|
digitalbookcenter.com a division of Edwards Brothers, Inc | ||||||
|
|
|
|||||
|
|
A Tradition with a Future
An Idea Whose Time Had Come When University of Michigan Law School students Thomas and Daniel Edwards began mimeographing and selling their lecture notes in 1893, they had no idea they were building the foundation of a business that would flourish over the next 100 years. However, they quickly recognized the opportunity offered by the unexpected popularity of their enterprise, and they built on their success. Until both brothers had graduated, they alternated years, one attending school, the other running the business. After they had completed their legal education in 1899, Tom and Dan
went into law practice and turned the business over to their other brother,
John J., known as JJ. By this time the Edwards Brothers reputation for
quality and fairness had been established, and within a few years, the
Ann Arbor business was mimeographing notes and lectures from schools throughout
the Midwest.
Through the first two decades of the twentieth century, the firm experienced slow, steady growth as it built on its previous success. JJ Edwards' health began deteriorating, however, and in 1920 his son John William, also called Bill or JW, returned to Ann Arbor from his position as athletic director of a Detroit school to help run the business. As a result of his illness, JJ died in 1922, and JW stepped in. Under JW Edwards' aggressive leadership, the company began a period of rapid growth that reflected the prosperity and optimism of the times. JW's endless energy and acute business sense led him to new markets that offered great opportunities for Edwards Brothers. He used purchased mailing lists to send promotional materials to general science professors throughout Michigan, Indiana and Ohio. As a result, many professors responded, often using these private printings of their lecture notes as class texts and as the basis for textbooks they hoped to sell to major educational publishers. Martin Edwards, JW's son, describes his father as "a one-man band" who expanded the operation through his "sense of selling." "Not infrequently, he'd get in his car, or on a train, and travel around to meet those professors, spending several weeks at a time on the road." Prospering Through Adversity As the Great Depression approached, Edwards Brothers continued to grow, employing over sixty people by the end of the decade. At the same time, the new small German offset presses were revolutionizing the printing industry. Recognizing the many advantages of this technology, JW replaced the company's mimeograph machines with offset presses, enabling them to provide customers with higher quality and improved service. Also to increase capacity, a new plant was built on John Street in Ann
Arbor. The timing of this move was unfortunate, however, because almost
immediately after, the Depression of 1929 hit with full force. Orders fell
and profits were squeezed, so to create capital and remain in business,
JW decided the company should go public and sell shares of stock. As a
result, Edwards Brothers was incorporated in 1930.
Also during the pre-war years, JW founded JW Edwards Publishers, Inc.,
a wholly owned subsidiary of Edwards Brothers, to serve other segments
of the publishing field. Initially, the firm handled miscellaneous publishing
for a variety of customers, but World War II provided the company with
a great and unexpected opportunity. JW Edwards Publishers, Inc., prospered
through the war by republishing technical books and journals that were
originally published in Germany and were not available in this country.
The "Boom" Years After the war, America turned its energy toward modernizing its industry at home, and Edwards Brothers was no exception. To handle the great flood of post-war printing and to remain a leader in its industry, Edwards Brothers invested millions of dollars in presses, bindery equipment, cameras and electric typewriters. An evolution of technological advances had begun that would continue through the remainder of the century. Concurrently, JW Edwards Publishers, Inc., was also thriving, publishing hundreds of volumes. Among its most notable titles were the Library of Congress Catalog, National Union Catalog, British Museum Catalog and such prestigious collections as the complete works of Bach, Beethoven, Brahms and Mozart. The third generation of the Edwards family joined the firm when JW's son Joseph completed his master's degree in business administration. Growth and progress were rapid during the boom years, and to stay at the forefront, Edwards Brothers hired its first salesperson outside of Ann Arbor. JW believed that his employees should share in the benefits of their efforts, so in 1949 he initiated the company's profit-sharing plan. Since that date, Edwards Brothers employees have received approximately $10 million in profit-sharing funds. The family tradition continued at Edwards Brothers when JW became chairman of the board in 1950 and appointed Joe president. A few years later in 1954, another of JW's sons, Marty, received his master's degree in business administration and joined the company full-time. The second of four sons, William, was also employed at the firm for a brief period in the 1950s. In 1956, Edwards Brothers sales topped $2 million for the first time. At the end of 1979, Joe Edwards became chairman of the board and Marty assumed the position of president. Joe retired in 1986, and the company once again became privately held. Building with Confidence Edwards Brothers started in a small office on State Street before
the turn of the century. After moving a short distance down the road, it
selected locations on Main Street, John Street and finally two locations
on State Road. The company broke ground on its present facilities at 2500
South State Street in 1954.
In 1979, Edwards Brothers acquired The Graphic Press, located just a few blocks from the Capital in Raleigh, North Carolina, to provide additional pre-press, press and soft bindery capacity. Recognizing the limitations of this downtown location for an expanding operation, the company now known as Edwards Brothers Carolina moved to its new home, Lillington, in 1983. This facility's proximity to many major customers enables Edwards Brothers to offer conveniences and a high level of service. Today, EB Carolina has grown into two plants (one for soft bound work and the other for case bound work) with over 100,000 square feet of space and combined sales in excess of $30 million. Edwards Brothers continued its expansion into the digital world by opening the Digital Book Center in 1997. This new operation is focused on the production of ultra-short run lengths of 5 to500 copies. The Digital Book Center offers both case and perfect bound titles using traditional book paper and cover materials. Binding is of professional book manufacturing quality. With the addition of this operation, Edwards Brothers is prepared to serve publishers' needs throughout the life of a book title. Marty Edwards served as President and Chairman of the Board through
1997. In 1998, the succession continued as Marty's son, John J. Edwards,
was named President and COO. Marty remained as Chairman and CEO.
The State of the Art From the very beginning, Edwards Brothers has continuously updated and modernized its equipment with the most current proven technology available. In the 1950s Edwards Brothers installed its first Miehle press, a new folder, a combination gathering-stitching-and-covering machine, a saddle stitcher with automatic inserting and a 3-knife trimmer, to name only a few. The 1960s began with the major addition of an in-house case binding line. In the years since, numerous other advanced pieces of equipment were acquired as they became available. This list includes such items as one of the earliest photo-typesetting machines, among the first computerized Opti-Copy camera systems and, more recently, Orbotech SPrint 110, 120 and 220 laser imposetters. Press room acquisitions include Harris and Timson (2) web presses, Planetta perfecting presses, Komori non-perfecting presses equipped with state-of-the-art dampening systems for printing high-quality images on coated stocks. A Miller 5-color press and a Heidelberg 2-color press are used for covers, dust jackets, and text insert sections. Edwards Brothers' most recent press room additions include a third Timsons press, a third Komori press and a second Clark-Aiken sheeter, all of which will increase our capacity and improve our flexibility. Recent bindery acquisitions include MBO pile feed folders, Aster sewing machines, Stahl case makers, the most advanced Muller-Martini perfect binding lines in both Ann Arbor and North Carolina with signature detection and computerized trimmer adjustments, a Kolbus dust jacket machine and both Kolbus and Stahl case binding lines. The prepress acquisitions include an AGFA Horizon Ultra scanner, an AGFA SelectSet 7000 imagesetter, the Kodak Electronic Prepress System, including Color Central software and a Kodak Prophecy OPI server. Edwards Brothers has also developed a Digital Book Center that combines the short run length and fast turnaround of digital printing with the quality advantages of traditional bindery equipment for ultrashort run quantities. As technological advancement accelerates, Edwards Brothers will continue to equip its facilities with the very best proven tools that improve quality, service and economy for its customers. Edwards Brothers' Greatest Asset While innovation and technology have played important roles in the Edwards Brothers story, it is the people who have made the greatest difference. Since its founding, thousands of men and women have joined the Edwards Brothers team, each filling a crucial role and contributing to the success of the organization. The extensive lengths of service achieved by many employees have added strength and stability to the company. From press operators and bindery workers to the sales staff and customer service representatives, Edwards Brothers employees share a pride in their work and a commitment to satisfying their customers. Edwards Brothers Today Edwards Brothers is a complete book and journal manufacturer, specializing in short and medium runs for publishers, authors, scholarly societies, industrial firms, colleges, universities and other customers. With nearly eight hundred employees and sales offices in eight cities producing sales of almost $77 million per year, Edwards Brothers is truly a leader in its industry. Edwards Brothers, Inc., has prospered through good times and endured
the challenges of difficult times, never losing sight of the principles
that have built a reputation for quality, service and excellence for over 100 years. This tradition continues to grow even stronger in Edwards
Brothers' second century.
|
|||||
