BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT: Associates International, Inc.

BY REGINA DONATO

It’s undeniable that the invention of the printing press was one of the most defining moments in human history. Centuries later, we are now moving into a digital world. Books and newspapers have long been exchanged by many for their digital counterparts, with content being digested on phones, tablets, and computers. This rapid digitalization was only expedited with the onset of a global pandemic, forcing millions to work and learn from their personal devices at home. And yet, print remains an important industry that many still utilize, which makes the remaining printing businesses like Wilmington-based Associates International, Inc. all-the-more important.

Associates International, Inc. (AI) was founded in 1973 as a local typesetting services company, and they subsequently expanded into commercial printing. Today, they are a full-service provider of print and digital marketing solutions across numerous professional industries. You may be familiar with their work—this very article was printed in a magazine produced by AI. However, AI is not immune to the challenges that being a company who sells print in a digital world comes with. According to Joe Farley, Jr., COO of Associates International, approximately 80 percent of the work they produce is still commercial print. But the other 20 percent comes from packaging, promotional items, website development, ecommerce platforms, and their in-house digital marketing service: Ai360.

Like many other businesses, the pandemic forced AI to quickly adapt to the rapidly changing world around them. “What was probably a five-to-seven-year transformation to more of a digital marketing and communications world got accelerated into 18 months due to the pandemic,” Farley explains. The need for certain print pieces severely diminished with the onset of lockdowns and capacity holds. Print menus were foregone for QR codes and tradeshow materials were made obsolete as events moved virtual.

A reduced need for their core line of products is not the only issue Associates International and other manufacturers have run into. There are simply not enough workers for the skilled labor positions they desperately need to fill. Those who are seeking manufacturing jobs are often going to the larger conglomerate businesses and warehouses, who can offer attractive signing bonuses and higher pay. Retraining programs like Forward Delaware or encouraging training programs to graduating high school seniors is a start, but in the short-term finding workers for small businesses continues to be a challenge. To combat this, AI has started offering competitive signing bonuses and increased benefit packages to attract new employees and retain current ones.

Supply chain issues are another problem entirely. “Our core product is print, and we are facing significant challenges sourcing paper,” remarks Farley. “As strange as that sounds. We have lost significant business over the last six-to-eight weeks because we can’t get the raw materials to produce what our clients are asking us to.” In response, AI has taken to working with clients to project future work, therefore prioritizing material sourcing months in advance.

While some believe our society has begun to move away from print, Farley and others within the industry are confident this classic mode of communication is here to stay. “We are moving towards a more personalized era of print,” says Farley. “It is evolving much like any other form of communication. As opposed to large runs of static pieces, you will get individualized pieces tailored to your customers. A direct mail campaign five years ago might have consisted of 10,000 postcards dropped to targeted geographical areas. Today, that same campaign would be drilled down to 3,000 targeted households with the same offer also served digitally.” At the end of the day, the way you reach your customers is evolving, and successful companies are evolving with it.