Profits Rise 24 Percent for Buffalo, N.Y.-Based Packaging Firm.

Byline: Matt Glynn

Apr. 28--Mod-Pac Corp.'s first quarter profits rose 24 percent, helped by strong sales in its commercial printing line.

The Buffalo-based printing and packaging company earned $654,000, or 17 cents per share. Its sales increased 26 percent to $11.6 million.

Daniel G. Keane, the company's president and chief executive officer, said Mod-Pac generated strong business through its relationship with Internet marketing firm VistaPrint.com, its sole commercial printing line customer. Sales in that segment increased more than $1 million to $4 million.

VistaPrint.com has shifted some of its work to a supplier in Europe. But Mod-Pac still has seven years left on its long-term supply agreement with the company and expects it will remain a steady source of revenue, said C. Anthony Rider, Mod-Pac's chief financial officer.

Sales for Mod-Pac's custom folding carton product line increased 26 percent to $3.9 million.

The company's quarterly results partly reflect the investment the company made in additional production equipment last year, Keane said. He expects Mod-Pac's overall sales to increase 15 percent to 18 percent this year.

Rider said Mod-Pac has emphasized its ability to quickly convert a custom order into a printable format and complete the job with a short turnaround time.

While large printers tend to focus on long production runs of bigger boxes, such as cereal cartons, Mod-Pac is willing to take on smaller runs of smaller-size containers, such as for spark plugs or health and beauty items, Rider said.

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(c) 2004, The Buffalo News, N.Y. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

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