to our team members and their local community. As their great work contributed a lot to the company.”
In short, The company’s list of jobs that were cut is as follows:
- 11 of the employees were operational clerks
- 29 employees are knitters
- Eleven are hoist operators.
What Type Of Company Is RR Donnelley?
R.R. Donnelley stands for Richard Robert Donnelley. It is an American integrated communications company headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, United States.
It was established in 1864 by Richard Robert Donnelley. RR Donnelley was the largest commercial printer company around the globe in 2007. It provides commercial printing, marketing, and business communications. Besides, it offers multiple services related to it. In 2021, it was considered the largest communications company in North America.
The business has undergone important changes in the past years because of the low demand for several printed products. In 2022, it was acquired by Chatham Asset Management, a private equity firm, in a deal valued at about 2.5 billion US dollars.
Its Acquisitions
In 1870 RR Donnelley was well-known as Lakeside Printing and Publishing Company. It was destroyed in the Great Chicago Fire a year later.
In 1902, Donnelley built RR Donnelley and Sons Co. Calumet Plant. It primarily produced books, periodicals, mass-printed commercials, impressive modern designs, and reference material. The press produced superior-quality collectable editions for the Chicago Caxton Club and the Limited Editions Club. Later, the cartographic production facility of RR Donnelley became one of the largest custom mapmaking companies across the country.
1993 The Calumet Plant of RR Donnelley was closed, so the Sears catalogue was also cancelled. Its cancellation generated a lawsuit this went all the way to the US Supreme Court. But in 2003, Donnelley settled the case.
In 2004, RR Donnelley merged with Moore Wallace Inc.
In 2007, It acquired a printing company’ Banta Corporation. It also received a publishing and financial outsourcing company ‘OfficeTiger’.
In the same year, in May, it also took over Von Hoffmann, a book and educational material printer from Visant Corporation. Also acquired a private catalogue and magazine printer, Perry Judd’s Holdings Inc.
- CVC Capital Partners
- Canadian Bank Note Company
- Quebecor World
- F+W Publications Inc.
- Pro Line Printing Inc.
- Bowne & Co.
- LibreDigital
- Helium.com
- EDGAR Online
RR Donnelley has also acquired these companies in the past several years.
In 2021, the company confirmed to enter into a definitive agreement. In an attempt to do so, RR Donnelley was acquired by Chatham Asset Management. But this acquisition was finalized in February last year.
Why Did RR Donnelley Split?
RR Donnelley remains the largest company, with 42,000 employees. It generated around 7 billion US dollars in sales. Former RR Donnelley CEO Tom Quinlan now oversees LSC Communications.
RR Donnelley retains the ownership of LSC and Donnelley Financial by 19.25 per cent. RR Donnelley also managed RR Donnelley Financial Firm.
It is reported that around 11.7 billion US dollars conglomerate divided into three individual companies in 2016. This split allows all three new enterprises to focus and invest in better products and services.
Now it is expected that employees at each firm will focus on better things, along with the hope that it proves to be a beneficial step.
How Many Locations Does RR Donnelley Have?
RR Donnelley has multiple supply chain facilities located differently on three continents. It operates supply chain facilities globally in eight countries.
Below you can check the locations of RR Donnelley across the globe.
- RRD Brno, Czech Republic
- RRD Cork, Ireland
- RRD Debrecen, Hungary
- RRD Houston Supply Chain, United States
- RRD Komarom, Hungary
- RRD Lodz, Poland
- RRD Plover, United States
- RDD San Jeronimo, Mexico
- RRD Shenzhen, China
- RRD Singapore, Singapore
- RRD Warsaw, Poland
Who Are RR Donnelley’s Competitors?
RR Donnelley is the best-integrated communications solution for those who want to try different solutions. Even though there are several other solutions, users voted the best solutions. Here we have discussed the best alternatives to RR Donnelley communication solutions.
Let’s explore the best overall competitors to RR Donnelley’s integrated communication solutions.
- Omnicom – Omnicom is also one of the best companies. It provides marketing, advertising, and corporate communications services. It is a public type company and was founded in 1986.
- Nielsen – A company that provides data, information, and market measurement. It is a private type company that was established in 1923.
- Interpublic Group – Interpublic Group (IPG), or the Interpublic Group of Companies. It is a public type company that provides marketing and advertising services. IPG was founded in 1930.
- Publicis Groupe – It is a general-type company founded in 1926. It includes marketing communication and digital business transformation solutions.
- Taylor – Taylor is a personalized marketing solution. It is a private type company and was founded in 1975.
- Cox Enterprises – It is a personal type company founded in 1898. That primarily focuses on the communications and automotive industries globally.
Wrapping Up
In conclusion, Chicago-based packaging and marketing firm RR Donnelley announced that it is going out of business. It closed plants located in Plainfield. Due to closures, workers lost their jobs. The closure is not temporary.
It would be permanent. The changing market conditions are one of the major reasons, according to the Indiana Department of Workforce Development.
RR Donnelley’s 381 Airtech Parkway in Plainfield is a 270,000 sq foot plant that offers medical device kitting, final stage product assembly, direct-to-consumer web fulfilment, and point-of-purchase display assembly. RR Donnelley announced that it’ll lay off employees over 14 days starting May 14.
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