Employee Ownership is the KEY to Their Success

Transcription

1 Septembert 2008 ENDORSED BY SELECT PIA/GATF AFFILIATES At Record Printing Company Employee Ownership is the KEY to Their Success Pictured above:

2 Traditional business forms printers are becoming few and far between across the country. Record Printing Company continues to buck this trend, experiencing strong sales growth by providing a wide variety of forms, checks, security documents and commercial printing. Brad Eslick, General Manager, attributes most of this continued success to the companies ESOP (Employee Stock Ownership Plan) and the continuous development of the Employee Ownership Culture. What is an ESOP (Employee Stock Ownership Plan) and How do ESOPs Work? An ESOP is an employee benefit plan which makes the employees of the company beneficial owners of stock in the company. Employees cannot buy stock, they earn it. A company that wants to set up an ESOP creates a trust to which it makes annual contributions. These contributions are allocated to individual employee accounts within the trust. Employees join the plan and begin receiving allocations after completing one year of service with the company. The stock is valued every year based on company sales and profit. When the company does better, the employee s stock accounts do better. Employees receive the vested portion of their accounts at termination, disability, death, or retirement. These distributions may be made in a lump sum or in installments over a period of years. If employees become disabled or die, they or their beneficiaries receive the vested portion of their ESOP accounts immediately. Company History Record Printing Company was established in 1972 by Dave and Cleoris Braland as a newspaper in Roland, Iowa. In the early 1980 s, they saw a need for a shortrun manufacturer of continuous business forms, cut sheets and snap-apart forms. Their customer base had changed from local accounts to printing companies and distributors throughout the United States. In 1989, after outgrowing several different buildings, they built a new facility at their current location in Story City. In 1999, the employees purchased the business from the Bralands and started their employee-owned company. Accomplishing this wasn t an easy task. The employees had to find financing, form a board of directors to oversee direction and policy of the 22 Graphic Impressions September 2008

3 company and put the legal plan together for the IRS and Department of Labor to approve. After the structure and financing were set, the fun part of being employee-owned started. We needed to start a cultural change within our organization, explains Eslick. We had to have a culture that fostered a strong sense of ownership among employees and assist in building increased productivity, service and customer satisfaction. Once this culture change was started, the company, the employees, and our customers began to see the rewards of these efforts. Once the employees began to work and think as owners, performance and growth began to take off. The key to this change was, and still is, education and communication. There was a little confusion about what this all meant to our employees, which was dealt with through continuous education and training of the employees. The Benefits The company has found the benefits of employee ownership have helped in several areas. Employees thinking like owners understand their customers needs better, Mark Ullestad, Sales Manager for the last five years explains. This understanding has improved our service and customer satisfaction. Our employee-owners understand the importance of their customer s needs and strive to complete projects in a timely manner. Record Printing Company has seen steady growth over this period. Mark focuses on staying in touch with clients, keeping them up-to-date with industry events and changes. He also seeks customer s input on pricing and service, and sends out annual performance surveys. Employees that think like owners are more efficient. Chad Markwardt, Production Manager, and a 10-year employee explains, These efficien- September 2008 Graphic Impressions 23

4 cies have improved productivity which has helped keep our prices lower over time. Record Printing Company s quality of product has also improved over the years; we have reduced errors and waste as a result of our organizational change. Employees communicate more effectively amongst themselves and with the managers. Employees are also empowered to make changes and take a more active role in decision making, leading to improved productivity and performance. Chad oversees all production functions for Record Printing Company, which currently runs a two-shift operation. Brenda Meier, Office Manager and ESOP Trustee has been with the company for 22 years. She manages Human Resources, Accounting, and heads up the ESOP Committee. The ESOP Committee is responsible for communication and training to improve employee understanding of the company and the stock option plan. The overall goal is having employees think like owners, Meier explains. We teach them how their performance effects the bottom-line. Most of our communication is done through a monthly newsletter and we have several training session each year. Since we have formed the ESOP Committee, I don t hear our employees say, I didn t know that anymore. Record Printing is proud of its past and optimistic about its future. By providing great service and expanding product offerings, the dedicated and experienced staff of Employee- Owners at Record Printing Company is looking to earn the business of printers and distributors throughout the United States. For more information about Record Printing, call or visit Products and Services Record Printing produces short to long run form and check products. They have six Didde Web presses, three small format sheet presses, and two continuous presses. All Didde presses can handle up to 4 spot colors, number, perf, punch, and deliver roll to roll, roll to fold, and roll to sheet. Check encoding equipment, continuous and unit set collators, and full bindery complete the company s capabilities. The prepress department has Mac & PC platforms supporting several software packages. The Company continues to implement new technologies and equipment to keep them ahead of the curve, along with offering more services to their customers. They have installed a computer to plate prepress system, and recently invested in a full color Digital press for proofing and running short run digital color jobs. This has opened the door for items such as booklets, brochures, business cards, and variable data applications. A new 22 Didde web press was added last year to produce long run cut sheets, unit sets, and continuous forms. The new press has a 20.5 x 22 signature size, allowing the company to compete on jobs in the millions of impressions. They also offer a few stock products to their customers. These products include Defender Plus checks, compliant under federal Check 21 legislation, and Defender Plus prescription pads, also compliant under federal guidelines. The company imprints customer information onto these stock product lines. Caption: l to r, Steve Martin, Elmer DeVries, Steve Schroeder 24 Graphic Impressions September 2008

5 Record Printing Company An Employee-owned Company how simple it is. simple Record Printing Company 120 Industrial Park Road P.O. Box 200 Story City, IA (800) September 2008 Graphic Impressions 25