In an interview with PrintWeek, John Torrey, the new president of Ferrostaal's US business, and previously at xpedx explained, "Ferrostaal already operates in 40 countries representing manufacturers, but they've wanted to enter the US and Canada so the Ryobi printing press opportunity opens the door to these markets. The printing press is a starting point for Ferrostaal and they represent Ryobi already in a lot of other countries -  that's why it was a natural fit."  

Though most of the major equipment suppliers have dedicated sales and support staff in the US, some, most recently Heidelberg USA, have restructured operations to adapt to overcapacity and reduced sales in the US.

"The way commercial printers buy products has changed dramatically," Torrey explained. "A lot of these manufacturers can't afford an entire sales organization, so they look to companies like Ferrostaal, which is one of the only ones with a worldwide reach, and take advantage of our support."

Torrey said this is an exclusive deal with Japanese manufacturer Ryobi in the US and Canada, adding Ferrostaal is looking to build out a network of independent dealers in the US so they can represent the company in different markets and provide local service and sales.

"Our start date is October 1st and there's a transition taking place because xpedx had the distribution rights in the United States and those are being transitioned right now," said Torrey, a 29-year print industry veteran, whose most recent job was as the VP/general manager responsible for capital equipment at xpedx.

"Xpedx corporate strategy had changed and Ferrostaal was able to come in and build an efficient model basically to bring information on new equipment to US printers," Torrey said.