By DAVID BERTOLA
dbertola@bizjournals.com | 716-541-1621

The Zenger Group, a provider of print and marketing communications services, acquired the assets of Boncraft Inc. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The acquisition was part of what Zenger Group President and CEO Stephen Zenger referred to as a multifaceted strategy.

"(Boncraft has) specialty inserting capabilities we didn't have in our facilities," he said, adding the acquisition creates an expanded product portfolio with services such as die cutting and foil stamping.

"From a product perspective, this deal opens a door for us as it's our first real entry into packaging, which is a big part of the print industry," Zenger said.

Boncraft has two locations. A 23,000-square-foot printing and finishing facility at 4222 S. Taylor Road in Orchard Park handles foil stamping, die cutting and board printing. Its 16,000-square-foot direct mail processing, fulfillment and warehousing center at 3556 Lakeview Road in Hamburg does folding, gluing, assembly work, specialty finishing and inserting.

Zenger said the new Southtowns presence was a benefit locally, but there's also a bigger geographic footprint with regard to sales.

"In terms of sales penetration in major East Coast cities like New York City, Philadelphia, Boston (and) Cleveland, we are seeing a much wider distribution of customers than Buffalo and Western New York and Southern Ontario," he said.

The acquisition better positions his company to pursue clients in other cities, including those in publishing, financial services, direct mail and higher education.

"They all have significant offerings in vertical markets, and we will be talking to clients in those cities," Zenger said. "Boncraft has a sales strategy that has a wider geographic presence. Combined, we will have larger capabilities."

Zenger Group will retain the Boncraft name with Zenger Group co-branding, and all 55 staff members will be offered Zenger Group employment in what Zenger expects to be a relatively seamless transition.

With the addition of Boncraft, Zenger Group has 120 employees in four divisions at five facilities.