A Northeast Pennsylvania printing company recently changed hands as a firm with direct knowledge of its operations acquired the Taylor-based company.
Harleysville-based Alcom Printing Group — a full-service commercial printing, direct mail, fulfillment and marketing services provider — purchased PDQ Print Center earlier this month for an undisclosed price, said Shaun M. Daney, chief sales and marketing officer for Alcom.
Daney noted everyone employed by PDQ had an opportunity to continue working for Alcom following the sale.
“Some of the people accepted positions with us and others did not,” he said. “Many accepted positions with local and regional printing companies.”
Daney stated Alcom will maintain the Taylor facility for at least the next six months as operations remain ongoing there.
“We’re leasing the property until we make some final decisions,” he said. “Some of it is based on the local client needs.”
PDQ Print Center — a print-on-demand and fulfillment company that serves clients throughout Northeast Pennsylvania and beyond — previously consolidated operations with Wilkes-Barre-based Corcoran Printing in May 2024.
Corcoran Printing was established in 1940 while PDQ opened in 1975.
Alcom Printing Group Inc. formed in 1980 through the merger of Lehigh Litho Inc. and the Havertown Printing Company.
Daney — a member of the printing business since 2000 — formerly served as an owner of Payne Printery in Dallas, Pennsylvania, which was sold to Alcom in 2019, he said.
“The industry is changing a lot right now,” Daney said. “Less and less people are printing, and people are printing smaller quantities, so you’re seeing a lot of consolidation within the space. It started way back then and it continues today.”
Daney left the business for several years following the sale of Payne but remained in contact with Alcom officials, eventually joining the company, he said.
Then, Scott Lynett — who served as owner and a managing partner for PDQ — contacted Daney when Lynett was acquiring Corcoran Printing, Daney said.
“I got back into printing, working with PDQ, and helping with that transition,” Daney said. “Getting back in the business and reconnecting with Alcom, I went back to Alcom as an owner and chief sales and marketing officer.”
Daney added that PDQ sourced work to Payne for many years, and that continued when Alcom bought Payne.
“All of these companies had long-standing relationships,” Daney said. “(Through) my connection to PDQ, I found this is a company that had sort of the same mindset — very customer first — and these acquisitions only work when you have that similar culture. At Alcom, we’re continuing to actively seek out these types of partnerships and acquisitions, whether they’re mergers or straight buyouts, in an effort to continue to grow.”