BARRE TOWN – It took him nearly 25 years, but Jeff Blow is back in the commercial printing business.

Last week Blow, whose grandfather, Garth, bought Modern Printing Co. in Barre back in 1945, acquired Accura Printing Co. in South Barre to pair with Jet Service Envelope Co. — a business he started with his grandfather’s help in 1988.

Blow, who worked at Modern Printing for 17 years before breaking into the envelope business, said he knows someone who would be really happy with a back-to-the-future business decision that he made with the help of his son, Keith.

“My grandfather is probably doing cartwheels in his coffin,” Blow said this week. “To think that his great-grandson and his grandson are back in commercial printing? He would be thrilled to death.”

Blow is pretty pleased himself.

Not because he regrets leaving the family-owned printing business 24 years ago, but because he sees the acquisition of Accura Printing as an opportunity to expand his operations, solidify two companies, create job security for a combined 16 employees, and maybe create a couple more jobs over the next year.

That, Blow said, is the plan.

Though the two businesses will continue to operate autonomously, and Accura will maintain its name, all of its employees and an office presence and some production capacity in South Barre, Blow said the company’s presses will eventually be moved to the Jet Service building on Route 63 thanks to a deal that was sealed last Thursday.

According to Blow, the sale was the subject of summer-long discussions with former Accura owners Garrett Bressett and his wife, Beth.

Blow, who credited Barre Area Development Corp. Executive Director Darren Winham for initially connecting the buyer and seller, said he has retained Bressett’s services and hopes to build what was already a successful printing business.

“My goal is to grow the corporation a little bigger,” he said, suggesting the business had a solid foundation, and “a great, loyal clientele.”

Blow, who has watched the Accura operation closely for the past several weeks, said credit for that goes to Bressett and his staff and represents a big reason why he isn’t planning any major changes.

“It’s very service-driven here and we intend to take that to the next level,” he said.

Although the two businesses will be run separately, Blow said the same logic that prompted his grandfather to branch out into the envelope business in 1988 prompted him to get back into printing when the opportunity arose.

“Jet Service and Accura are not a mail house, but we have well-established relationships with mail houses and we can be a one-stop shop for people,” he said.

According to Blow, the two Barre Town businesses have done work for each other over the years, and the alliance is even more attractive.

“It just seemed like a great fit,” he said. “Right place, right time, right desire.”

Blow said the acquisition will provide “job security” for 11 employees at Jet Service and another five at Accura. If all goes well, he expects to add a couple of jobs in the next year while at the same time ramping up the competition in the local commercial printing business.

“This is a really good move for us and the central Vermont community that needs printing,” he said.

david.delcore@ timesargus.com