Harry Quadracci, 66; Printing Firm Made Him Among Richest in U.S.

Harry V. Quadracci, founding president of Quad Graphics, which prints mail-order catalogs and such magazines as Newsweek, Time and Playboy, died Monday in an accidental drowning in Pine Lake near his home in Chenequa, Wis. He was 66.

With a simple business plan of “Think Small,” Quadracci started his company in 1971 in an abandoned Pewaukee, Wis., factory with 11 employees and a $35,000 second mortgage on his house. The company now has 14,000 workers, about $2 billion in annual sales and 15 plants on three continents. Quadracci regularly found himself on the Forbes list of the 400 richest Americans.

In a 1998 speech to key Wisconsin chief executive officers, Quadracci advised: “The key is to be the best in your business. Niche-manship and being highly specialized are important. Do not set out to be No. 2.... Take care of your supervisors and ... know your employees.... Business is the world’s most competitive sport. Success is not guaranteed.”

Quadracci had worked ceaselessly since a 10-story company storage building burned down in early July, killing one of his employees.

With his wife, Betty, publisher of Milwaukee magazine, Quadracci became a generous philanthropist. In 1997, the couple pledged $10 million for expansion of the Milwaukee Art Museum.