Credit card offers boost King of Prussia printer IBS Direct
With mergers, Ted Sherwin has doubled employment to 105 since 2011
A surge in credit card mailings by big U.S. banks has boosted sales and employment at a King of Prussia printer that specializes in envelope offers. Revenues at IBS Direct have more than doubled, to $43 million this year, from $18 million in 2011, says Ted Sherwin, IBS president.
IBS Direct has benefited from industry consolidation as more business moves online and to smartphones: Sherwin's company acquired Berkshire Printing Inc. last year, Imtek Inc. in 2012 and Mars Graphic Services Inc. in 2011. So it's maybe not surprising that employment has risen to 105 on 9 presses at the 94,000 sq. ft. facility this year, up from 50 at 5 presses on 71,000 sq. ft. three years earlier.
But "that growth is primarily a result of credit card solicitations" for the major banks, and not just the acquisitions, Sherwin told me. JPMorgan Chase & Co., Bank of America, Capital One, Discover Card and Citigroup all have large operations in the Wilmington, Del. area, the nation's "credit card capital" since a 1981 law eased consumer protections and cut bank taxes. Sherwin won't confirm which of those banks are are clients, other than to say "most" of the dominant card banks order at least some of their envelopes and mailings through his presses.
U.S. banks expect to mail 4.3 billion credit card solicitations this year, with monthly mailings up 9% over least year's levels, according to data collected by Sherwin.