Special Edition

“Global reach with a personal touch” is how Jeff Brink referred to the March 1st acquisition of P.H. Brink International by the Merrill Corporation, a provider of diversified communications and documentation services. The new company is to be called Merrill Brink International and has plans to become a major factor in worldwide translation and localization. Jeff Brink will be the Chief Operating Officer and will bring Brink’s technology and solutions platform to the combined business. Claes Holm will serve as President, driving an aggressive growth strategy for the new company.

One competitor commented, “This comes as no surprise as Merrill has been ramping up their activities in this industry of late and have been asking a lot of questions.”

Rory Cowan, who is CEO of Lionbridge and who also has a background in the printing and documentation industry, told Money Talks, “First, congratulations to Brink pere et fils. It is gratifying to have your life’s work recognized in such a fashion. Second, this transaction is a good event for the industry. The demands of our customers exceed the capital formation capabilities of smaller companies…software, hardware, geographic reach and training needs all combine to create a voracious demand for working and intellectual capital. The resources of a corporate parent of Merrill’s strength and global presence will undoubtedly satisfy this need.”

Merrill was founded in 1968 and is known for its work in documentation and printing. Interestingly, this brings another printer to the industry as Bowne Global Solutions is a major factor in the financial printing industry.

The origins of P.H. Brink go back to 1967. I first ran into the company in 1987 when I opened up a Minneapolis office for Euramerica, then part of the Ogilvy Advertising Agency which, through a series of convoluted mergers, is now part of Bowne Global Solutions. I was welcomed as a real competitor to that market, and a Brinks spokesman at the time noted, “Now there are two of us in this market charging fair value for our services.” And along with Brink, we formed the International Marketing and Advertising Association, which brought together international marketers for seminars and networking. It was a forerunner of the type of effort being made by the Fusion Society today.

Our best wishes to the new company.

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John Freivalds is Managing Director of JFA Marketing and publisher of The Periodic Tables (Languages, Money, First Class and Toasts). He can be reached at jfa@direcway.com.