Merrill Technologies Group history

Merrill chose Chicago native John W. Castro, who joined the company in 1978 as production manager.

Named president of the company in 1981, Castro and a team of top executives weighed their options.

1982: Branch offices are opened in Denver and Chicago.

1985: Company acquires Adwest Corporation and opens offices in New York and Washington, D.C.

Sales continued to rise, to $38.5 million and net income of $1.6 million in 1986, and to just under $50 million, with earnings of nearly $3 million, the following year.

The so-called "Black Monday" stock market crash of October 1987 claimed the financial printing industry as one of its victims.

Merrill acquired two small printing companies, Southeastern Financial Printing Corp. of Atlanta and Group Web, Inc., of St Paul, in February 1990.

Its growth was further aided by a joint venture agreement made in 1992 with London-based Burrups Ltd., the leading European financial printer.

Another acquisition, of May Printing Company for $25 million in 1993, also boosted revenues and strengthened the company's commercial printing business, by then the fastest-growing segment of company sales.

1996: Paul Miller replaces Kenneth F. Merrill as board chairman.

1999: Merrill recapitalizes with DLJ, becomes a private company, reorganizes into five business sectors.

In 2000, Merrill launched www.merrilldirect.com as a business-to-business web site designed to allow companies and law firms to prepare financial documents online.

In June 2001, the law firm of Morrison & Foerster LLP signed a similar five-year contract.