Quad announced plans to permanently close its 797,000-sq.-ft. printing facility in The Rock, Georgia, in March 2026. Quad opened The Rock long-run printing facility in 1995 to replace an older plant in nearby Thomaston that it acquired from W.R. Bean & Sons in 1989. The Sussex, Wisconsin-based mega printer expanded south to Georgia back then to serve Time Inc. and titles such as Time, Sports Illustrated, and People.
Quad indicated the decision reflects ongoing industry declines in long-run print categories — like the weekly magazines the plant was built to produce — driven by frequent postal rate hikes, which have exceeded inflation, as well as persistent U.S. Postal Service delivery delays. Consumer habits of news and entertainment consumption have also changed.
“Making decisions that affect people’s lives is the hardest part of leading a business,” Joel Quadracci, Quad chairman, president and CEO, noted in a prepared statement. “After careful evaluation, we felt it was important to communicate openly and without delay, so employees had time to prepare for what’s next.
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