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Canadian Printing Awards 2019 winners

Last night at the Palais Royale in downtown Toronto, 250 people from across the country attended the 14th annual Canadian Printing Awards, organized by PrintAction and its parent company Annex Business Media. More than 110 Gold, Silver and Bronze trophies were presented to printers and technology suppliers. Congratulations to all award recipients!

See our complete photo gallery here!

ACHIEVEMENT WINNERS

John A. Young Lifetime Achievement Award: David Friesen, former President, CEO and Chairman, Friesens Corp.

David Friesen was born into the printing business his grandfather started in 1907, and at 22 years of age, formally entered the business, then known as D W Friesen and Sons. He took on many different positions and in 1986 was named President and CEO, a position he held until his retirement in 2007. He stayed on as Chairman of the board until earlier this year. During his tenure, Friesens grew from a local printing company to Canada’s largest printer of hardcover books and one of the largest in North America. Today the Altona, Manitoba, company has sales of near $100 million and at 600 employees, is completely employee-owned.

Friesen has been involved in many printing and print related organizations, serving on the national Board of CPIA (Canadian Printing Industries Association) in Canada and NAPL (National Association for Printing Leadership) in the United States. He is a member of the Soderstrom Society, an NAPL related organization. He has also served as Chairman of the Canadian Book Manufacturers Association.

He has also been active at the University of Manitoba, sitting on the University Development Council, and chairing the most recent Capital Campaign, Building on Strengths: the Campaign for the University of Manitoba, which raised $250 million. He was made a Honourary Fellow of University College in Manitoba and in 2004, received a Honourary Doctorate of Laws (LLD). Friesen has been a member of many local and national boards including Manitoba Hydro, the Canadian Association of Manufacturers and Exporters, The National Arts Centre in Ottawa, the Blue Cross Life Insurance Company of Canada, and the Business Council of Manitoba. He is a board member of the Winnipeg Airports Authority and is a member of the World Presidents Organization (WPO).

Throughout his career, Friesen has been widely recognized for his achievements through numerous accolades. Among them, in 2006 Friesen was named to the Manitoba Manufacturer’s Hall of Fame. The following year he was inducted into the Cased-In Club by the Book Manufacturers Institute, North America’s only book manufacturing organization. Friesen received the Order of Manitoba in 2008, which is described as the highest honour conferred by the Manitoba Crown that recognizes excellence and achievement in any field that benefits the well-being of Manitoba and its residents.

John A. Young Lifetime Achievement Award: Jay Mandarino, President & CEO of CJ Graphics Inc.

As President and CEO of The CJ Group of Companies, Jay Mandarino oversees the daily operations of 35 companies, with total sales reaching over $40 million in a 240,000-square-foot facility in Mississauga, Ontario. Mandarino launched his founding company, now known as CJ Graphics, in 1980 as a print brokerage firm to help finance his schooling at York University. His passion for the industry led him to purchase his first press in 1986 – and the rest, as they say, is history. Today CJ Graphics is one of the most award-winning printing and communication solutions companies globally, receiving over 6,500 awards to date. This year, CJ Graphics was the first company in the world to win 22 Benny awards in one year.

Mandarino intuitively thinks outside the box, and strives to empower his team to be innovative and successful. He believes in employing the best of the best, and says that if you surround yourself with excellence, the result can only be exceptional.

Mandarino currently serves on the board of directors for the Learning Disabilities Association of Ontario and has served on the Pinball Clemons Foundation Board, The Advertising & Design Club of Canada (ADCC), past Director of the Graphic Designers Association of Toronto, past President of the Toronto Club of Printing House Craftsmen, past President of the Waterless Printing Association in North America and has served on several boards and committees for PIA, OPIA and IAPHC.

His entrepreneurial spirit and philanthropic work has been recognized through numerous accolades including three medals – the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal, the Ontario Medal for Good Citizenship from the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, and the Order of International Ambassadors Medal. He has also been named PrintAction’s Printing Leader of the Year and Community Leader of the Year. In 2008, Mandarino established CJ’s Skatepark, one of the world’s largest not-for-profit indoor skate park, which supports children of all ages and abilities, including at-risk youth and those with special needs, a cause that is near and dear to his heart.

Community Leader of the Year: Marc Boyer, General Manager, Strategic Sourcing and Customer Solutions of Spicers Canada

Marc Boyer is the General Manager of Strategic Sourcing and Customer Solutions at Spicers Canada ULC. Joking that he has paper and printing in his blood, Boyer has spent more than 40 years in the industry and has worked for paper distributors, envelope manufacturers and paper manufacturers over his career. This summer, Boyer and his cycling partner Yvon Jackson participated in MS Bike, cycling across the country from Vancouver to Halifax to raise funds for Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada. The pair cycled about 7,000 km over the course of 10 weeks, cycling about 7 to 8 hours a day, and subsequently raised over $125,000 for MS Society of Canada.

Boyer says he is privileged to have a wonderful family. He has been married to Lucie for more than 35 years, and has four children and four grandchildren who he cherishes and has pictures of at the office, saying they keep him young.

Emerging Leader of the Year: Brad Ranson, Business Development & Regional Sales Manager (Western Canada) of Komcan Inc.

Brad Ranson started his career in the industry at the age of 15, working on a saddle stitcher in a Greater Toronto Area-based printer. After two summers, he started with Komcan of Georgetown, Ont., assisting with installations and removals. Upon graduating high school, Ranson was in charge of running the Parts department. In January 2018, he began his current role of Business Development and Western Canadian sales. Ranson is the third generation of his family to be in the printing industry, and says he was attracted to the industry by his father, who held a similar position for most of his career. He studied Economics at the University of Guelph.

Printing Leader of the Year: Cathie Ellis, President of Ellis Packaging Limited

Founded by Bill Ellis in 1983, Ellis Packaging started as a small company in Scarborough, Ont., and has grown into a thriving business consisting of three manufacturing facilities that produce folding cartons for customers throughout North America. Cathie Ellis has worked for the family business dating back to its early days in the 1980s. Over the past 30 years, she has performed many jobs throughout the operation and rose through the company, officially taking the reins from her father Bill in 2010 as President. At the helm of Ellis Packaging today, she continues to direct the company with the same passion, core values, investment and integrity passed down by her predecessor, mentor and father.

The Ellis Group currently owns six Komori Litho Presses and a 10-colour Primographic Press by CPS – Canadian Primoflex Systems with a second press arriving in spring 2020. Today, the Ellis Group is the largest privately owned manufacturer of folding cartons in Canada with its three plants in Southern Ontario.

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