Tower Group air charter keeps U.S.'s top printer rolling.

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 25, 1995--Keeping the production line running is a big priority when you are in a time-sensitive business like printing. That's why R.R. Donnelley & Sons, the U.S.'s leading commercial printer, turned to Tower Group International to air-freight a $2.5-million catalog folding machine from Germany to its Reno, Nev., plant recently.

Unlike many air freight shipments, which move only after they miss their ocean freight windows, this oversized project was planned to travel via air from the onset because Donnelley upgraded one of its production lines in Reno and needed the folder ASAP.

"We had to ship via air because the manufacturer in Germany needed time to produce the equipment and we needed time to get this folder installed and operational to satisfy customer demand during our heavy fall retail season," says Bill Staab, R.R. Donnelley's operations support manager at the Reno Catalog Division.

The size of the folder made the charter particularly challenging. The largest piece of the 42-ton, nine-piece shipment--standing 10 ft. tall--was too large to fit into a 747 freighter, the work horse of the global air freight fleet. The only way to ship the cargo was for Tower Group to charter the world's largest commercial aircraft, the massive Russian-built Antonov AN-124-100. A product of the thawing of the Cold War, the AN-124-100 has a capacity of 150 tons and a nose opening big enough to accommodate the largest component of Donnelley's equipment.

Tower Group, the logistics- and management-information subsidiary of The McGraw-Hill companies, chartered the Antonov from UK-based HeavyLift-Volga-Dnepr, one of two companies that runs the huge jets in service.

"When R.R. Donnelley came to us to move the cargo from the manufacturer's plant in Germany, we had only two options because of the size of the folder itself: charter the Antonov or the Ukraine-built Ilyushin 76, another Russian aircraft," says Frank McHugh, the Tower Group air freight regional manager who arranged the charter. "We checked with the airlines that operate those planes, and the only option for us--within the tight R.R. Donnelley time frame--was the granddaddy of the air freight world, the AN-124."

After the final charter arrangements were hammered out, Tower Group's agent partner in Germany, Paul Gunther Cargo, coordinated the move at origin. The Frankfurt-based agent arranged local delivery from the manufacturer in Frankenthal/Pfalz, Germany, to Frankfurt airport, and coordinated loading with a local rigging company and HeavyLift. Gunther also filed the export entry with local customers.

The largest piece of the shipment was loaded through the nose of the Antonov, while the other eight pieces were loaded through the tail, using the freighter's built-in overhead cranes and winches.

On August 9, the plane flew from Frankfurt to Keflavik Airport in Reykjavik, Iceland, for refueling and a mandatory pilot layover. From there, the charter finally made it to Reno, on August 10, where it touched down to a warm welcome from R.R. Donnelly managers, the local airport authority, and the local media, which covered the event on television and in print.

Tower Group worked with Susan Seidl, Customs' Reno port director, to preclear the shipment before arrival. "Ms. Seidl was very helpful in clearing the shipment and facilitating local landing rights," says Kathy Metcalf, Tower Group's Chicago-based R.R. Donnelley national account coordinator, who was on the ground in Reno overseeing the cargo unloading and trucking to the nearby printing plant.

Donnelley's Staab had nothing but praise for Tower Group's key role in the charter move. "Everyone at Tower Group did a marvelous job pulling this off," he says. "The details required to make a move like this work are unbelievable. Tower Group associates kept us informed every step along the way, and they were always available to us at a moment's notice, night or day. They did a fantastic job for R.R. Donnelly."

R.R. Donnelley & Sons Co. is a world leader in managing, reproducing, and distributing print and digital information for the publishing, retailing, merchandising, and information technology markets. It specializes in printing catalogs, inserts, magazines, books, directories, and financial and computer documentation. Founded in Chicago in 1864, the company employs 41,000 people in 20 countries on five continents. R.R. Donnelley's annual U.S. sales total $5.0 billion.

Tower Group International Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of The McGraw-Hill Companies, provides logistics-and management-information services, including customs brokerage, freight forwarding, transportation, warehousing and distribution, duty drawback, and consulting. With more than 57 offices in North America, Tower Group serves more than 25,000 customers.

CONTACT: Frank McHugh, 617/556-2983

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Scott Henjum, 503/224-6008