Long Island-based Fala Direct Marketing Inc. sold to Chanhassen,

Long Island Business News, Jul 29, 2005 by Claude Solnik

Fala Direct Marketing Inc. has been sold to IWCO Direct, a provider of direct-mail production services.

The transaction, which closed July 12, gives Chanhassen, Minn.- based IWCO a major presence on Long Island, where Fala's own operations will remain.

Fala CEO Jeffrey Jurick joined IWCO Direct as senior vice president of sales.

The terms of the transaction between the two privately held companies were not disclosed.

After three generations as a family-owned business, it was important for us to find the right partner for our employees, culture, and direction, said Jurick, Fala's chief executive.

IWCO, whose clients include financial services companies such as credit-card marketers and insurance companies, racked up $146 million in sales in 2004, compared to Fala's sales of more than $30 million for the year, according to IWCO.

The two companies combined employ about 1,400 people, including the roughly 1,000 from IWCO before the deal and nearly 400 from Fala.

IWCO Direct President Jim Andersen said that Fala's printing, mailing and fulfillment services on Long Island, when combined with IWCO Direct's own operations, will boost his firm's national presence as a direct- mail powerhouse.

The deal also unites two firms that had long been independent family businesses.

Citigroup Venture Capital and the senior management team of IWCO bought IWCO from the Beddor family in February 2005.

Fala operates facilities in Farmingdale and Melville, where it provides a range of direct-mail production services such as printing, data processing and mailing.

The company spans about 365,000 square feet of office and warehouse facilities on Long Island and manages the distribution of more than one billion pieces of mail annually.

But Fala, founded in 1916 with a name that stood for Fifth Avenue Lettershop Associates, for the past few years has searched for a merger partner or acquirer.

In 2003, it came close to a merger with Waukesha, Wisc.-based Call Solutions, but that deal fell apart at the last minute over disagreements about the acquisition's final terms.