Excelsior Printing Divisions Join With Connecticut Company

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff
02:04AM / Saturday, June 13, 2015Print Story | Email Story

Excelsior will cease printing after nearly 125 years North Adams. The company's printing and SeedPrint operations will join Integrity Graphics in Connecticut.

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Excelsior Printing is shifting two of its operations to Integrity Graphics in Windsor, Conn.

Excelsior Printing and SeedPrint will be joining Integrity as of Monday, June 15, said CEO and owner David Crane.

The deal has been in the works for several weeks and employees had been notified there were changes coming. Crane, on Friday, said he was in the process of notifying customers of the new operations.

"They're kind of excited about it," he said. "[Integrity Graphics] have more capacity and they can offer different things."

Sales and services will remain in North Adams and the company's other two divisions under Excelsior Integrated — Fulfillment and the Oatmeal Studios Greeting Cards — will continue at the Valley Mill in Lee. Integrity will hold the rights to Excelsior Printing and SeedPrint, which will keep their names but operate as divisions of Integrity.

Five or six employees are expected to be affected by the agreement. Excelsior has about 40 employees, 20 each in North Adams and Lee. Outside of sales, some workers from North Adams were absorbed by Integrity, including Production Manager Mark Gebbe.

"The beauty of this is you have the same person in sales and you have the same production guy," Crane said. "It will be a 'make the company bigger, faster, stronger' kind of thing."

Crane & Co. had purchased the 125-year-old Excelsior companies — Excelsior Printing and Excelsior Process & Engraving — in 1970. In 2005, Excelsior separated from Crane & Co. under new owner David Crane and, in 2008, diversified its products, first with the acquisition of SeedPrint, a design and seed-packet printing company, and by purchasing one of its customers, the family-owned Oatmeal Studios greeting card company of Vermont. Berkshire Information Systems was acquired in 2011, leading to the creation of Excelsior Integrated.

Integrity has more than 30 years in the printing industry and has two subsidiaries, Colonial Printing and PDQ Graphics, both in Rhode Island. It offers a variety of different print services as well as graphic design, marketing and management.

Crane said he and Integrity's owner and CEO, Joseph LaValla, became friends while serving on the board of Printing Industries of New England, Integrity in the past had provided backup for Excelsior in terms of equipment and capacity.

Crane will continue to be president of Excelsior Integrated, which offers product packaging, distribution and management, and an adviser to Integrity. The two companies will also partner to "cross sell" each other's services and Excelsior Integrated will be a customer of Integrity.

SeedPrint will operate in North Adams at least through the summer to complete certain orders but printing needs will begin to transition to Integrity's other locations. Crane anticipates keeping the offices in North Adams but the building is owned by Crane & Co.; Excelsior has been operating with a long-term lease.

"The building's in great shape and I've talked to a couple of interests about potential uses," Crane said.

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NAHA Board Accepts Director's Resignation, Unlocks Tenants Association Office

By Jack GuerinoiBerkshires Staff
03:33PM / Friday, October 16, 2026

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The North Adams Housing Authority Board of Commissioners officially accepted the resignation of Executive Director Jennifer Hohn and restored access to the Tenants Association office.

The board held a special meeting Thursday to vote to accept Hohn's resignation and determined that there are currently no plans to replace her.

"We didn't make any final determinations in terms of the executive session so we will schedule another meeting at another time," Chairwoman Leigh Uqdah said after returning from more than an hour session. "Day-to-day operations will continue to be managed as normal by staff."

Per their bylaws, board member Marie Harpin will continue to handle finances, and Uqdah will manage contracts.

Hohn stepped down on Oct. 8 after 24 years leading the agency. Her resignation followed rising tension between her and the NAHA Tenants Association, culminating in the scheduling of a formal grievance hearing between both parties.

The boiling point was the locking of the association's office this summer. Tenants alleged the lockout was retaliation for posting a video on social media depicting improperly functioning door alarms. Hohn claimed the office was locked for tenant safety and to stop the spread of misinformation.

Tenants Association President Corey Fortin asked if Hohn's security access had been removed. Uqdah confirmed her credentials were revoked the day she resigned, meaning she can no longer monitor security cameras remotely.

Jennifer Barbeau, a former city councilor who was liaison to the Housing Authority, asked when the board met to discuss Hohn's severance package. Uqdah stated that Hohn did not have one.

The board also accepted the resignation of Commissioner Richard Lavigne, though they will vote officially on the matter at their next meeting.

The open portion of the meeting was brief, with nearly an hour and a half spent in executive session. Before entering executive session, the board opened the floor to tenants.

"The tenants requested an opportunity to talk to the board," said Uqdah. "It has been quite a while, but we have decided to honor that."

Fortin, who posted the original video to social media, was the first to speak. He was clear in his request: unlock the office door.

"Let's cut straight to the chase tonight. The former resigned Director Jennifer Hohn ordered the office locked," he alleged. "She is gone. The lockout is a direct violation, and the board has a duty to end that tonight."

He cited federal and state laws that mandate the tenants association be provided with office space, including computer and network access.

"We are here with a direct administrative demand. We demand that the board vote tonight to unlock the doors," he said. "Do not let a resigned director's illegal action remain the board's ongoing liability. Open our door tonight, and let us get back to work."

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