Harry Quadracci Dies - Founder of Quad Graphics

Quad Graphics ^ | July 29, 2002

[WIMom]

Quad/Graphics was founded on July 13, 1971, by Harry V. Quadracci, president, who initiated operations in an abandoned millwork factory in Pewaukee, Wisconsin, using a $35,000 second mortgage on his home and capital raised from a handful of associates. Our beginnings were humble: 11 employees, a rented press and a borrowed binder housed in a 20,000-square-foot building.  

As with most new concerns, the first years were lean. Establishing rural Pewaukee as a printing mecca was no easy task. An occasional customer would trickle in, but usually only because no other printer would take the work. "We were pretty much known as the company that could do anything, and if we couldn't do it, we would find a way … and it would get done," said Bill Deja, vice president of Transportation.

Landing Newsweek in 1978 signified a turning point for our fledgling company. The weekly magazine work enabled us to establish a consistent workload and the opportunity to prove ourselves as a quality-minded, innovative print services provider.  In fact, Newsweek has honored Quad/Graphics as its Printer of the Year for the past 15 consecutive years, recognizing, among other factors, our can-do-against-all-odds attitude. So proficient have we become at weekly magazine production, Quad/Graphics now prints numerous weekly titles that capitalize on many of our industry-first capabilities. 

In the early to mid-'80s, Quad/Graphics experienced a fast and furious growth spurt, sometimes realizing as much as 40 percent growth in VAM in a single year. We expanded our U.S. facilities from Pewaukee 5 miles north to Sussex, then points farther north,  south, east and west. Our international locations complement our expansive domestic network.  What does the future hold? As Mr. Quadracci says, "We'll tell you when we get there." As we continue on our journey, we'll no doubt conquer more milestones and all the while  follow a long-held belief: if you build plants, work will come.

[WIMom]

Any additional information, please post here. I just heard on the radio, he was found dead in a lake. That's all I know.

[Catspaw]

You're kidding. He DIED? And only weeks after the collapse of the building and the fire....

[Catspaw]

Just up on the Journal Sentinel website:

Quadracci dies in apparent drowning

From the Journal Sentinel

Last Updated: July 29, 2002

President and founder of Quad/Graphics, Harry V. "Larry" Quadracci, 66, died Monday in an apparent drowning in Pine Lake, near his Chenequa home. His body was discovered around 3 p.m. in about 4.5 feet of water after he had been missing all day, the Chenequa Police Department said. The cause of death was under investigation and the Waukesha County medical examiner will be conducting an autopsy.

[WIMom]

My husband works for them, he's very upset right now. Word is just trickling out. Yes, on top of the fire.... Info is coming in, bits and pieces.

[Jean S]

He lived on Pine Lake in Chenequa, WI. I wonder if that's the lake they found him in.
He had a cannon he used to fire into the lake, with live cannonballs, every year on the Fourth of July. His neighbors stopped it after years of complaining!
I'm so sorry to hear this, he was a good man and he did a lot for Wisconsin.

[WIMom]

He did a lot for the country. He's a true entrepreneur. He stated Quad with nothing, and for 6 months people who believed in him did not get paid; to a 2 billion dollar a year PRIVATE, NON-UNION corporation in 25 years .... the man did a lot for the US. Mike said they have been in the process of training a successor. I don't know if it's one of his kids though.

[quietolong]

bump

[Mike-o-Matic]

Wow, this is very sad news. The man built an empire and created a boatload of jobs.

Anybody know if he was having any health problems right after the fire (such as heart problems due to the stress)? That had to be really hard on his well-being.

[WIMom]

I asked my husband that, (his sister also worked for Quad and reported to Harry and has no new informaition) and he had a clean bill of health from what he knows. Right now, it looks like an accident. Maybe heart attack? Pure speculation.

[mafree]

OMG! I sure am shocked and sorry to hear this. He was a good businessman and corporate citizen. God rest his soul.

[WIMom]

On top of the fire, this is a huge story. Quad was a 2 billion, with a B, private, non-union company.

[WIMom]

Harry Quadracci

[WIMom]

I've just been, exploring the Quad Graphics web page. It's really a great site. Lots of personal stories about this company. Please take a moment to explore it. Quad represents the American spirit.

[kylaka]

Quad didn't need a union. They provided better wages and benefits than most private industries, and every level of government. Harry did it right. He was a unique person.

[WIMom]

Thanks for the post, I couldn't agree more.

[mafree]

Good link- will go back when they update it.

[Semi Civil Servant]

I'm often rabidly critical of corporate heads. The species has devolved over the decades into a group of jackals with loyalties to no one and nothing but themselves. (Yes, there are exceptions.)

In a time when we are witnessing the very worst in American business, Harry Quadracci represented the absolute best. He was a managerial genius who trusted his workers and let them decide their own economic fates. Quad/Graphics is one of the very few companies where "management" and the "workers" adore one another. Amazing.

If our corporate ruling class had followed the lead of Harry Quadracci -- instead of the parasite they chose to follow, "Chainsaw Al" Dunlap -- this country would be far better off today, and in more than an economic way.

Goodbye, Harry. You were one of the great ones.

[littleleaguemom]

This is so sad and a big shock, personally and to my business. Quad has printed my catalog for many years. I never met Harry, as the day I visited the plant was his dad's funeral, and he and much of the staff with him were obviously otherwise engaged. He will be sorely missed.

[freebilly]

I publish 20+ coupon magazines/year that Quad Graphics prints. He's a legend in the industry....