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 for four generations and span over 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 while the other ran the business.

After they 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.

The Roaring Twenties

Through the first two decades of the 20^th century, Edwards Brothers 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 keen business sense led him to new markets that offered great opportunities for Edwards Brothers. He purchased and used 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 60 people by the end of the decade. At the same time, 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 Edwards Brothers 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 afterward, the Depression of 1929 hit with full force. Orders fell and profits were squeezed. To create working capital and remain in business, JW took the company public and sold shares of stock. As a result, Edwards Brothers was incorporated in 1930.

The depth of the Depression was difficult for printing companies, especially one that was pioneering offset lithography. While many companies perished, sound management and a firm commitment to quality enabled Edwards Brothers to weather the storm and emerge strong, without experiencing a single year in the red. Through the 1920s and 1930s, sales expanded rapidly and annual net profits rose.

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 not previously 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 field, Edwards Brothers invested hundreds of thousands 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 degree in Business Administration and a tour of duty as a bomber pilot in World War II. Growth and progress were rapid during the boom years, and to stay at the forefront, Edwards Brothers hired its first salesperson outside Ann Arbor. JW also 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 enjoyed twice-yearly profit-sharing distributions totaling more than $13 million.

The family tradition continued at Edwards Brothers when JW became Chairman of the Board in 1950 and appointed Joe as President. A few years later in 1954, another of JW's sons, Marty, received his Master's degree in Business Administration from the University of Michigan 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.
 

Since then, business has grown steadily, creating the need for more room to house new presses, cameras,  prepress, and binding equipment. The first major addition was completed in 1959, followed by three more in the years to come, bringing the facility to 196,000 square feet in 1973.

In 1979, Edwards Brothers acquired The Graphic Press, located just a few blocks from the Capitol in Raleigh, North Carolina, to provide additional prepress, 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 in 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 softbound work and the other for case bound work) with over 100,000 square feet of space and combined sales in excess of nearly $80 million.

Committed to custom solutions, Edwards Brothers expanded into the world of digital printing by opening the Digital Book Center in 1997. That same year, Marty Edwards stepped down as President but remained Chairman and CEO. A fourth generation Edwards, Marty's son John took over as President and Chief Operating Officer in 1998. He would become CEO in 2001.

In 2000, Edwards Brothers located its first on-demand book manufacturing operation in the warehouse of Rowman & Littlefield in Blue Ridge Summit, Pennsylvania. A second remote site opened at the University of Chicago Press in late 2001. These new operations focus on the production of ultra-short run lengths of 1 to 250 copies. The Digital Book Centers offer both case and perfect bound titles using traditional book paper and cover materials. In each case, Edwards Brothers' web-, sheetfed- and digital-printing systems are tied directly into the publisher's distribution channel, reducing material overhead to make cost-effective, short-run manufacturing a viable option that can keep even low-demand titles in print virtually forever.

Also in 2001, Edwards Brothers acquired Hutchinson, Kansas based Wolverine Printing and Publishing from Polk City Directories of Livonia, Michigan. This 50,000-square-foot, ultra-short run facility complements Edwards Brothers' existing business and adds digital and offset capacity. By late 2004, Edwards Brothers manned and operated 6 full-service Digital Book Centers in its own plants as well as in select customer locations.

Another creative response to our customers’ need for improved schedules and streamlined production has been the positioning of in-house Customer Service Representatives at several key customer locations. Our goal: to do whatever it takes to make Edwards Brothers more valuable to our publishing partners.

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 equipment innovations have been added to keep pace with new technology and meet customer demands for more competitive costs, improved schedules, and tighter inventories. Current press room capabilities include Timson (5) web presses including a new ZMR (Zero Make Ready) model added in 2003, and 16 perfecting and non-perfecting presses equipped with state-of-the-art dampening systems for printing high quality images on coated stocks. A Heidelberg 5-color press, 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 acquisitions include the Timson ZMR and custom-configured MAN Roland (5) sheetfed presses (part of a multi-million dollar commitment to enhance sheetfed capabilities) as well as AGFA CTP (computer-to-plate) technology in all plants to increase capacity and improve flexibility.

Recent bindery acquisitions include the most advanced Muller-Martini and Corona (2) perfect binding lines with signature detection and computerized trimmer adjustments; a Kolbus dust jacket machine (2); and, both Kolbus and Stahl (2) case binding lines. Edwards Brothers has also developed Digital Book Centers in 6 locations using Xerox and IBM digital print technology (including two $1 million IBM Infoprint 4100 digital web presses added in Ann Arbor and Kansas in 2004) that combines the short run length and fast turnaround with the quality advantages of traditional bindery equipment for on-demand production.

No matter what a customer’s requirements, Edwards Brothers offers the right capabilities for the job. The company’s hallmark and unique selling proposition is its Life of Title^® inventory management strategy, a means of providing the right quantity on the right press configuration at the right time-all in an effort to improve turnaround, help publishing customers manage even tighter inventories, and keep even the most obscure titles in print indefinitely.

As book and journal manufacturing evolves, Edwards Brothers will continue to invest in facilities equipped with the most advanced technology available to improve quality, service, and economy for its publisher-partners.

Edwards Brothers' Greatest Asset

While innovation, investment in new technology, and creative partnerships have played important roles in Edwards Brothers’ continued success, it is the people who have made the greatest contribution. Since its founding in 1893, thousands of men and women-including former President Gerald R. Ford during his University of Michigan collegiate career-have taken their place on the Edwards Brothers team.

Edwards Brothers is proud of its ability to attract and retain a talented and dedicated staff. In fact, over 40 percent of the company's more than 750 employees have been on board for 9 or more years. Of that group, more than 100 have been part of the company for 20 years or longer. And there are dozens of families and more than 300 family members who have chosen to make their careers with Edwards Brothers. These figures translate into tremendous quality and an impressive on-time record. They also speak volumes about the company.

So does the fact that Edwards Brothers has been recognized both nationally and locally as an employer of distinction. From Best Workplace in America kudos for three consecutive years to industry and peer recognition for cutting edge workplace and community programs, Edwards Brothers is a dynamic workplace and a proud industry leader committed to total customer satisfaction.

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 more than 750 employees and sales offices in 8 cities producing sales of nearly $80 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.