Our Mission
We deliver premium, precision driven print solutions through innovation, speed, and unwavering attention to detail. We exist to help brands make a lasting impact by doing whatever it takes to ensure every project is executed flawlessly.
The First ISO 9000 Certification
The Kennickell Group was the first printer in North America to achieve the international quality designation, ISO 9000 (1994). ISO (International Organization for Standardization) is the world’s largest developer and publisher of International Standards.
ISO is a non-governmental organization that forms a bridge between the public and private sectors and establishes standards for a procedural approach to quality systems.
For more info: http://www.iso.org
FSC
The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) sets standards for responsible forest. This includes companies involved in producing and trading forest products. These standards help ensure sustainable practices throughout the supply chain. FSC also sets guidelines for certification bodies to use when assessing whether organizations comply with forest management and chain of custody requirements.
For more info: https://connect.fsc.org/
Leadership
Al Kennickell
President
Kacey Kennickell Ray
Vice President
David Rosenblum
Vice President of Operations
Jana Johnson
Vice President of Administration
Andrew Smith
Vice President of Sales
Sustainability
At The Kennickell Group we have a history of being conscious of our responsibility to take part in protecting the planet. From the adoption of LED lighting to reduce power, recycling our paper and plates, and eliminating toxic chemicals that were previously prevalent in the printing industry, we have continued to make positive moves. Now we have taken new steps that will have a significant impact on our footprint.
Printing plates, reducing the use of metal
No processing of plates and the energy and chemicals needed for that
No make readies on presses, saving added hours and electricity needed to run jobs, and saving thousands of sheets of paper
Kennickell’s Long History
If he were here today, Milton Kennickell would be proud! He would be proud that the small printing company he founded on York Street in downtown Savannah in 1892 would still be growing 122 years later. He would be proud of his twin sons, Alfred and Ralph who took the company in 1932 and built it into the largest printer in Savannah. He would be proud of his grandson Ralph Jr., who went to Washington to head the United States Government Printing Office in the Reagan administration.
He would be proud that his grandson Al built the company into one of the largest print and mailing facilities in the region. He would be surprised too, that the company not only provides print and mailing services, but inventory management, distribution services, grand format POP, and data management. He would be surprised to see the company is now housed in two buildings with over 120,000 square feet. He may be a bit shocked to learn that the company operates a warehouse in China, is one of the country’s leaders in worldwide distribution services, has strategic partnerships on every continent and has clients all over the world.
How It All Started
Milton Kennickell founded KPC in 1892. Milton worked as a typesetter for the Savannah Morning News prior to venturing into his own business. Milton’s father and grandfather were both printers as well. The company was located on York Street. In 1932 while Milton’s twin sons were at Georgia Tech, his wife became ill. This put a financial strain on the family forcing both sons to quit school and return home to work in the family business. This was during the depression so times were tough. Joining them in the business was Milton’s daughter Mae. Mae became the bookkeeper, Ralph handled delivery, Milton produced the work and Alfred was the salesman. (Alfred and Ralph were the twin sons).
In 1942 the local draft board told Milton that one son would have to go to war and one could stay home. Alfred volunteered to go. He served with distinction in the South Pacific rising from the rank of private to captain. He received several commendations including the Purple Heart for wounds in combat. When he returned in 1945 he became president and the company began to grow. Kennickell printing went from one of the smallest printers in town to the largest by 1950. This was helped by Kennickell being the first printer in the area to move from metal type-letterpress printing to “offset” which is the technology used today.
In the first year of having the four color press sales doubled from one million to two million. Kennickell became a leader in the quality movement for the printing industry. In 1995 Kennickell became the first commercial printer in North America to achieve ISO 9000 registration. The company now consults on ISO 9000 throughout the country. In 1998 Kennickell received the NAPL Silver award as one of the best managed printing companies in the country. In 1999 Kennickell changed its name to Kennickell Print and Communications due to the companies move into direct mail, digital asset management, digital printing and fulfillment
In 2009 Kennickell moved into the wide format business with the first UV digital flatbed printer in the region. This allows the company to print directly on rigid surfaces.
