BizBeat: Modern Litho brings on new press, new jobs

September 18, 2016 at 5:25 a.m. | Updated October 23, 2016 at 9:15 a.m.

Jeff Davidson, right, tells Cassandra Atchison and Greg Meeker about his visit to the Heidelberg press manufacturing facility in Germany and about the precision with which the press gears were made. Davidson is vice president of corporate strategy for Modern Litho and Atchison is marketing director while Meeker serves as vice president of sales. The company is installing a new press that will increase its workflow capacity by 40 percent.
Jeff Davidson, right, tells Cassandra Atchison and Greg Meeker about his visit to the Heidelberg press manufacturing facility in Germany and about the precision with which the press gears were made. Davidson is vice president of corporate strategy for Modern Litho and Atchison is marketing director while Meeker serves as vice president of sales. The company is installing a new press that will increase its workflow capacity by 40 percent.
Local commercial printing company Modern Litho began installing its new, state-of-the-art press last week.

The Heidelberg XL106 10 Color + Double Coaster Perfecting Press adds a fourth press and a projected 50 new jobs to Modern Litho's operation, coupled with an expansion of its warehouse space at the Stertzer Road facility in Jefferson City.

The company projects the new press will increase workflow capacity by 40 percent, said Modern Litho President Darrell Moore.

The press - 96 feet in length and consisting of 14 units - arrived from Germany in 10 semi-trailers early last week, said Modern Litho Marketing Director Cassandra Atchison.

"We expect the installation process to take three to four weeks and will then begin training our team of press operators with the goal of being fully operational by Nov. 1," Atchison said.

The equipment investment is the result of a seven-year industrial revenue bond, a tax incentive approved by the Jefferson City Council in April to allow Modern Litho to pay only 25 percent of the personal property tax that would be owed on the new equipment.

The Jefferson City Area Chamber of Commerce estimated the tax benefit over the seven-year term of the tax abatement would be roughly $310,597, with an additional $69,433 in tax revenue to Jefferson City Public Schools and $34,166 to other local taxing entities during that time.

So far, five of 50 projected new jobs have been added.

"New job creation is a result of the acquisition or anticipated acquisition of new business, so as our business volumes grow, our employee count will follow," Moore said. "At this point, we have filled five net new full-time positions."

As installation of the new press progresses, Modern Litho is also in the process of adding 21,600 square feet of manufacturing and warehousing space, which will bring the size of the Stertzer Road facility up to 93,000 square feet.

"This addition will allow us to add ancillary press and bindery equipment and expand our fulfillment services," Moore said. "We expect the expansion to be completed by Nov. 1, which will coincide nicely with the new press coming on line. It is intended for use in accommodating the 40 percent increased capacity we are adding to our operation through the investment of the press."

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