PRESS

FEBRUARY 27, 2009

Precise Continental Makes History

Interview by Marion Grobe

History was made this year when the United States elected its first African-American president. Precise Continental, one of our Business Partners, is now part of that historical moment. Many of you know Jim Donnelly, President of the Precise Continental and a long-term supporter of the New York City Chapter. And you may also recognize that Precise prints New York New York, our award-winning chapter newsletter. But what many of you may not know is that Precise won the bid to print the invitations for President Obama's inauguration. We caught up with Jim recently to get the inside story.

MG: Why was Precise asked to bid?
JD: We believe that it was a combination of factors: our reputation for excellence and award -winning quality and service, coupled with the fact that we are certified by the Forest Stewardship Council, which represents the world's strongest system for guiding forest management toward sustainable outcomes, and a full union shop -- a combination that was hard to beat. We have been in business since 1983, and five years ago, we added Continental to our company. Continental had a history of quality going back to 1890, and we have been FSC certified since 2007.

MG: How did all of this start?
JD: We were originally contacted by a public relations firm in Washington, D.C., that was helping the Presidential Inaugural Committee with the invitations. The contact was the son of a partner at Dickstein Shapiro, a long-standing client that uses our union bug. Our name was passed along to the Committee. After our first conversation, we knew that they also wanted a FSC certified printer. To my knowledge we are the only company in the country that is both. I was on pins and needles until I received confirmation that we were selected. Then I was completely blown away.

MG: How did the staff react when they learned the news?
JD: On December 11, Emmett Beliveau, the Executive Director of the Presidential Inaugural Committee, told us that we won the bid. That was really exciting news. The staff was thrilled beyond belief. We are a union shop, and more than 99% of our employees supported Barak Obama. The staff was so honored to be a part of such an historical event that it would be difficult to put it into words.

MG: What was entailed with engraving the invitations? And how did you pull it off?
JD: To start, the Committee requested one million invitations - on a rush basis - with very tight deadlines. I gathered my best people around me and we discussed the project. Everyone was supportive and said, "Go for it." They said, "We can and will do it." Everybody pulled together to do what seemed impossible at first from a timing viewpoint. The result was amazing. The invitations are stunning. Each was hand inspected before it left. The invitations were shipped in intervals, and we made every deadline.

MG: How long did it take to engrave one million invitations?
JD: Although it is a million invitations, there are actually 3,000,000 engraved impressions since each color has to go through the press separately. We started running on the 15th of December. It took a day or two to get everything perfect---and we packed our one millionth invitation and shipped it out on January 2. We also printed one million letters and one million envelopes. We were running 16 hours a day, but still were able to let our employees have off for Christmas and New Year's Day.

MG: What impact has this had on Precise?
JD: It has added great visibility to our company. All of our clients are happy for us and impressed that we got the job and got it done perfectly and on time. The resultant publicity has been incredible. We have also had tremendous publicity with TV crews from ABC, CNN, FOX News filming the running of the invitation, and news organizations from as far away as South Africa and Spain visiting us to film this moment in time. Also, it was a tremendous morale booster for our employees, who exhibited great teamwork and really went above and beyond through the holidays to meet the deadlines.

MG: What were the greatest rewards?
JD: The teamwork and sense of accomplishment. The invitation brought our entire company together. The camaraderie and team spirit were contagious, and there wasn't a frown in the place, no matter how hard we all worked. Although, we think we are pretty darn good, it also showed us what we REALLY can do when we put our minds to it. Every press in the shop was humming and we still fulfilled our regular clients' work People were saying, "YES, WE CAN." From modifying presses to running production 16 hours a day, every person in this company lent a hand and that feeling of reward is priceless.

MG: How can you top this feat, Jim?
JD: By printing the New York City Chapter newsletter, of course. Note: Precise Continental has been a long-term supporter and Business
Partner of the New York City Chapter and has been printing New York New York for many, many years! On behalf of the Board of Directors and the New York City Chapter, we offer Precise our sincere congratulations in making history and thank Jim and Precise for their ongoing contribution to the NewYork City Chapter.