By Jenny Callison
Enquirer contributor

Brian Frank, left, executive vice president, and Joe Desch, president, of PrintManagement, LLC in Fairfax, photographed Monday March 29, 2004 in front of a Komori 5 color printer. (Gary Landers/The Cincinnati Enquirer)

FAIRFAX - Joe Desch's list of goals as a new business owner did not include becoming an expert in disaster recovery. But a tornado leveled his office three days before he opened.

Desch, a partner in a printing brokerage, was looking forward to launching his own printing company, Print Management. He rented space on Millington Court in Blue Ash and furnished it using his own money.

"I wanted to control my own destiny and decided to pursue more of a manufacturing status rather than being a printing distributor," he said. He was taking several customers with him, now actually doing their printing instead of procuring the printing from other sources.

The April 9, 1999, tornado temporarily derailed those plans.

PRESSING AHEAD

When he started his own company in 1999, Joe Desch was able to retain almost all of the customers he had served as a printing broker. Print Management has grown from a four-person company that posted $1.5 million in sales in 2000 to a 33-person company that is on track to top $7.5 million this year. That figure represents more than 30 percent growth over 2003, Desch says. Print Management is at 3950 Virginia Ave. In addition to its plant in Fairfax the company maintains a sales office in Centerville. Information: 272-7000 or www.printmgmt.com.

The tornado came at about 5:30 a.m. on a Friday the week before Print Management was to open. The damage included the loss of the building and everything inside, including computer equipment, office furniture and customer files.

Within 30 minutes, Desch was on site surveying the wreckage. Within an hour he had his insurance agent on the phone. The agent had bad news: his business policy wouldn't take effect until Sunday night and so wouldn't cover the damage.

Fortunately, he had paid by personal check for the office furniture and computer equipment, so his homeowner's policy kicked in, and he had postponed the purchase of printing equipment, which that policy probably would not have covered.

"Some stuff, like files, was never recovered. But we were able to save some things such as customer artwork because we had backup computer files," he said. "Then I re-researched and repurchased everything.

"I made decisions as quickly as possible so I could move on and stay in contact with my customers. I wanted them to see absolutely no interruption in their service."

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The rebuilding process

"You hear people say, 'If I had it to do all over again, I would,' " says Brian Frank, whom Desch took on as a business partner about three years ago. "Joe only had to wait about 12 hours to say that."

The tornado delayed Print Management's opening by about 30 days. Tom Gallenstein, owner of the flattened building, found his tenant temporary space on nearby Creek Road.

But Print Management hadn't seen the last of bad luck. A fierce windstorm in spring 2000 blew an air conditioning unit off the roof. While re-installing it, two workmen fell through the roof into the company's office space (they were OK). That summer, lightning struck the building, frying the company's server.

What the company has learned, said Desch, is "you can't plan enough.

"Now we keep all our customer art files - which are very valuable - backed up and stored offsite. We have our entire computer system monitored and backed up offsite."

Print Management carries the level of insurance recommended by its agent.

"We figure that we have the percentages with us now," Desch joked.

Moving on

Gallenstein didn't rebuild. So the printer began looking for a building to buy along Interstate 71, one that would suit his growing firm.

He was looking for about 6,000 to 8,000 square feet more than the 4,000 square feet he was renting but bought a 21,000-square-foot building on Virginia Avenue that his firm has since expanded to fill.

When Frank came aboard in 2001, he brought years of experience in computer sales, software development and telecommunications marketing technologies. Print Management has added graphic design, fulfillment, bulk mail and marketing components.

"If we just tried to put ink on paper like 450 other companies in town, we'd just be one of 450 printers," Desch said. "We look at solving problems for our clients. That's where we're seeing opportunities."

"As we move forward, it's about what we know in graphics and print and wrapping it in technology that allows our customers to operate as efficiently as possible," Frank added. "We're really a marketing communications company with a core competency in design and commercial printing."

E-mail jcallison@zoomtown.com