Printing Industries Alliance has announced that Michael Duggal, CEO of Duggal Visual Solutions, has been selected as the recipient of the 2021 Print Drives America Franklin Award for Distinguished Service. The Franklin Award has been presented for over 60 years to renowned political, business, journalism, and communications leaders, for their outstanding achievements and contributions to American society.

Past recipients have include US Presidents Harry S. Truman and Dwight D. Eisenhower, former Mayor of NYC Michael Bloomberg, publisher Malcolm Forbes and television anchor Walter Cronkite.

The award, named for Benjamin Franklin, a printer by trade, will be presented to Duggal (2021) and Thomas Quinlan (2020) at the 68th Annual Franklin Event on Wednesday, November 17, 2021 at Club 101, 101 Park Avenue in New York, NY, USA.

Duggal has propelled Duggal Visual Solutions into one of the largest imaging service providers in the nation. Duggal boasts the first HP Indigo 12000 B-2 digital press in the nation and the first to upgrade it with the HD imaging system doubling its print resolution. Duggal was also the first in the world to install the HD Landa S10. 

During a challenging 2020, Duggal quickly pivoted his company to become an essential manufacturer of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for first responders.  Heeding the call from the Governor of NY and Mayor of NYC for manufactures to transform to help produce desperately needed medical equipment the company did not close for a single day and Duggal and a team of hundreds of his employees volunteered to still come in during the worst days of the pandemic to produce PPE for their community and country. Duggal produced over three million protective face shields, medical garments, partitions, and intubation units for hospitals and first responders. 

To help businesses, they produced COVID signage, social distancing floor graphics, sanitizer dispensers, automated temperature screening kiosks and desk partitions for school children.  Praised for their efforts and ingenuity by global media, as well as the Mayor of NY, who visited their facility to thank the workforce personally, Duggal was named in September, 2020, one of the Top 5 Companies helping to fight COVID-19 along with Ford, Walmart, Amazon and 3M for its efforts.

Quinlan, the 2020 Franklin recipient, is currently the former CEO of LSC Communications and was the former CEO of RR Donnelley & Sons from 2007 to 2016. Quinlan has had a long and auspicious career in the printing industry. 

Marty Maloney, executive VP of Printing Industries Alliance and executive director of the Print Drives America Foundation, says, “This annual Franklin Event is the highlight of the year for those in our industry and the only event where the who’s who of the industry will be found in a single venue. The Franklin event is the most prestigious gathering in what is arguably the most important visual communications market in the world. The pent up demand for this year, should make it sold out so please order your tables promptly.”