American Reprographics Company (ARC) completes acquisition in Milwaukee, WS market area - Badger Blueprint

On Wednesday this week, I asked this question – “has American Reprographics Company resumed its acquisition initiative?”

The answer to that question is, “yes.”

Early this week, ARC acquired “Badger Blueprint” in Wisconsin. I think Badger is located in the Milwaukee WS suburbs.

There will likely be other acquisitions like this one as we move further into 2011. This one is what you call a “tuck in” acquisition. (Tucking this business into an existing ARC operation.)

It’s my understanding that Badger operates two locations. I’m guessing that there will be some “branch consolidation” in that market, since ARC already operates a business in that market that it earlier (in 2001) acquired from Gerald M. Bobb.

I do not expect ARC to issue a Press Release about this acquisition. Per SEC rules, ARC is not required to issue press releases about small acquisitions, nor is ARC required to release any details about the acquisition.

In July 2001, when ARC acquired its first Milwaukee area reprographics operation, it issued the Press Release that I’ve reprinted below. As you can see, ARC placed that company (GMB Engineering Equipment) under the management of the ERS operation it had previously acquired in 1999; ARC acquired ERS from Gary Marquardt and his partner in ERS, Layton Zellman.

Operations to Consolidate Under Engineering Repro Systems Division Based In Minneapolis

MILWAUKEE, July 17, 2001 /PRNewswire/ --

American Reprographics Company, the country's leading provider of reprographic services and technology in more than 148 locations across North America, today announced the purchase of GMB Engineering Equipment Inc. (GMB) of Milwaukee, a firm with $1.5 million in annual revenues. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.

"We've been wanting to position ARC in the Milwaukee market, so we're happy GMB has agreed to join our family of companies," said Suri Suriyakumar, president and chief operating officer of American Reprographics Company. "This acquisition benefits both companies -- ARC moves into Milwaukee, and GMB gains access to our technology and resources."

GMB was founded in 1966 by Gerald M. Bobb. He retired 10 years ago, passing down the business to his five children. All of Bobb's children still work for GMB, and Eileen Stegman, Bobb's daughter, is president. "To stay competitive in our market, we needed to offer our customers document management services on the Web, but we didn't have the internal resources to do that," said Stegman. "We recognized that ARC could take us to that next level. It was also important to our family that we continue to work together and GMB keep its name. ARC allows us to do that, as well."

GMB will become part of the Engineering Repro Systems division based in Minneapolis-St. Paul. "We've had a strong, professional relationship with GMB for many years," said Gary Marquardt, president of Engineering Repro Systems. "This is a perfect match. Many of our customers in Minneapolis have projects and offices in Milwaukee, so they can now use our technology right there at GMB."

About the American Reprographics Company

Founded in 1988, the American Reprographics Company is a $450 million enterprise serving more than 110,000 customer companies in 22 states, the District of Columbia and Canada. The company's 48 divisions, with more than 3,500 employees, are the leading suppliers of reprographic services and technology to the construction industry, manufacturers, software and hardware development companies, corporate offices, marketing and advertising agencies, publishing firms, retail establishments and presentation graphics providers. Corporate headquarters is in Glendale, Calif., near Los Angeles. For more information, visit www.e-arc.com.