U.S. fulfillment operations merge under Palm Coast brand

In a consolidation that was anticipated following a takeover, Palm Coast Data of Florida and Kable Fulfillment Services will be merged and centralized in Florida , closing in the process Kable's Colorado and Illinois operations. Ironically, though Kable took over Palm Coast and the combined entity will still be managed by Kable, it will operate under the Palm Coast name. It is expected that many of the 875 employees at the two closing locations will become redundant, though some will relocate to Florida.

According to a story in Folio: the announcement effectively signals the completion of a transition to one of the biggest fulfillment houses in the industry representing more than 300 publishers, the company said. (The other is Circulation Data Systems, whose subsidiary, the former Indas Limited, is Canada's largest fulfillment house.)

Kable closed on its purchase of Palm Coast Data in 2007 for approximately $92 million, and parent company AMREP has been chipping away at a merger of the two companies since.

“Now it is time to take the merger a step further and unify,” said John Meneough, Palm Coast’s president, in a statement. "The city of Palm Coast has an “abundant workforce readily available." PCD owns its current facility and has the land needed for an expansion if necessary. These factors, combined with the competitive incentives offered by Florida and Palm Coast, as well as easy access to the regional, national and global marketplace, all played a key role in the decision to unify operations.”

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