14 • PRINTACTION • MARCH 2010

VICTORIA GAITSKELL

Last month in Vancouver, Canada’s athletes rose to theOlympic challenge by breaking multiple records. Theymade us the only country to win 14 gold medals in the

Winter Olympics (beating the previous record of 13 heldby Norway and the former USSR), and the winner ofmore medals than any other host nation in history. Butless celebrated are the exploits of two British Columbiaprinters – Metropolitan Fine Printers of Vancouver andAmpco Grafix of Coquitlam – who responded to theOlympic challenge as strongly as our athletes.

Like our medalists, these printers strategically builttheir Olympic performance on a solid foundation ofyears of disciplined planning and practice. And besidesgiving expression to their tremendous national pride,

their ultimate reward comes in the form of lucrativenew work on press and business relationships that canlast for years.

Metropolitan’s Olympic storyMetropolitan Fine Printers, a specialist in high-end offset,has experienced many highlights in the 13 years since itsPresident George Kallas first made the strategic decision tobe intimately involved – basically from Day One – withVancouver’s 2010 Olympic effort. Kallas reached a highpoint in October 2009 when he travelled back to his coun-try of birth as part of the Governor General’s prestigiousdelegation to escort the Olympic flame to Canada fromGreece. Later Kallas, his son and Business Development

Manager, Nikos, and their VP of Sales and Marketing, BobFaulkner, ran separate stretches of the Olympic torch relay.But beyond their pride and public spiritedness, the com-pany, which has clearly been effective at positioning itselfin the past, shares its business strategy underlying theirOlympic support:

It all started with a simple donation of stationery andbusiness cards, recalls Scott Gray, a Senior Account Exec-utive at Metropolitan and member of the company’s man-agement team. “When George got a request from TourismVancouver for stationery materials and business cards forthe Olympic bid, he responded with spontaneous prideand commitment by offering to do whatever we could tohelp. So as it turned out, we printed their whole bid pack-age, as well as other beautiful pieces to adorn the desks ofOlympic decision-makers.”

Gray also explains, that once Vancouver was chosen asthe host city, its local bid group shut down and was re-placed by VANOC, the organizing committee for theGames. Next, Metropolitan entered a 6-month applica-tion process to become (along with half a dozen otherprinters) one of VANOC’s vendors. They also registeredwith a designated business group that gave them access toall the right Olympic networking functions. Additionally,Metropolitan paid VANOC an undisclosed amount of be-tween $150,000 and $1.5 million in cash and products tobecome a “Friend of the Games” – a relatively modestsum, according to Gray, when compared with the $3- or$4-million price tags of larger sponsorships.

Gray says the trade portion of Metropolitan’s Olympicsponsorship included advanced direct-mail marketingmaterials and a case-bound book to launch the brand andmascots a year before the Games. (He adds that the bookrequired extreme security measures against prematuremedia leaks.) But Gray says the lion’s share of their print-ing obligations came six to eight months before the Gamesand included visitor guides and tear-off maps, posters,

Olympian Printing

Left: Metropolitan Fine Printers’ Business Development Manager, NikosKallas, during his portion of the Olympic flame relay. Above: Bob Faulkner (in front), a world-class adventure racer and VP of Sales and Marketing at Met Printers, assists former Vancouver mayor Sam Sullivan with his torch run.

Metropolitan Fine Printers’ PresidentGeorge Kallas carrying the Olympic

flame through the Vancouver area justhours before the Winter Games began.

Graphics for the award-winning Richmond Olympic Oval building were fabricated inpart by BC’s Ampco Grafix.

short-run manuals for judges and athletes,and longer runs of handbooks for volun-teers. (The handbooks had poly-sleeves tocollect papers and a plastic, silicone-var-nished cover for protection against the ele-ments.) Metropolitan also executed severallast-minute jobs, including the Paralympicsopening ceremonies book the week beforethe event.

“Of course, we did everything to fulfillour sponsorship obligations, but out of asense of pride we also ended up doing a lot more – including a ton of planning, estimating, and staff secondments,” Grayexplains. “VANOC’s $6-million budget wasset years ago when they made their originalOlympic bid and well before the recent eco-nomic meltdown had altered the value of

the dollar. So it took us tons of backendwork to guide them through the practicaladjustments they needed to make, to reducethe size of their budget to a more feasibleamount for today’s economy.

“When needed, we also seconded variousmembers of our staff who represented halfa dozen different skill sets – including pre-press operators and production coordina-tors to help build files, plan projects, ortroubleshoot jobs either here or atVANOC’s premises,” Gray continues.

Ovals and floating billboardsAmpco Grafix’s recent victories have in-cluded helping to wrap the RichmondOlympic Oval in 58,000 square feet oflarge-format vinyl graphics celebrating theGames. This magnificent speed-skatingvenue, built by the City of Richmond for$178-million, quietly won several awardsfor design excellence – one from the RoyalArchitectural Institute of Canada and another from the Institution of StructuralEngineers (besting Beijing’s equally mag-nificent Bird’s Nest national stadium).

Ampco is a division of a larger entity,Ampco Manufacturers Inc., which pro-

MARCH 2010 • PRINTACTION • 15

xpedx.ca

GROWING YOUR WAY

xpedx is on the move, with more locations, products and peopleto serve you exceptionally well. As Canada's fastest growing business-to-business distributor, we've been

expanding nationally to become your most trusted print and packaging partner. We’re part of

International Paper, Fortune Magazine’s #1 Most Admired Company (industry champion), and we have

just one goal: to help your business grow.

Our team of industry experts will deliver quality products to your door, from paper, packaging and

graphic supplies to exclusive RYOBI equipment. We’ll work with you to save costs, streamline processes

and increase your bottom line.

Ready to work together?Call xpedx today.

xpedx Canada, an International Paper Company ©

2010

T O R O N T O905 595-4390

V A N C O U V E R604 412-4800

E D M O N T O N780 486-7500

C A L G A R Y403 730-9393

xpedx. Let’s grow.Continued on page 34

A new BC Ferry, adorned with Coastal Celebration graphics produced by Ampco Grafix,making its rounds near Vancouver.

Pho

to: E

lix P

erth

, Flic

kr

George Kallas and Michaëlle Jean, Canada’sGovernor General, at the ancient Olympicstadium in Greece.

Met Printers produced the bid book supporting Vancouver’s effort to secure the 2010Winter Games.

34 • PRINTACTION • MARCH 2010

• Foil Stamping • Embossing • Die Cutting • Holography • Letterpress

(905) 827-6009Fax: (905) 827-5228

houseoffoil@bellnet.ca1428 Speers Road, Units 13 & 14, Oakville, ON L6L 5M1

SPECIALTY PRINTING

6-Colour Mitsubishi 40” w/AQ5-Colour Mitsubishi 40” w/Perfector4-Colour Heidelberg 25” w/AQCTP & Film OutputOver 25,000 sq ft facility

Best deal on time on budgetBest deal on time on budget

T: 416-299-8568 F: 416-299-3977Prompt estimates

When you have deadlines to meet…

Trade PrintingFast turnaround & competitive trade pricing

E: bestdeal@on.aibn.com

BROKER / ACCOUNT PROTECTED

www.bestdealgraphicsprinting.com20 Production Dr. Scarborough, Ontario M1H 2X8

NEW 24/7 ProductionFull In-house Bindery and FinishingColour Posters, Brochures, Flyers, Books, Catalogues, Etc

Toll Free: 1-866-719-3339

TRADE PRINTING

Tel: 416.740.3388Toll-Free: 1.888.388.5538

CANADIANPRINTINGRESOURCESINC.

CANADIANPRINTINGRESOURCESINC.

CANADIANPRINTINGRESOURCESINC.

See our ad on page 38

sales@canadianprintingresources.com

Leslie Electric Ltd.Servicing the printing industry since 1914• SHEET FED PRESSES • WEB PRESSES

• BINDERY EQUIPMENT • SPRAYER SYSTEMS • ELECTRONICS

• ELECTRIC MOTOR REPAIR

24 Hour Emergency Service

(416) 259-6385Fax. (416) 259-6387

forinstallations, maintenance& repairs on all equipment

Graphic Arts Specialists

X-PRESS416-410-9006

ELECTRIC SERVICES LTD.

Candar Technologies Inc.Solutions to Your Bindery and Related Machines

Bindery and… more• Complete machine shop

• Service and parts, mechanical and electrical• Machines relocated

• Rebuild machines with upgrades and guarantee• Stitchers , perfect binders, folders, cutters

• Stackers, collators and conveyors• Inserters – we build specialty machines

Tel: 416 201-0175 • Fax: 416 201-0181

EQUIPMENT SERVICES & REPAIR

6 & 7-1440 Graham’s LaneBurlington, ON L7S 1W3

Phone: (800) 547-8848Fax: (800) 705-9881

Superior ServiceProgressive Technology

FREE Daily pick up & delivery in the Western G.T.A.Visit www.petersdies.com to learn more!

STEEL RULE DIES

STRINGING

UV COATING SERVICES

duces screen-printed labels, lexan overlays,membrane switches and electronic compo-nents for original equipment manufactur-ers. Dann Konkin’s parents Tom and Geristarted the operation 30 years ago, beforeKonkin got involved in 1976 and took overas president in 1995.

For the Oval job, Ampco used a strategiccombination of substrates to provide 100percent block-out. In an even more dra-matic feat, Ampco wrapped three Vancou-ver ferries recently purchased by theprovince of BC. “I’m told it’s the largest ma-rine application of vinyl graphics everdone,” says Konkin.

It took them some 30 days per boat toprint the graphics on a 6-colour VUTEk150 and an 8-colour VUTEk 3360, and thentransport the graphics to a German ship-yard for installation ahead of the new ves-sels hitting the water. Konkin says on eachferry the wrapping process applied 40,500-square feet of material, split into 700 panelsmeasuring 11 feet long by 53 inches widethat resembled gigantic, temperature-sen-sitive wallpaper.

In September 2007, the first ferry wasfinished and launched on a 45-day voyagepast Europe, the Canary Islands and Africa,across the Atlantic, through the PanamaCanal, and up the coastlines of Mexico andthe United States before finally reachingBC. In essence, the wrap graphics trans-formed the ferry into a floating billboard,and its long journey helped promote theGames at every port of call. The ferry nowtransports passengers between the lowermainland and Vancouver Island, alongwith two other new boats that followed inJanuary and May of 2008.

“Although we had never taken on as biga challenge as the ferries before, we felt wealready had the expertise to do it, since weprovide specialized programs and prod-ucts for the heavy-truck market,” recountsKonkin. “We were also eager to prove toour longtime business partner 3M Canadathat we had the capability to manage aproject that large, so they would look

favourably at our company as a key part-ner for the 2010 Winter Olympics.” In2007, VANOC named 3M as the officialsupplier of all the large-format graphicsfor the 2010 Winter Games.

Konkin says the Olympics-related part-nerships he forged have yielded his com-pany a hand in such additional projects asmurals and wall graphics for Vancouver In-ternational Airport and wrappings for suchVancouver monuments as the HillcrestCurling Rink, the False Creek Olympic Ath-letes Village, and the headquarters of CTV,the official Canadian broadcaster of theGames. Ampco has also printed and in-stalled graphics on 18 vehicles for theOlympic torch relay, 500 bus graphics forlocal transit and Vancouver-Whistlercoaches, 4,200 VANOC vehicles, Alberta’sRocky Mountaineer tourist trains provid-ing rail service between Vancouver andWhistler, and two single-engine Sea Ottersfor Harbour Air Ltd., an all-seaplane BCairline.

He marvels: “I don’t know what I can donext to top this one, but absolutely I’mgoing to try. More opportunities exist outthere that I’m sure other business peopleand I aren’t even thinking about yet.”

Turning games into serious businessSo how did purchasing the Olympic spon-sorship help Met Printers’ business? “Be-sides being a fascinating experience to workwith VANOC because of the sheer scope ofthe project, our company has gained valu-able media coverage and word-of-mouthreferrals reinforcing the fact that we aresports-minded,” explains Gray. “Becomingidentified with sports marketing has beenhelpful for us in generating new business,since it’s a unique field that it is very trend-oriented. You have to understand the mindset of the clients and the mechanics of howtheir market, merchandising, and distribu-tion channels work, as well as keeping youreye on current trends in the hipster scene.You need to keep watch on what the kids insports culture think is cool through theirInternet links, interactive blogs, and trademagazines.”

In fact, Gray confides that Metropoli-tan has grown its client base significantlyas a direct result of the company’s partic-ipation in the Olympics. For instance, al-though Metropolitan had worked withNike over the previous decade, itsOlympic participation gained the com-pany access to new and different depart-ments of the client company.

Through third-hand relationships with

Gaitskell Continued from page 15

Continued on page 37

MARCH 2010 • PRINTACTION • 37

1 Side 2 Sides

1 Side 2 Sides

12” x 18” - 100LB

12” x 18” - 14PT

0

101

251

501

0

101

251

501

100

250

500

1000

100

250

500

1000

$0.40

$0.29

$0.26

$0.24

$0.46

$0.35

$0.32

$0.30

$0.54

$0.43

$0.39

$0.37

$0.60

$0.49

$0.45

$0.43

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

Prices include printing on 100lb Gloss or Silk Stock (95 Bright!). Maximum image area

including bleed is 11.375 x 17.125. PDF files only. Printed at 230 linescreen, Proofs & finishing extra

Prices include printing on 14pt C2S Gloss (95 Bright!) or 13pt 100% Recycled Stock (91

Bright!) Maximum image area including bleed is 11.375 x 17.125. PDF files only. Printed at 230

linescreen, Proofs & finishing extra

AVAILABLE COATINGS

INSTANT QUOTES

. Aqueous Coating . Matte Lamination. UV Gloss. SPOT UV

SAMEDAYDIGITAL PRINTS

5000cards.com/digital.aspx1-866-689-2677

DIGITAL PRINTING

GaitskellContinued from page 34

Committed to Fine Quality:BooksBindersLetterpressFoil stampingEmbossingDie CuttingSteel Die EngravingFinishing

T 416 757 9991F 416 757 2040ansteybookbinding.com

Canada’s Largest Trade FinishersSpecializing in:

• FOIL STAMPING UP TO 50”• HOLOGRAM STAMPING• EMBOSSING• DIE CUTTING• FOLDING AND GLUING• UV COATING• SPOT UV COATING• FILM LAMINATING• HEAT SEAL LAMINATING

All the above services are done in our 50,000 square foot building

5 Bodrington Court, Markham, ON L6G 1A6Tel: 905-940-4900 • Fax 905-940-2066

1-800-334-5150

SIZES FROM 2" X 3" TO 22" X 30"

High Quality & Prompt Service

Fax: (905) 780-8682Tel: (905) 780-8680

! FOIL STAMPING

! EMBOSSING

! DIE CUTTING

"""

556 Edward Avenue, Unit 61Richmond Hill, ONL4C 9Y5

PRINTING & EMBOSSING

VANOC, Metropolitan has leveraged newprojects with the U.S. Olympic Committee,the London 2012 Olympics, the provincesof BC and Alberta, the federal government,the City of Vancouver, and such largeOlympic sponsors as Visa and Samsung.The company has also landed new jobsfrom Olympic licensees – not the officialsponsors, but companies licensed byVANOC to produce work like commemo-rative books, calendars, or limited-editionart prints in custom packaging for thank-you gifts to athletes. Another new relation-ship with Sport BC continually introducesMetropolitan to other corporate players inthe sporting world.

“There is a ton of business available ifyou’re dialed in enough to the sources to secure it, or else willing to do all the incredible legwork required to chase theopportunities down and leverage them intojobs,” concludes Gray.

Canada’s next big oneAs the above examples suggest, partneringwith large international events and festivalsis typically a sound strategic risk for print-ing companies. And for those with the skillto leverage strategic business relationshipsinto play, it does not necessarily involvespending millions of dollars on licensedsponsorships.

Now is the time for enterprising Cana-dian printers to uncover similar opportu-nities through the 2015 Pan AmericanGames. The Pan American Sports Organi-zation of Mexico recently selected Torontoas their 2015 host city, with related eventsscheduled throughout southern Ontario’sGolden Horseshoe area.

The estimated budget for the Games of$1.4 billion includes construction of a new15,000-seat Hamilton stadium and newvelodrome, with an additional $1-billion al-located to build an athletes village in theWest Don Lands to help revitalize Toronto’swaterfront.

To oversee these massive undertakings,the province of Ontario has already ap-pointed a 12-member board of directors,including Canadian Olympic Committeemembers, former sports medalists, andsuch business heavyweights as St. JosephCommunications Executive Chairman andCEO Tony Gagliano, and former Four Sea-sons hotel executive Roger Garland as chair.Just last month, the board hired as its CEOmultinational business executive Ian Troop,whose experience includes 28 years in thefood-packaging industry, to assemble a sen-ior management team, build the infra-structure, and plan the 2015 Games.

Printers searching for related businessopportunities would do well to followAmpco’s and Metropolitan’s leads by plan-ning well ahead, watching closely for newdevelopments, cultivating strategic rela-tionships, and researching sponsorship andsupplier opportunities from every angle.Above all, they should be strategizing onnew ways to leverage whatever goods andservices they provide best into even morebig wins.

Victoria Gaitskell is a veteran print and electronic journalist both outside and insidethe printing industry. Her interests includebusiness, personnel, and communicationtrends and strategies. She is keen to sharethoughts and discuss story ideas with readersat victoria.gaitskell@sympatico.ca.