Achorn Graphics

Company Description

• Full range of composition services, including copyediting, illustration and figure production, typesetting, proofreading
• Quality service was the hallmark of Achorn’s enduring customer relationships

Investment Approach

• Achorn Graphics had failed to keep pace with the industry’s conversion to digital services causing sales erosion and dwindling margins
• Cat Trail partners recognized the opportunity to redirect working capital away from labor intensive production methods to digital applications enabling the company to better compete and to retain and up-sell existing clients
• Cat Trail partners took control of the business, restructured the management team, and transformed company’s emphasis into a specialty XML service provider
• Expanded system infrastructure and introduced new technology to eliminate burdensome capacity constraints
• The transaction was attractively priced relative to the upside potential
• The company was a natural fit with Cat Trail partners’ experience in the publishing space

Cat Trail Value Add

• One Cat Trail partner assumed the role of CFO and brought the accounting function in-house
• Invested over $500,000 of operating cash flow into state-of-the-art pre-press, XML, and complex rendering systems
• Developed production methods of PostScript or PDF files for book publishers with eBook capacities to all popular formats
• Educated staff on structured tagging techniques and its benefits
• Implemented systems to deal with files in various formats to support full XML compliance and robust scientific and mathematical rendering
• Cut costs by streamlining operations

The Cat Trail Edge

• Transformed a traditional compositor into a recognized provider and innovator of structuring content using sophisticated tagging schemes and systems
• The infusion of a digital future transformed Achorn into a high-end, modern production service provider to publishers

Exit Strategy