A Package Deal

Print, die-cut, fold, glue.

It’s a fairly simple process, and a set of procedures that is translating into new developments and strong annual growth at AM Lithography and its burgeoning sister company, AM Packaging.

The printing company extended its reach into the packaging industry seven years ago, and this year, that move has necessitated an expansion into a new facility on Winter Street in Holyoke that has the company and the city chalking one up for the team.

AM Lithography (‘AM Litho’ for short), based in Chicopee, was founded in 1985 by Allen Meadows, who remains the company’s president. Over the past 25 years, AM Litho has grown steadily, providing commercial sheet-fed printing services to a wide range of clients across the Northeast, particularly in the financial services and academic fields.

Jamie Meadows, director of sales, said AM Litho was presented with the opportunity to diversify into the packaging market by addressing the needs of an existing customer at the start of the decade, and that request has since led to the creation of AM Packaging.

Meadows said that, above all else, he sees that move as an achievement integral to the company’s identity and success.

“It’s the best thing we’ve ever done,” he said. “We’ve doubled our sales almost every year, and last year, we grew more than 50%.”

That pace signaled the possible need for expansion early on, said Meadows, and as orders continued to increase, the space required for these new products — boxes, folders, and other types of plastic and paper-based packages of all kinds — necessitated a move.

“On the packaging side, we became a company with a national reach very quickly,” he said, noting that while AM Litho prefers to keeps its client list confidential, jobs can include virtually any kind of product packaging for both corporate and retail use.

Like the printing sector in general, it’s a specialty that experiences both ups and downs. But lately, the arrow has been pointing upward at AM Packaging.

“This is a business in which we have peaks and valleys regularly; it’s not uncommon to have a very busy time followed by a slow spot,” said Meadows. “But after launching AM Packaging, we had four or five months in a row when we were just slammed, and we were simply running out of room.”

With plenty of orders lining up on the horizon as well, Meadows said he began touring manufacturing locations across the region, including in Chicopee, Agawam, and Holyoke.

“But as soon as I walked into the Winter Street location, I knew that was home. It was modern and clean, and had everything we were looking for.”

Making a Case

The 59,000-square-foot facility was once owned and occupied by Laminated Paper, which sold the location to AM Litho in July of this year. AM Litho has committed to investing more than $6 million in the building, which includes the purchase price, updates to its infrastructure, new equipment, and staffing costs.

Meadows said the benefits offered by the city of Holyoke were one draw toward the location, and a large aspect of the decision to not only purchase the Winter Street building, but also enter into a collaborative partnership with the city, aimed at fostering economic growth.

“The incentive programs they offered were great,” he said, listing the willingness of the Office of Economic and Industrial Development and Holyoke Gas and Electric to work with the company on various issues, as well as a tax-increment financing, or TIF, arrangement.

Kathleen Anderson, director of Holyoke’s Office of Planning and Industrial Development, said that collaborative approach between the city and AM Litho began very early in the process.

“Originally, I believe they approached the mayor’s office,” she said, “and they wanted to learn more about the incentives that Holyoke could offer.”

The process began, she continued, with a meeting between city officials, AM Litho’s management, and HG&E — and also a question: why Holyoke?

“Whenever someone comes to us from another community, we always ask if they’ve approached their own community first,” she said. “We’re more interested in regionalism and helping all Western Mass. communities across the board, not taking business away from anyone. Others have done the same for us.”

Anderson said AM Packaging’s need to expand necessitated an amount of space that wasn’t readily available in Chicopee, prompting a search in Holyoke. But the conversations also helped to address some of the company’s own questions and concerns, according to John Dyjach, assistant director of the Office of Economic and Industrial Development.

“They wanted to get a feel for the future of the area they were considering,” said Dyjach. “They wanted to know if it was positioned for positive growth, and if the Winter Street corridor was an area that was up and coming in general. They didn’t want to be the only ones there.”

Dyjach said Laminated Paper had taken exceptional care of the property, which was on the market for a little more than two years before AM Lithography completed its purchase.

“It’s a great, modern building, and we had a lot of people interested,” he said, “but it was a particularly good fit for AM Litho’s operations.”

In addition, the industrial section of the city also includes two properties appropriate for rehabilitation, the former Ampad manufacturing facility, and also a few parcels of land that are drawing interest from both local and out-of-state parties.

Employer Benefits

Beyond the potential for new growth on Winter Street, though, Dyjach said the city also offers industrial property owners many different levels of assistance that proved to be attractive to AM Litho.

First, there’s the role of MIDAC, the Mayor’s Industrial Development Advisory Committee, which pairs city officials with business owners to form a group with the sole purpose of attracting and retaining industrial activity. One of MIDAC’s offerings is the opportunity for potential property owners to network with current property owners, and to get answers from objective sources to sometimes-tough questions about doing business in Holyoke.

“People know it’s our job to pitch the city,” said Dyjach, “and fostering conversations with other business owners who aren’t being paid to do that allows for a level of trust to be developed.

“It also allows business owners to network with each other and, hopefully, do business with one another,” he added. “We’re as proactive as we can be to find good matches for the city and its business community.”

And on a more tangible level, the TIF, offered by the city in concert with the Commonwealth, is designed to give new industrial property owners the opportunity to save money in the early years of developing a new business venture.
There is a 100% property tax exemption in the first year of ownership, 75% the following year, 50% the third, and 25% in the fourth year, said attribution. The program spans five years; in the final year, the property owner pays all taxes, but is eligible for additional benefits from the state.

“It’s a substantial savings — tens of thousands of dollars,” said Dyjach, “and in the long run, it helps property owners increase the value of their facilities, by freeing up funds for renovation and other improvements.”

Anderson said the program has been in place for several years, and reflects Holyoke’s standing as a regional economic target area in the state. Chicopee, Westfield, and Easthampton share the same distinction.

“It creates a significant payback for the city by allowing for investments in new jobs and revenue gains,” she said. “The criteria for inclusion is a good-faith effort on the part of the company to hire people from within the city, particularly those in low- to moderate-income brackets.”

Pulp Non-fiction

Meadows said that part of the bargain has been a relatively easy task thus far, given the rapid growth of AM Packaging.

“We’re committed to hiring at least two Holyoke residents in the first three months of operation,” he said. “We’ve been there four months now, and we’ve added eight employees.”

The company, which now employs a total of about 150 employees in Chicopee and Holyoke, is also positioned for what Meadows said he expects will be rapid growth.

“Our short-term, modest goal would be to grow 25% in the next year,” he said. “But that’s a goal we could blow out of the water. AM Packaging is becoming a serious player in the area and a major part of our business.”

That said, Meadows, and also officials in Holyoke, hope the growing company will print, die-cut, fold, and glue its way to greatness — and, in the process, seal a positive fate for the Paper City.

Jaclyn Stevenson can be reached at[email protected]