Top Spartanics Managers Become Owners of Company

ROLLING MEADOWS, Ill.—Three Spartanics executives who have been responsible for managing major segments of the company in recent years (Tom Kleeman, Bill Gillen, and Tom O'Hara) are assuming ownership of Spartanics, effective February 1, 2005. This acquisition of the company by longstanding Spartanics employees will allow Spartanics customers in the card manufacturing, graphic arts, and converting industries to expect the same high standard of customer service that has been a Spartanics hallmark since the company's founding more than 40 years ago.

Tom Kleeman, a 27-year Spartanics employee who most recently had been Spartanics' Chief Technical Officer, assumes new duties as Spartanics CEO, overseeing organizational direction and product development. Bill Gillen, a 26-year Spartanics employee who has been Spartanics VP Manufacturing since 2000, will now take on duties of COO, overseeing manufacturing and service operations. Tom O'Hara, CPA, who has worked in a wide swath of manufacturing firms and who joined Spartanics in 2000 as the Comptroller/VP Finance, will now be the Spartanics President, overseeing all finance, human resources, and purchasing functions. Bill Knotts will now assume full-time duties as the company's Vice President of Sales and Marketing, working with Tom Kleeman to ensure a customer-centric focus to Spartanics' product development efforts.

The new Spartanics leadership team plans to maintain the management priorities that have been so successful in creating a customer-centric culture in the company. In addition, Tom O'Hara, Spartanics President, notes, "We have been and will continue to be an employee-focused company that makes business decisions with the value of employees much in mind. Spartanics has a wealth of long-term employees because of this loyalty to staff, and our customers have enjoyed the best service because of it."