Rich Wrentmore has been in the junk mail business since 1990 after spending time in management, real estate, and marketing.

He started with a business-to-business mailer, “like a ‘val-pack’ for businesses,” he said. That business has blossomed over the years, but recently, it exploded, thanks to Barack Obama.

Wrentmore’s printers were one of two sets in the state to print off mailers for Obama’s run to the presidency. Over the days preceding the election, 2.7 million pieces were addressed and delivered to post offices around the state from his temporary headquarters at the Marion Industrial Center.

“Ted Graham treats me real good out there,” he said. Usually, its just Wrentmore running the printing on 3 industrial ink-jet printers which cost between $6,000 and $50,000 each.

Because of the increase caused by the campaign, Wrentmore had up to 12 employees at one time working, plus volunteers.

“It’s the law,” he said about the volunteers. “Back when the law was passed, the volunteers usually peeled labels. Now they don’t have a lot to do.”

Wrentmore went through 2 runs of 700,000 pieces each that took three days, and two runs of 650,000 pieces which took just a few hours less.

This was the second presidential campaign Wrentmore has worked on, after printing a total of 2.1 million pieces for the John Kerry campaign in 2004. He has also worked for the Ohio Democratic Party since doing a three-quarters of a million pieces in 2000.

And what was Wrentmore’s reaction when Obama won?

“I was pleased. Tickled. I’ve been an Obama backer since January.”