WARREN WILKINS NAMED 2003 PRINTER OF THE YEAR! (OCTOBER 2003)

Warren Wilkins, Chief Executive Officer and former President of Webcom Limited, has been selected as Printer of the Year for 2003 by the publishers and editors of Graphic Monthly. He is the second recipient of this honor, the first being Dick Kouwenhoven of Hemlock Printers, in 2002.

Each year, Graphic Monthly bestows the award on the printer who best fits the following two criteria:

• A printer who, in the course of building his or her business, has changed the industry and placed his or her mark upon it.
• A printer who has also made a contribution to the betterment of the industry as a whole.

Warren Wilkins was an easy choice for the award this year. Webcom Limited ranked No. 24 on the Graphic Monthly Gold List of Top 100 Printers this June, with annual sales of $77 million. Webcom is widely known as one of Canada's most successful book printers, largely because Warren blazed a trail with the shrewd use of new technology over the decades. Warren admits that he sees his keen interest in staying on the cutting edge of technology as key to Webcom's success. But more important than that are the people he employs. "People plus technology equals more with less," he says.

Industry peers point to Warren's ability to understand new technology - and capitalize on it - as one of the chief reasons for his success. Warren saw the possibility of using the double-parallel format of the web press to print one- and two-color books when no one else in North America had. "He's an innovator and a pioneer", says David Friesen, President of Manitoba-based Friesens Corp. and fellow book printer. The majority of books printed in black and white in Canada are now done via web presses. Warren, perhaps too modestly, says he was just lucky that he turned out to be right.

But he's known for much more than his business success. He is a staunch supporter of the Canadian Printing Industries Association (CPIA), having served as its chairman, and having made significant financial contributions to its initiatives - such as Webcom's $100,000 donation in 2001 to the Canadian Printing Industries Scholarship Trust Fund (CPISTF), which had been languishing.

His reputation crosses borders, for he also served as Chief of Washington, D.C.-based Printing Industries Association (PIA) in 2000, only the third Canadian to do so. When asked what he's gained from his involvement he points to the friendships and business relationships he's formed. Says Warren, "You make good friends and you benefit from it." He adds, "there are companies that don't believe in them or can't afford to join, but they benefit from the work that the associations do."

Warren is someone who embraces life. At 75, he remains as CEO of Webcom, though his third son Jeff runs the company as President. His reason for working, according to Warren is his wife Willy. He explains, "Willy wants me to retire and she's got a two-page list of projects for me. It's so much easier to come here." As for future plans, Warren intends to indulge his passion for traveling and his love of skiing, fishing and gardening when he's not plotting Webcom's next move.

Warren will be inducted into Graphic Monthly's Hall of Fame at special event at Ryerson University's Heidelberg Centre.

Portions of this article have been reprinted with permission from Graphic Monthly Magazine, October 2003, Volume 23, No. 4.

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