Company Profiles

This year’s Innovators are stretching the bounds of what “innovation” actually means. They are finding new ways to grow and thrive, despite any challenges they may face along the way.

For the team at Strategic Factory — located in Owings Mills, Maryland — being an innovator in the printing industry is all about attitude: knowing what jobs to willingly and happily say “yes” to, communicating with all employees from management down, and being open to change.

Fifteen years ago, if Phase 3 Marketing and Communications needed to increase capacity, Troy McGinnis, the executive VP of print services, says they would just throw money at equipment. Today that is no longer the case.

For Minneapolis-based Pictura, a wide-format producer serving primarily retail, exhibit and events, interiors, and environments, a recent innovative step was CEO Paul Lilienthal’s decision to sell a percentage of the company to its employees through a partial ESOP (Employee Stock Ownership Plan).

At the H&H Group in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, ADA signage is more than just an afterthought — it has become a growing niche helping buildings and businesses transform spaces to not only make them more compliant, but also more beautiful.

Kellogg Community College Print and Document Services had a good six-year run with its HP Latex 330, but like most good things, it had to come to an end.