Moorestown mailer Com-Pak adds plant, jobs (Update)
Moorestown firm says it's a Postal Service alternative
With the U.S. Postal Service posting big losses and charging higher fees, Com-Pak Services, a Moorestown direct-mailing company, says it has added two new NPI sorting machines and 50,000 sq. ft. to its plant (expanding to 125,000 sq. ft.), and plans 12 new hires to its current staff of 175, as corporate mailers seek private alternatives, CEO Clif McDougall told me.
McDougall, a partner with Connecticut-based Maidstone Capital, took over at Com-Pak nine months ago. "Our industry has seen continued consolidation," he told me. "Stronger, larger players will be more successful. Our goal is to grow our business and through selective acquistions build the scale to build our organic customer bases" and increase sales to over $100 million over the next 36 months.
Recent acquisitions include Rockville, Maryland-based EU Services, a nonprofit-fundraising direct mailer, which has boosted total sales to $60 million at the two facilities and allowed a leaner total headquarters staff. After that, "our plan is to continue to operate the business for the long term. Our goal is not to build and sell it. Our goal is to operate longterm." More on Com-Pak acquisitions here and here.
Com-Pak sees marketing-related mail as "a long-term growth opportunity" but is also adding "digital channels" to expand its services, McDougall added. That doesn't require a lot of new equipment, since "management of the digital channel" is done through third-party cloud providers. Plus, big distribution networks like Amazon (or the Postal Service for that matter) are looking for "third-party distributors like Com-Pak. I think there will be some exciting opportunities."
The company expects to handle more than 400 milllion direct-mail and order-fulfillment pieces this year, according to a statement earlier this year by chief operations officer Russ Stewart. "Our direct marketing customers are looking for solutions that balance rising postal rates and increasingly complex mail programs," Stewart added at that time.