Fortusis
Fortusis is a privately held franchise holding company that owns and supports five legacy print franchise brands — Kwik Kopy Printing, Kwik Kopy Business Centers, Franklin's Printing, The Ink Well, and American Wholesale Thermographers — serving SMB customers across the United States through independent franchise owners.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2015
- HeadquartersHouston, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Fortusis does
Fortusis, LLC is a privately held franchise holding company headquartered in West Jordan, Utah, with operations support in Houston, Texas. Formed in January 2015, the company was built as the corporate vehicle for the October 2017 acquisition of ICED, Inc.'s print franchise systems — Kwik Kopy Printing, Kwik Kopy Business Centers, Franklin's Printing, The Ink Well, and American Wholesale Thermographers — after 50 years of continuous ownership under the Bud Hadfield family. Fortusis itself does not sell printing services directly to end customers; instead, independent franchise owners operate individual print centers across the United States under the company's brand portfolio, setting their own local pricing and serving local SMBs.
The portfolio's underlying technology is conventional commercial print: digital printing equipment and offset press technology at each franchise center, supplemented by a preferred vendor program of 95+ partners (4over, EFI/PrintSmith, Discount Labels, Fellers, Dahill, Abbott Label Texas) for trade printing, MIS/web-to-print software, labels, wrap supplies, and equipment. Service scope at the franchise level spans small copy jobs through high-volume multi-color commercial printing, signs, banners, window and auto graphics, binding and finishing, and mailing services with list processing (NCOA, CASS, De-Dupe) at preferred rates.
Fortusis earns revenue through two streams: (1) franchise fees and royalties from the five brand families — a classic licensing/royalty model; and (2) indirectly, through franchise-center-level printing service revenue, where individual franchisees provide full-service commercial print, graphics, marketing, and mailing to SMB customers in their markets. Franchise development is the company's primary go-to-market motion, executed through the corporate website, a franchise inquiry line (888.454.7328), and Director of Franchise Development Nancy Arnold. The leadership team — CEO Curtis Cheney (former Kwik Kopy Salt Lake City GM), President Danny Oblad (~30-year industry veteran), VP of Operations Jay Groot, and Director of Franchise Development Nancy Arnold — combines operating pedigree from inside the franchise system with continuity from the legacy ICED organization.
Fortusis firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Fortusis
- Legal name
- Fortusis, LLC
- Website
- https://fortusis.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2015
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Fortusis is a privately held franchise holding company that owns and supports five legacy print franchise brands — Kwik Kopy Printing, Kwik Kopy Business Centers, Franklin's Printing, The Ink Well, and American Wholesale Thermographers — serving SMB customers across the United States through independent franchise owners.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Fortusis industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Commercial Printing Services
- NAICS
- Printing and Related Support Activities (3231), Commercial Printing (except Screen and Books) (323111), Support Activities for Printing (32312)
- SIC
- Service Industries For The Printing Trade (2790)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Short-Run & Micro-Run Digital Printing Services (POD-adjacent) (MPAJANAI)
Keywords
Where Fortusis is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Houston
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices3 records
Markets served
Fortusis business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others
Revenue model
- Franchise Fees and Royalties: Fortusis generates revenue through franchise ownership, collecting fees and ongoing royalties from its network of print center franchise owners operating under the Kwik Kopy, Franklin's Printing, The Ink Well, and American Wholesale Thermographers brands.
- Printing Services Revenue: Individual franchise centers provide commercial printing services including offset printing, digital printing, large format printing, signs, banners, window and auto graphics, binding, finishing, and mailing services to local businesses.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels3 records
Fortusis product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Fortusis is a franchise holding company that owns and supports five commercial print franchise brands (Kwik Kopy Printing, Kwik Kopy Business Centers, Franklin's Printing, The Ink Well, and American Wholesale Thermographers). The brands collectively provide digital and offset printing, signs, banners, window and auto graphics, binding/finishing, and mailing services to local businesses through a network of independently owned franchise centers across the United States. Fortusis itself sells franchise opportunities and provides centralized training, operational support, vendor programs, and consulting to its franchisee network.
Product overview
Fortusis is a franchise holding company for a family of print brands, not a unified technology platform. The portfolio consists of five distinct brands: Kwik Kopy Printing (launched 1967), Kwik Kopy Business Centers, Franklin's Printing, The Ink Well, and American Wholesale Thermographers (AWT). These brands operate as independent print franchise locations offering commercial printing, signs, banners, graphics, and mailing services. Fortusis provides centralized franchise support services including training, vendor programs, and operational consulting to franchise owners.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Kwik Kopy Printing: Full range printing services including digital equipment and outside vendors for high quality print and digital output
- Kwik Kopy Business Centers
- Franklin's Printing
- The Ink Well
- American Wholesale Thermographers (AWT)
Products and services
- Kwik Kopy Printing Franchise Brand
- Franklin's Printing Franchise Brand
- The Ink Well Franchise Brand
- American Wholesale Thermographers (AWT) Franchise Brand
- Commercial Print and Copy Services
- Signs, Banners and Graphics Services
- Direct Mailing Services
- Franchise Support Services
Quantifiable outcome
- 23,000+ square foot facility achieving top sales awards
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use Fortusis
Customer profileNamed customers1 record
Segments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Fortusis technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Fortusis partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- ICED, Inc.coreICED, Inc. sold its print franchise systems to Fortusis, LLC in Q4 2017. The acquisition included Kwik Kopy, Franklin's Printing, The Ink Well, and American Wholesale Thermographers brands. ICED had maintained 50 years of continuous family ownership under the Bud Hadfield family. ICED Chairman Steve Hammerstein, former chairman of the International Franchise Association, facilitated the transition.
- 4overminorPreferred vendor providing print order fulfillment services for print brokers and trade professionals across North America. Offers tens of thousands of premium print products including large format options with facilities across North America delivering to 90% of the population.
- Abbott Label TexasminorPreferred vendor for label products headquartered in Dallas, TX. Provides labels and related printing supplies to franchise locations.
- Discount LabelsminorPreferred vendor offering 10% off catalog pricing to franchise family. Provides label products, die cut labels, and GHS compliance products through Labels University training program.
- Bill Farquharson (Aspire for Sales)minorSales training vendor providing programs for sales people and selling owners. Offers books including 'The 25 Best Print Sales Tips Ever!' and consulting services for the graphic arts industry.
- FellersminorWorld's largest wrap supply company with 77 locations. Offers special franchise pricing with free shipping on orders over $100. Carries top brands including 3M, Avery, Mutoh, ORAFOL, Arlon, Mactac.
- Dahill Office Technology CorporationminorPreferred vendor providing retail sales and service of equipment including copiers, facsimile machines, printers, scanners, and duplicators. Also offers commercial trade printing and envelope printing services.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Fortusis competitors and assessment
Company assessmentMarket position
Strengths4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Fortusis social profiles
Digital presenceFortusis financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Fortusis leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles4 records
Fortusis subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries5 records
Fortusis funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Fortusis M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Fortusis
What does Fortusis do?
Fortusis is a franchise holding company that owns and supports five commercial print franchise brands (Kwik Kopy Printing, Kwik Kopy Business Centers, Franklin's Printing, The Ink Well, and American Wholesale Thermographers). The brands collectively provide digital and offset printing, signs, banners, window and auto graphics, binding/finishing, and mailing services to local businesses through a network of independently owned franchise centers across the United States. Fortusis itself sells franchise opportunities and provides centralized training, operational support, vendor programs, and consulting to its franchisee network.
Is Fortusis a public or private company?
Fortusis is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Fortusis founded?
Fortusis was founded in 2015. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Fortusis based?
Fortusis is headquartered in Houston, United States, in the North America region.
How does Fortusis make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Franchise Fees and Royalties are the primary driver. The others are printing Services Revenue.
Does Fortusis have an API?
No public API is recorded for Fortusis.
What industry is Fortusis in?
Fortusis's product category is Commercial Printing Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAJANAI, Short-Run & Micro-Run Digital Printing Services (POD-adjacent). Its NAICS code is 3231 and its SIC code is 2790.