ETOBICOKE, ONT—Flash Reproductions celebrated its 40th anniversary and a changing of the guard last week with a lively party at the company's plant near Pearson Airport. In addition to a live band and plentiful BBQed food, the printing company gave away a spectacular door prize: a vintage 1969 Karmann Ghia convertible.

The company was founded in 1969 by Carl Pauptit, and now he has sold the firm to his son Rich, the new president, and vice-president David Gallant, a high school buddy of Rich. Both have worked at the firm for many years. The family feeling at the anniversary event was highlighted by the many children and grandkids attending.

"It was a great night, this industry loves Carl and they showed it on Thursday," said Rich Pauptit. "We didn't want to have a stuffy black tie affair with cocktails and a jazz band, it's just not us, we're a family business and we wanted to have a big old backyard BBQ, customers, suppliers, staff, one big happy family."

The company specializes in commercial and screen printing, especially for the design industry, with many designers among the 268 people in attendance. The car was won by designer Annelise Vogel. Other guests took home a beautiful 138-page oversize anniversary book featuring the company history, customer testimonials and photos of Flash employees at work. Contact: www.flashreproductions.com