By JAMES BROWN
Glasgow News 1
Like a ghost in the machine, Tony Glass maintained the former R.R. Donnelley and Sons building. While presses and binderies stood silently, Tony kept the building running as best he could.
“It was five years of pretty much not a whole lot going on,” Tony said. “Mainly my job was to keep this place from falling in on itself on a zero-dollar budget.”
Reflected in a pool of water is a sign hung in the former R.R. Donnelley Building in Glasgow. The building is being refurbished after being bought by Tate in December 2025. James Brown/Glasgow News 1
That five years was while the former massive printing and binding operation had shut down in Glasgow and the building was owned by Contemporary Amperex Technology. The Chinese-based automotive lithium-ion battery manufacturer never set up operations in the building after buying it in December 2020.
“When I was working for CATL, it was a roller coaster. We’d have a lot of manufactures coming in — Ford, Tesla, a lot of different groups — and it was like, we are going to do this and do that, and it would fall through,” Tony said.
Despite the facility not firing up for those five years, Tony continued to keep the 17-acre building workable enough for the day when it would live again. He believed it was a great building for a future manufacturer, but he did have doubts that day would arrive.
“Towards the end with [CATL], I had pretty much given up hope. I thought about stepping away from this, then Tate came into the picture,” Tony said.
R.R. Donnelley builds community
Tony did not plan to be the last man standing in the R.R. Donnelley building. He started his journey to that destination when he took a job with the printing company in 2005.
Desks and other office items are pictured in the former R.R. Donnelley building in Glasgow. They are remnants of when the printing company still owned the facility. It is being refurbished after being bought by Tate in December 2025. James Brown/Glasgow News 1
Tony had worked in Louisville for 20 years managing a furniture store. He and his wife are both from Glasgow and they decided to move back home. He applied for a job at Donnelley and started working on a press line, but worked his way up during the 14 years before the printing facility closed in July, 2019.
Like many before him, Tony enjoyed working for the company, and found a family inside the more than 750,000-square-foot building.
Since R.R. Donnelley and Sons opened its doors in Glasgow in the late 1960s, it attracted new families to the community. It also stood as a place where new high school graduates could get good-paying jobs with sound benefits. Families flourished with the stability of the transition from an agricultural economy to an industrial one in the area.
From 1960 to 1980, Glasgow gained nearly 3,000 residents. Barren County grew by nearly 6,000 residents, according to U.S. Census data. R.R. Donnelley was the largest employer in the county in 1980.
Tony pointed out how Donnelley was a self-contained facility. It had its own electricians, its own parts fabricators, its own plumbers. It even had people who built the wooden shelves used in offices. The Glasgow facility had as many as 1,100 employees in the 1980s.
An employee with Tate repaints posts in front of a sign painted in the bindery area of the former R.R. Donnelley building in Glasgow. The building is being refurbished by Tate. James Brown/Glasgow News 1
“If you would have told me that when R.R. Donnelley’s closed, I would be the last man standing, I would never have thought that,” Tony said with a laugh.
It was Tony and a supervisor, but when CATL bought the building, he took the job they offered.
Tate brings hope
As Tony toured the building on a Wednesday morning in March, he talked about the golden era of the printing operation. He also talked about the future, which was why he stuck around when Tate finalized the purchase of the building in November 2025.
“Tate bought the building and they offered me a job,” he said. “It’s worked out pretty well for me. It sounded like it was going to be good for Glasgow and I want to be involved in it.”
A sign for the new owner of the former R.R. Donnelley building in Glasgow welcomes visitors. Tate bought the building in December 2025. James Brown/Glasgow News 1
In a filing with the city of Glasgow, Tate stated it will create as many as 400 jobs. That would make it one of the largest employers in the county once fully staffed.
Tony has seven people working for him now who are tasked with repairing and refurbishing the building. He plans to have at least 14 working in the maintenance area for him.
Tate manufactures racks for data centers, which are being proposed and built in multiple states adjacent to Kentucky. There is one presently under consideration for Simpson County near the state line with Tennessee.
Tony said there were times throughout the past 20 years when he considered finding another place to work.
“I’ve thought about leaving, but there is so much history with this building …, so I’m really excited about this,” he said. “I would like to see the building come back from ashes and rise back up.”
A display in the former R.R. Donnelley building in Glasgow shows what will be manufactured in the future in the facility by its new owner, Tate. James Brown/Glasgow News 1
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