As a division of Quad/Graphics, QuadTech is an employee-owned company. Since our beginning, we have kept our management structure remarkably lean. Our egalitarian structure facilitates communication and our ability to be agile, despite our ongoing growth. It also enables us to be extremely proactive on your behalf.

• Karl Fritchen, President
• Randy Freeman, Vice President of Business Development
• Vince Balistrieri, Director of Engineering
• David Barton, Director
• Dan Piergies, Director of Manufacturing and Field Service
• Chris Thompson, Director of Continual Improvement

Karl Fritchen, President

When he was named to serve as President of QuadTech in August 2002, Karl Fritchen had already made many major contributions to the company's growth and evolution. Fritchen started with QuadTech in 1985 as a Field Service Representative. He spent considerable time in Japan and the Asia-Pacific region, absorbing the art and science of printing, learning all he could about the markets, studying every aspect of press technology and, most importantly, servicing and getting to know auxiliary press and finishing control customers. Later, Fritchen advanced to Customer Service, where he worked with customers worldwide supporting their press and finishing control orders and helping them with new product training. Due to his excellent rapport with customers, Fritchen was asked to serve as Sales Manager for Asia-Pacific in 1991. Four years later, he was promoted to Director of Worldwide Sales and, shortly thereafter, he was named Vice President of Sales. Currently, Fritchen has his leadership team and the entire QuadTech workforce focused on “Quest to be the Best,” a program utilizing the Lean Transformation business process and Kaizen events for rapid and sustained change.

Randy Freeman, Vice President of Business Development

After 16 years as Vice President with diverse responsibilities including marketing, engineering, sales, service, and international operations, Randy Freeman assumed his role as Vice President of Business Development in 2003. His responsibilities are business development, strategic partnerships and acquisitions. Freeman joined the organization in 1983 as service coordinator, where he learned printing hands-on by installing and servicing QuadTech equipment in web offset pressrooms. A year later, he was promoted to management and began concentrating on marketing and product development. By 1986, Freeman moved into product management, where he determined how QuadTech products would be designed for use in world markets. Freeman graduated from the University of Illinois – Champaign, where he earned a Bachelor’s degree in Marketing. He later earned an Associate’s degree in Electronics from CDI in Milwaukee, WI.

Vince Balistrieri, Director of Engineering

Vince Balistrieri joined QuadTech in 2005. In his position, Balistrieri focuses on continuously improving the speed, quality, and cost-effectiveness of product innovations to help QuadTech customers be more competitive in their markets. This involves implementing process improvement methodologies such as Kaizen, Lean, Six Sigma and others. Bringing 20 years of experience to QuadTech, Balistrieri arrived at our company from Johnson Controls, where he served as Director of Engineering for four years. He led the Fortune 100 company’s efforts to develop and support controllers and software tools for building automation systems. Previously, he held several engineering positions in a 16-year career with Rockwell International and Rockwell Automation, including management of software and firmware development. Balistrieri holds a Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering technology from the Milwaukee School of Engineering and a Master’s degree in engineering management from that same institution.

David Barton, Director

David Barton was appointed Director of Sales in 2002. Having joined QuadTech in 1986, Barton was instrumental in establishing QuadTech as an international company. He was serving as Vice President of Sales when he decided to take a hiatus in 1990. Barton rejoined QuadTech in 2000 to work on several marketing projects. Later, he became the Business Unit Manager for the Color Control Team. Barton's printing career began in England, where he was born, as an apprentice with Southernprint, now a QuadTech client. During his six-year apprenticeship, he studied at the Southern School of Art and Design, gaining certification in printing technologies. He then joined Crosfield Electronics (a.k.a. PressTech) in a sales capacity. There, he was involved in the marketing efforts for several innovative printing technologies, including the early introduction of color separation scanners. In 1973, Barton jumped continents to Canada, where he headed a start-up organization that marketed graphics arts equipment. Later, he moved to the company's head office in New Jersey before joining QuadTech.

Dan Piergies, Director of Manufacturing and Field Service

As the Director of Manufacturing, Dan Piergies coordinates the activities pertaining to the production of all Quad Tech products. He is responsible for receiving, warehousing, painting, assembling, testing, packaging, and shipping. Additionally, as Director of Field Service, Dan oversees the coordination of product installation, and, ensuring a positive customer experience, continues with effective customer service via technical support, in global parts and service operations. Originally hired as an external manufacturing coordinator, Piergies has served in many roles, including service manager for the Material Handling product lines, where he oversaw service scheduling, inventory, and customer training. He moved into management in 2000, where he was Manufacturing Manager of Finishing products. When Piergies joined QuadTech in 1998, he brought 15 years' experience in auxiliary printing equipment. He was already familiar with the company as he had purchased QuadTech equipment while an employee of Heidelberg and Contiweb.

Chris Thompson, Director of Continual Improvement

Chris Thompson, director of Continual Improvement, oversees QuadTech’s Kaizen Promotion Office (KPO), Quality, Manufacturing Engineering, and Employee Development functions. Through the power of cross functional teams utilizing Lean/Sigma (waste reducing) techniques, Chris’ staff helps to develop innovative strategies to enhance our competitive advantage and bring greater value to our clients. Named to the position in January 2004, Chris is responsible for QuadTech’s movement towards continuous improvement — the meaning of the Japanese word “Kaizen” — in all areas of our business. This includes Kaizen event logistics, promoting Lean/Sigma initiatives, tracking results, and helping managers maintain improved processes and product reliability. Chris brings to her position over 23 years of experience in manufacturing, information technology, business processes, and continuous improvement. Chris joined QuadTech in Manufacturing Engineering in 1998, and transferred to QuadTech Information Technology the following year. In 2001, Chris was named into management, where she was instrumental in developing and implementing organizational changes supported by business software development.

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