Baesman CEO Rod Baesman said in a statement, "We are excited and confident the combined resources will provide new levels of expertise and capabilities, as well as growth opportunities throughout Columbus, and the Midwest."

In an interview with PrintWeek, Baesman marketing VP Patrick Heinzman added, "All three organizations are headquartered in Columbus, but the acquisitions have enabled us to expand our geographic reach through some of their clients."

Heinzman suggested Baesman did not pick up much in the way of equipment with either acquisition, but stressed the deals, most notably the ColorTech deal, have enabled the company to expand its offerings. "The Baesman Group sweet spot has been very high end, high volume sheetfed printing," he explained. "Through the Colortech acquisition we were able to acquire the capability to do higher-end, lower volume printing, both sheetfed and digital - and we're finding there's a lot of need for that."

Heinzman also stressed that Baesman picked up employees from both acquisitions, noting, "People asked us if we just bought the client lists and terminated everybody - we did not."

While Columbus will never be top of mind when people think of direct mail, its location in the heart of the American Midwest does have some advantages. "Columbus is a Zone 2 area for FedEx and UPS, which allows us to get our clients inventory out of Columbus in a pretty timely way," Heinzman said. "Our reach is nationwide, and many clients want to centrally locate their printing capabilities with us, because being in a Zone 2 area allows us to get fairly favorable rates and very timely shipping."

Heinzman continued that while Baesman's main focus continues to be in print direct mail, "We have the capabilities to do any sort of brochures; and warehousing, kit packing and shipping. We have bindery and stitching capabilities so we can handle all the printing needs of our clients. We also have a marketing services division that can handle development and implementation of email campaigns as well."

Heinzman also pointed out that - at least in the Middle America - the direct mail industry is showing surprising resilience. "We found 2009 and the beginning of 2010 to be affected by the economic situation, but for the later part of 2010 and into 2011 we've seen an increase in business as retailers are beginning to invest in the print medium again," he said.