Profile: American Reprographics Company (ARP.N)

American Reprographics Company (ARC) is a reprographics company in the United States providing business-to-business document management services to the architectural, engineering and construction (AEC) industry. The Company also provides these services to companies in non-AEC industries, such as technology, financial services, retail, entertainment, and food and hospitality. The business-to-business services ARC provides to its customers include document management, document distribution and logistics, print-on-demand. It also combines these services and offers them on-site in its customers’ offices, referred to as facilities management. The Company provides its services through its suite of reprographics technology products, a network of approximately 300 locally branded reprographics service centers, and approximately 5,600 facilities management programs at its customer’s locations. ARC also sells reprographics equipment and supplies to complement its service offerings.

In July 2009, the Company announced the acquisition of the assets of Shanghai Light Business Machines Co., Ltd., a provider of document reproduction equipment, supplies and reprographics services to the Shanghai business community by Shanghai UNIS Printing Technology Co., Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of UNIS Document Solutions Co., Ltd. (UDS), its joint venture in China. UDS is a joint venture agreement between American Reprographics Company, and China-based Unisplendour Corporation Limited. In October 2008, the Company announced the acquisition of Reprographics Fort Worth, Inc., a provider of document management, document reproduction, and related services to the architectural, engineering and construction industry in Central Texas. In October 2008, the Company acquired The Reprographics Warehouse Ltd. In July 2008, the Company announced the acquisition of the assets of The Blueprint Company (TBC). In July 2008, ARC also announced the acquisition of the assets of Hudson Blueprint Company, a provider of reproduction, document management and related services in New Jersey. In February 2008, Applied Software announced that it has acquired the Atlanta-based operations of the Software Solutions Group of Imaging Technologies, a division of the Company.

As of December 31, 2008, the Company operated 299 reprographics service centers, including 291 service centers in 206 cities in 39 states throughout the United States and the District of Columbia, eight reprographics service centers in Canada, one in United Kingdom and a joint venture company in China with three locations. Its reprographics service centers are located in close proximity to the majority of its customers and offer pickup and delivery services within a 15 to 30 mile radius. It services approximately 160,000 active customers.

ARC stores, organizes, prints and tracks AEC and non-AEC project documents using a variety of digital tools. The Company provides integrated document distribution and logistics, which consist of tracking document users, packaging prints, addressing and coordinating services for shipment (either in hard copy or electronic form), as well as local pick-up and delivery of documents to multiple locations within tight time constraints.

The Company produces small and large-format documents in black and white or color using digital scanning and printing devices. ARC’s AEC customers work primarily with high volumes of large-format construction plans and small-format specification documents. The Company's non-AEC customers generally require services that apply to black and white and color small format documents, promotional documents of all sizes, and the digital distribution of document files to multiple locations for a variety of print-on-demand needs, including short-run digital publishing.

ARC’s Internet-based planroom, and its suite of other reprographics software products enable the online purchase and fulfillment of document management services. The Company’s production services include print-on-demand, document assembly, document finishing, mounting, laminating, binding and kitting. ARC’s document distribution and logistics include the physical pick up, delivery and shipping of documents. The Company offers customized large and small format reprographics in color, and black and white. This includes digital reproduction of posters, tradeshow displays, plans, banners, signage and maps. ARC’s facilities management services include recurring onsite document management services and staffing at its customers’ locations. The Company sells reprographics equipment and supplies and licenses software to other reprographics companies and end users in the AEC industry.

The Company designs and develops other document management and reprographics software, in addition to PlanWell, that supports ordering, tracking, job estimating, and other customer specific accounting information for a variety of projects and services. These applications include Electronic Work Order (EWO), MetaPrint Abacus, BidCaster Invitation-to-Bid (ITB), MetaPrint Print Automation and Device Manager, OneView Document Access and Customer Administration System, and Sub-Hub.

EWO offers the Company’s customers access to the services of all of its service centers through the Internet. MetaPrint Abacus provides a suite of software modules for reprographers and their customers to track documents produced from equipment installed as a part of a facilities management program. ITB is a data management Internet application inside PlanWell Enterprise that issues customizable invitations to bid from a customer’s desktop using e-mail and a hosted fax server. MetaPrint Print Automation and Device Manager is a universal print driver that facilitates the printing of documents with output devices manufactured by multiple vendors, and allows the reprographer to print multiple documents in various formats as a single print submission. OneView Document Access and Customer Administration System is an Internet-based application that leverages the security attributes of PlanWell to provide a single point of access to all of a customer’s project documents inside PlanWell planrooms, regardless of which of its local production facilities stores the relevant documents. Sub-Hub is an Internet-based application that notifies subscribers of upcoming construction jobs in their markets and allows them to view plans online and order paper copies from a reprographer.

The Company competes with Service Point USA, Thomas Reprographics, Inc., ABC Imaging, LLC and National Reprographics Inc.