Celebrating a Tradition of Quality In 2006, Smead Manufacturing Company reached a milestone—

100 years of outstanding growth and success.

Over the course of a century, Smead has evolved from a

small organization with a single product to a global leader in

the office products industry. Today Smead represents the

benchmark in adapting and inventing organizational products

and solutions to fit changing needs.

The remarkable story of Smead’s first century offers a vision

of corporate ingenuity, integrity, and excellence.

The company’s rich heritage is built on valuing employees as the

greatest asset. Join us in following the inspiring journey in

celebration of Smead’s centennial.

“Growth of any company is never the result of the efforts of one

or even a select few individuals; it is the combined performance

of a team… a team of dedicated production, sales, and management

personnel working together to produce and put in

the marketplace items that meet customers’ needs.”

— Mrs. Ebba C. Hoffman, President and CEO of Smead Manufacturing Companyspeaking in 1971 at McGregor, Texas during the formal opening of the fifth Smead plant

Charles Smead was granted a patent on

May 1, 1906 for the Bandless Filing

Envelope that used innovative metal

clasps to secure important documents

for government and legal offices.

A tiny room on the second floor of the Hastings Gazette building

housed the fledgling Smead Manufacturing Company.

The original Smead product, the Bandless File,

is still sold by Smead, along with more than

5,000 other organizational products.

Charles R. Smead, a traveling salesman

who responded to a need for a better

way to organize records, was among

the inventive thinkers. He was regarded

as “one of the best men on the road” by

his employer, the large office-supply

wholesale house of G. D. Barnard &

Company in St. Louis, Missouri.

Charles regularly called upon the office

of Peter Allen (P. A.) Hoffman, Dakota

County Auditor in the small town of

Hastings, Minnesota. Long frustrated by

the continuing problems of deteriorat-

ing rubber bands and loose strings that

were used to hold filing envelopes

closed, the young auditor asked Smead

for help with a solution. The idea of a

“bandless” file emerged: a filing enve-

lope on which a metal clasp at each

end replaced the need for strings or a

rubber band.

But who could make the Bandless File?

P. A. hoped Charles could solve that

challenge as well. Finding no interested

manufacturers, Charles applied for a

patent and did it himself. He set up

operations to make the Bandless File in

St. Paul, Minnesota in 1906. Thus

began the Smead tradition of quality

and innovation.

A year later, three investors decided

that Charles’ venture was worthy. John

Heinen, then County Registrar of

Deeds, Irving Todd, publisher of the

Hastings Gazette, and Otto Ackerman,

manager of the Mertz Furniture Store in

Hastings, formed a holding company

in 1907. The three partners provided

low-rent space in a tiny room above the

Hastings Gazette office and Smead

Manufacturing Company began

operations there in 1908.

In the early days, it was Charles and a

printing press, one rack of type, two

die-stamping machines, a punch

machine, and a round-cornering

machine. Also crowded into the tiny,

20 x 40-foot room were desks, filing

cabinets, two tables, three pot-bellied

stoves, and five employees. Joining

Smead in 1911, Frank Mueller brought

the staff to six. Anna Stoudt, Clara

Meyer, and Josephine Nolan did “table

work:” folding, pasting, punching, and

fastening clips. Bertha Bowen was

“office girl.” Walter Dierken and Frank

Mueller did what else had to be done:

cutting paper, setting type, printing,

packing stock, and cleaning up. That’s

what it took to produce the Bandless

File—that plus a lot of muscle and good

humor. They hauled water upstairs and

hoisted heavy equipment through a

second story window in the rear of the

building. P. A., whose Bandless File

solution was now a reality, hired on as

part time manager. He came down

from his auditor office at the courthouse

in the evenings and on weekends. And

the company’s namesake, Charles

Smead, sold furniture polish on the side.

Barely a year after production had

begun, Charles died from a fall at the

age of 59. Climbing the stairs to his

room on the third floor of a hotel, he

followed his custom of leaning on the

railing at the top of the stairs and

looking down. On the evening of

December 23, 1909, the railing gave

way and Charles tumbled to the first

floor. He died four days later, never

regaining consciousness and never

knowing that the Bandless File would

launch an industrial giant.

In 1906 a new century was beginning. Most Americans lived on farms or in small towns. Only two percent had telephones. Cars and sewing machines were new inventions, and it seemed

as if each day someone invented something interesting.the

1900s

1900

President William McKinley assassinatedin Buffalo, New York

1901

The Teddy Bear is introduced1902

In North Carolina, Orville and WilburWright make the first airplane flight, whichlasts 12 seconds

1903

Groundbreaking for Panama CanalNew York City Subway opens

1904

Albert Einstein proposes his Theory ofRelativity

1905

Charles Smead begins manufacturing theBandless File in St. Paul, Minnesota

1906

Smead Manufacturing, financed byHastings businessmen, is incorporatedPrincess Elizabeth born in Britain

1907

Henry Ford introduces his new Model T,the “Tin Lizzie” ($850)Smead Manufacturing Company beginsoperations in Hastings, Minnesota

1908

Founder Charles Smead dies. DakotaCounty Auditor P. A. Hoffman assumesmanagement as a sideline

1909

Charles Smead had only five employees in 1908 when production of the Bandless Filing Envelope

moved from St. Paul to a tiny room above the newspaper office in Hastings, Minnesota.

The Bandless File solved the problem of loose

strings and deteriorating rubber bands that

were used at that time to hold files closed.

Charles Smead’s only survivor was a

son living in Spokane, Washington.

He never had an interest in becoming

involved in the business, and the three

Hastings investors carried on the

manufacture and sale of the Bandless

File as a sideline to their regular

businesses. In 1916 they gave P. A.

ownership in return for organizing a

bookkeeping system for investor Irving

Todd. P. A. would become the first

Hoffman to lead what became by its

100th year a $548 million family-

owned enterprise with nearly 3,000

employees and over 5,000 products.

For the next twelve years, P. A. led the

young Smead Manufacturing Company

in a steady, successful rise. The

immediately popular Bandless File was

the only product manufactured until

1918, when P. A. introduced

complementary office products to

the line. P. A. worked diligently

to establish a reputation

for quality office

supplies that were

promptly shipped.

He hired his teenaged

sons Harold and Peter

to tend the three pot-

bellied stoves before

and after school. Young

Harold was later

“promoted” to making

deliveries of finished

orders. He and Al

Nordstrom, a company

salesman, hauled the

packages in the back

of a Model T coupe.

As the 1910s progressed, Americans left farms to work in city factories. During this decade, Americajoined in World War I – a time of fighter airplanes, poison gas, and machine guns. But this was also a

time of more great inventions and of growth for The Smead Manufacturing Company.

About 10 million Americans are shoppingby mail

1910

Frank Mueller joins Smead and brings staffto six

1911

The unsinkable Titanic goes down 1912

National Woman's Party forms 1913

World War I begins in Europe 1914

Transcontinental phone service begins 1915

P. A. Hoffman gains ownership of SmeadManufacturing Company

1916

US enters World War I 1917

World War I ends 1918

White Sox intentionally throw World Seriesto satisfy gamblers (Black Sox Scandal)

1919

the

1910s

County Auditor P. A. Hoffman gained

ownership of the Smead Manufacturing

Company in 1916, starting a tradition of family

leadership that continues today.

The Bandless Filing Envelope’s unusual shape is derived from

the practice of folding documents before filing them in the

narrow filing drawers used at the beginning of the 20th century.

Early catalogs and promotional

materials extolled the virtues of

the Bandless File.

Available in several sizes,

the Bandless File was the

only product made by

Smead until 1918.

Smead introduced the

idea of color coding for better

efficiency by offering the

Bandless File in several colors.

The durability and capacity of the new five-piece file pocket made it an instant

success. It is still one of the most popular Smead products today.

New products were added to the Smead product line to better

accommodate the needs of courthouses and law firms.

Despite the setback of a fire in the

Kohler building in 1922, Smead

continued to grow, occupying many

of the buildings in downtown

Hastings, Minnesota.

For Smead, the 20s opened with the

first plant expansion as the company’s

roots began to grow. The entire

operation moved from a room over the

Hastings Gazette to new and larger

quarters next door. This was the Kohler

building, where Smead workers had

gone for donuts when the building

earlier housed a bakery. Even though

a fire raged through the remodeled

Smead plant in 1922, P. A. Hoffman

was undaunted. He added sales

territories. Catering to the needs of

banks and courthouses, he created

record-keeping solutions that resulted

in new Smead products. First came a

currency mailing box, followed by

open-end envelopes, crushed

envelopes, and congress-tie envelopes.

Always on the lookout to address filing

needs, he added flat and expanding file

pockets to the line. Five-piece file

pockets followed those.

Unexpectedly in 1928, the Hoffman

leadership legacy was passed to

another generation. While out of the

state on business, P. A. suffered a stroke

that severely limited his activities for the

rest of his life. His son

Harold Hoffman took over

active management of

the company.

During the 26 years of his

father’s incapacitation,

Harold continued building

the keystones of Smead

success: a tradition of

highest quality, inventive

filing solutions, loyalty

among employees, and

dedication to dealers.

Within a dozen years,

operations grew from

a single building on

East Second Street to

seven buildings in the

same block. Known as

an innovator, Harold

tried many new things.

Leather-like pressboard

material went into

production as Redrope

File Pockets, a Smead first.

As “The Roaring Twenties”

progressed, powerful new dictators in

Europe made the political situation

uneasy. While some Americans were

earning fortunes, many others were

barely getting by. When the 1920s

ended, the Great Depression loomed

with hard times for many, and Smead

entered a new decade under Harold’s

imaginative direction.

The 1920s arrived. WWI was over, the economy was doing well. It was a glorious time of art deco,flappers, Babe Ruth, Mickey Mouse, and Duke Ellington. The Roaring Twenties brought the radio,

automobile, “talking” movies, prohibition, and prosperity in a clash of the old and the new.the

1920s

First Smead plant expansion from the room overthe Hastings Gazette to new and larger quarters18th Amendment (prohibition) goes into effect 19th Amendment ratified, women get right to vote

1920

The first radio station in the United Statesbegins broadcasting from Pittsburgh,Pennsylvania

1921

Fire guts the Kohler Building after Smeadremodeling was completed

1922

President Harding dies of pneumonia1923

Clarence Birdseye begins the frozen foodindustry

1924

Charleston dance craze sweeps the nation1925

Congress creates the Army Air CorpsIrving Berlin’s hit song “Blue Skies” featured inthe first talkie, Al Jolson’s The Jazz Singer

1926

Charles A. Lindbergh, Jr., becomes the firstpilot to fly alone and nonstop across theAtlantic from New York to Paris

1927

P. A. Hoffman suffers a disabling stroke.His son Harold Hoffman takes over activemanagement of SmeadPenicillin discovered

1928

Stock market crashes: Black Thursday andthe beginning of the Great Depression

1929

Harold Hoffman was thrust into management of Smead at a

young age when his father P. A. Hoffman suffered a debilitating

stroke in 1928.

Among the new products introduced during the 1920s was a new line

called Vertical File Folders. These folders are still the most widely used filing

products sold by Smead. More than 1.63 billion manila file folders were sold in 2005.

Marcella Drilling was hired in August

1933. She planned to work a year and

then attend business college. Instead,

she served as Smead inventory clerk

for sixty years, “learning business on the

job.” Marcella recalled those early days.

“We didn’t have inventory control then.

When shelves were down, we’d make

more. When I first started, we made

about 1,000 file folders a day. Paper

came in bundled sheets. We’d cut the

paper to size, score it for the fold, glue it

by hand with a brush, and put it under a

hand press to dry. Then we could tab it

and fold it—all by hand! Today we make

8,000 to 10,000 file folders an hour.”

She remembered an order for 1,000

guides, when everyone wondered how

they were ever going to do an order

that size. “That’s changed, too! Now

1,000 guides is nothing,” she laughed.

But Smead quality never changed.

“Quality was always number one.

Customers always wrote letters saying

they appreciated the quality of our

products.”

Arthur Pfister joined the company in

1934 when Smead was expanding

the product line and just getting into

national distribution. Up until then,

Smead’s main products were for

courthouses or financial institutions.

But Harold Hoffman expanded as he

saw other opportunities to help the

business world keep organized. He

added high volume products like file

folders and brief covers, indexes and

wallets to the line. Art recalls it was the

middle of the Depression, saying in a

1995 interview: “We weathered it just

like anyone else. But, you didn’t need

much money in those days. I was

traveling and living off two hundred

dollars a month, furnishing a car and

fuel and hotels. Gas was eleven cents a

gallon. I bought a new

car for my first trip to

a National Stationers

Association

Convention in Texas.

A few months ago I

bought a sport jacket

that cost twice as

much as that new car.”

Back then, Smead

shipped eight to ten

cartons a day to

dealers in Minneapolis,

relying on a hired

trucking firm. The

driver on the trucking

company’s route didn’t

reach Hastings to pick

up the Minneapolis load until after dark.

The Smead cartons were simply set out

on the main street under a streetlight

until he arrived.

In 1936 Smead received its first large

order for brief covers. Hand-folding the

brief covers seemed an overwhelming

task. Plant engineer Joe Podner, helped

by Charlie Raetz, set to work devising

something that would help. They

developed a folding apparatus built

around a wooden frame of 2 x 4’s.

As years passed, more and more was

added to the makeshift device until it

evolved into a fully automatic machine

turning out three million brief covers a

year. Finally, it could no longer keep

up with the number of orders. In 1962

Smead took delivery of a new,

custom-built $50,000 machine.

(The old machine

would still be used

in tandem with the

new one for several

more years.)

The 1930s saw people waiting in line to get food from charity groups. Times had never been tougher asdust storms eroded topsoil and destroyed crops, turning the middle third of the nation into the Dust Bowl.

By 1939, ten million Americans were out of work. Still, some found opportunity at Smead.the

1930s

Scotch tape invented at 3MWorld population reaches two billionDiscovery of Pluto, the 9th planet in oursolar system

1930

“Star Spangled Banner” becomes USnational anthem

1931

Worldwide unemployment reached 39million peopleAmericans form labor unions

1932

President Franklin D. Roosevelt begins firstof four terms as President of United StatesAdolph Hitler elected chancellor ofGermany and given absolute powerProhibition ends

1933

Art Pfister joins the company whenSmead’s rapidly expanding product linegoes into national distribution

1934

Dust storms turn the middle third of thenation into the “Dust Bowl”First successful color motion picture isreleased

1935

Smead gets first noted “big” order of 500brief covers

1936

Smead purchases Hastings’ oldest brickbuilding, built in 1866Amelia Earhart vanishes over Pacific Oceanin her attempted round-the-world-flight

1937

Nylon invented in a DuPont lab 1938

10 million Americans out of workWWII begins in Europe when Germanyinvades Poland

1939

Harold Hoffman hired Art Pfister as a salesman in 1934. Art traveled

throughout the United States developing new accounts and

establishing Smead as a provider of high quality filing products.

He continued to represent Smead for almost 66 years.

Some Smead products had unusual names, such as the Kwik Twst paper drill and Spi-Roll labels. The

Spi-Roll label name was inspired by the world’s only spiral shaped bridge, a local landmark in Hastings

during the early years of the century. An image of the bridge was featured on the Spi-Roll packaging.

Harold Hoffman

continued to add

new products to

serve a wide range

of business

applications.

Wallets , Brief

Covers, Desk Files,

Pressboard Folders

and File Guides

were added to

Smead’s offerings.

Office supply merchants

used storefront window

displays and handouts to

promote Smead products.

Smead developed a reputation of

manufacturing only products of the

highest quality construction.

Harold Hoffman introduced many new ideas in the 1940s.

Wartime restrictions on steel led to the development of

Smead’s first plastic product; guides with plastic tabs.

Smead pioneered the straight-line filing concept with the

development of the Smead Super-System, a complete

filing system using a combination of products that set the

standard for drawer filing for years to come.

Harold Hoffman married Ebba Benson

in 1944. Although she was not involved

with the company at the time, their union

set the stage for much of Smead’s

success in the years to come.

The Smead catalog grew to include many new products,

including a variety of expanding files. Many new dealers

began to carry the Smead line, creating attractive window

displays to show the growing variety of filing supplies.

Many women who stayed home took

over men’s jobs. That’s when Janet

Fox started at Smead. She folded the

files as they came down the conveyor

and operated the glue machine. Her

wages? “Thirty-four cents an hour,”

Janet recalled instantly. “At that time

there were probably twenty-some of

us here. I thought since I was the last

hired, I’d be the first fired.” At the

company’s centennial sixty-five years

later, Janet, at 85, still ran a glue

machine at a state-of-the-art Smead.

She remembered back: “We did a lot

of government orders at that time.

We made big, flat pockets. During

the war we also made ration books

for the government. They were easy

because they were small. We used to

do a lot of hand folding and gluing of

little pockets too small to go through

the machine. I got the idea to use a little

paint roller, fanning out the folders and

gluing many at

one sweep with

the roller. It

really speeded

up production.”

This is the kind

of dedication

that Smead

quality and

leadership

inspired.

During the war

years, jobs for

the government

kept some

Smead

departments

busy around

the clock. The biggest single

government job was producing two

million five–piece wallets for the Navy.

Early in 1942 when Smead won the bid,

the plant was geared to turn out only

3,000 such items per day. At that rate,

completion would have taken nearly

two years. The Navy, however, needed

the wallets within six months.

Plant manager Adolph Denn

recalled that production had

to be accelerated to more

than eight times the former

output to fill the order, and

25,000 wallets were turned

out daily. It took 3,200 rolls

of paper—more than the

company formerly used in

two years.

While World War II brought

great paper shortages and

heavy demand, staffing wasn’t

a challenge. Most of the staff

was female and not affected

by military call-ups. New

soldier Art Pfister was paid

by Harold Hoffman during the four

years he was in the service, and Art

received his sales territory back after

the war. “We could sell twenty times

more than we could produce because

of paper shortages,” reported Art

upon returning to Smead from

military service. As always, Smead

loyalty to their dealers remained

steadfast. The company allocated

what it could to each customer,

trying to be fair to everyone.

Necessity is the mother of

invention, and wartime restrictions

called for plenty of that. All guide

tabs had been made from steel,

but a substitute had to be

developed when the plant was on

allocation for steel. Plant engineer

Joe Podner devised Smead’s first

plastic product, a guide tab.

A large group of World War II era

employees started at the same time,

and many of them still worked for

Smead decades later. Janet remem-

bered Smead employees who went off

to war. “Their job was always waiting for

them when they got back. It was just

what Smead would do.”

In 1944, the Hoffman family welcomed

Harold’s new bride, Ebba Benson of

Cannon Falls, Minnesota. Ebba and

Harold had courted earlier, but she

turned down his first marriage proposal

because she felt she was too young.

The union was meant to be. When they

later rediscovered each other, Ebba

had proven herself an astute manager

and keen-minded problem solver

as a supervisor for Honeywell in

Minneapolis. As she traveled to

conventions and meetings with Harold

in the early years of their marriage,

Ebba won the respect and friendship of

hundreds of office supply dealers. She

didn’t know it then, but their high regard

for her and her “farm girl grit” would be

of immeasurable help to her in the

months and years to come.

The 1940s started with economic depression and a war raging in Europe. The dark days of World War IIcame to the nation in 1941 when Japanese bombs destroyed Pearl Harbor. It was the end of peace for

the next 1,364 days. Men, and some women, went off to war.

Janet Fox (third from left) was among many women who

came to work for Smead during WWII. She is still at her job

65 years later. Also shown here are Monica Fox, Irene Fox,

Dorothy Caneff, Annette Caneff and Margie Maher.

When Art Pfister served as a fighter

pilot in WWII, he continued to receive

his salary from Smead.

the

1940s

U.S. begins sending war supplies to GreatBritainArmistice Day blizzard drops 27 inches ofsnow and kills 49 people

1940

Japan attacks Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. U.S.enters World War IIUS begins secret program to develop anatomic bomb

1941

Smead’s biggest single government jobduring the war: producing 2 millionfive-piece wallets for the Navy

1942

Smead enters the plastics field in responseto government restrictions on steel

1943

Harold Hoffman weds Ebba Benson 1944

World War II ends and the nuclear age beginsSmead plant established in River Falls, Wisconsin

1945

Smead plant established in Stillwater, MinnesotaSmead plant established in Logan, Ohio withpurchase General Fireproofing; first acquisitionof a competitor

1946

Chuck Yeager breaks the sound barrier—the first human to travel faster than thespeed of sound

1947

Levittown, the first suburb of mass producedhousing, is built on Long Island in New York

1948

Éire leaves the British Commonwealth andbecomes the Republic of Ireland

1949

The forties

continued, and the

Hoffman family

grew. There would

be Hoffmans to carry

on the Smead tradition.

Daughter Sharon Lee was

born in 1946. John Peter arrived

in 1948.

In many ways, the Smead Manufacturing

Company was a family affair. The

Hoffmans enjoyed personal relation-

ships with many of their employees,

often inviting them out to their farm for

social events. When their son John

Peter was born in 1948, it was Joe

Podner, the plant engineer, who became

his godfather. A childhood memory of

Sharon’s was going to the office with

her father and brother. “The company

was on Second Street in a block of old

buildings. They were a child’s dream—

little stairways and lots of dark places

where we could play hide-and-seek

while my father worked in the office.”

The Smead Manufacturing Company

grew too, keeping pace with the

changing times. In 1945 Smead opened

a plant in River Falls, Wisconsin. In 1946

they established a plant in Stillwater,

Minnesota. The company continued to

expand outside of Hastings into areas

where their dealer-customers were.

In 1946 Smead established a plant in

Logan, Ohio. The manufacturing and

warehousing were scattered in several

locations throughout the city, but

efficiently managed by Harold’s brother,

Peter Hoffman. Smead also kept pace

with changing technology, inventing

new products to help keep people

organized. Smead became a major

supplier for specialized industries,

businesses, and

professions by working

with them to solve their

specific needs. For

example, when a professor

wanted something to file

colored slides, Smead created it.

When an airline requested a file that

would stand up against hard usage,

Smead responded with a rigid vinyl so

tough that it was said writing on it with a

ballpoint pen would break the pen

before the file.

Smead invented X-ray jackets for

hospitals. And when dictaphones came

into use, Smead created a special

dictaphone record holder to keep the

recordings filed with their related paper

records.

In the decades since company founderCharles Smead died, countless people came to think of Art Pfister as “Mr. Smead.” In more than 65 years of service, he made strangers into customers andcustomers into friends.

Art’s Smead career started in 1934 whenHarold Hoffman asked the young Hastingsman if he’d like a job selling file folders.“Yes!” said Art. “What are they?”

When Art came on board, Smead wasexpanding the product line and enteringnational distribution. Art furnished his owncar, paid 11 cents a gallon for gas, and hit theroad, making cold calls on office supplypeople in southern Minnesota, the Dakotas,and northern Iowa. “They were just trying tofind out if I could read the catalog,” hemodestly claims. By 1935, Art took 11 states.He’d finish a sales call at 6 PM and be inanother town or state the next morning. “Ithink the volume was $21,000 in all 11states,” he recalls. “When I quit traveling the territory regularly [in about 1980], I was doing $5,000,000 inHouston. So, we really camea long way.”

Art served in World WarII for four years, and HaroldHoffman continued payinghim. Art got his territoryback after the war: “I couldhave sold 20 times morethan we could producebecause of paper shortagesfrom the war. We gavecustomers what we could,and we tried to be fair.”

Still working wheninterviewed in 1995, Art

said, “Gradually I started giving up territoryand we’d hire somebody to take part of it. Istill went to all the industry-type meetings—and still do—and I called on major accountsall the time with my salesmen.” When askedabout the biggest change he’d seen in hislong years with Smead, he was quick toreply: “Oh, it’s the customer base, no doubt.Where we once had 250 customers inHouston, we might now have five. It’s allconsolidating. It’s a different ball game.” Butthrough it all, he comments, “Smead is agreat family: salesmen, employees, and theboss.”

Now a former board member, Art hasreached his mid-nineties and lives in Aspen,Colorado. Although 600 miles away, he’s stillvery present in the minds and memories ofhis Smead community.

Senior Vice President of Sales andMarketing David Fasbender recalls: “Artcame out of the war as a pilot so he flew histerritory—flying from city to city and gettingbusiness for Smead. When I started in 1959,

Art was traveling a territorythat consisted of Colorado,Texas, Oklahoma, and NewMexico. Can you imagineall the dealers within thatterritory? Art OWNED thatmarket. He had a charisma;he was a magnet forpeople. Everyone wanted toknow Art. Dealers likedhim, respected him, andwanted to buy from him.We’re still the product ofdemand in the Southwest,and Art was the one whogot it all started.”

Art Pfister (shown here in 2004) used his

skills as a pilot to fly from city to city

covering a territory that included most of

the southern and western United States.

Art Pfister“He was a magnet for people. Everyone wanted to know Art.

Dealers liked him, respected him and wanted to buy from him.”

THE SMEAD MANUFACTURING CO., INC.LOGAN, OHIO - HASTINGS, MINN.

A T R A D E M A R K O F Q U A L I T YA T R A D E M A R K O F Q U A L I T Y

FILING SUPPLIES

Although a stroke in 1929 left P. A. Hoffman

with disabilities, he continued to come to work

every day. He frequently would visit the

production area, continuing to stress the

importance of quality and prompt shipping.

Brothers Peter (left) and

Harold Hoffman developed

a Smead presence in the

eastern United States by

establishing a plant in

Logan, Ohio in 1946.

New technologies

created demand for new

filing products. When

dictaphones became

popular, Smead made

special files to

organize the

recording discs.

Innovation became

synonymous with the

Smead name. The stylized

“Smeads Brain Bilt” icon

was a familiar sight on

Smead catalogs and

literature.

As demand for Smead

products grew, the company

continued to buy and rent

buildings in the downtown

Hastings, Minnesota area.

At the end of the decade

Smead occupied several

buildings on the block.

The 1950s was a high-spirited decade despite the Korean War. Americans enjoyed new prosperity. Whatthey wanted most was to create a happy, secure future. First came the baby boom, then came the housing

boom and suburbs . . . wrapped up in hula-hoops, poodle skirts, Elvis Presley, rock and roll.the

1950s

President Harry Truman sends forces toKorea

1950

Smead plant established in Toronto,Canada

1951

Immigration and Naturalization Act of 1952removes racial and ethnic barriers tobecoming a US citizen

1952

Smead office and warehouse established inChicago, Illinois

1953

P. A. Hoffman dies at age 74 Harold Hoffman becomes President ofSmead

1954

Harold Hoffman passes awayMrs. Ebba C. Hoffman becomes SmeadPresident

1955

Southdale, the world’s first indoor shoppingmall, opens in Edina, MinnesotaSmead plant closes in Toronto, Canada;consolidates with Hastings, Minnesota plant

1956

Soviet Union launches Sputnik, firsthuman-made satellite to orbit Earth

1957

Smead workers form unionSmead acquires Yale Filing Supplies Co.in Los Angeles, California

1958

Alaska becomes 49th stateEbba Hoffman purchases the 23-acre sitefrom Hastings Country Club for futureexpansion

1959

Although she did not have involvement with Smead operations in the early 1950s, Ebba Hoffman

traveled with her husband Harold Hoffman and his father P. A. Hoffman on many business trips.

During these trips she met many of Smead’s key dealers, which would prove invaluable after she

assumed the presidency following Harold’s sudden death, just 14 months after his father died.

Smead products were

proudly displayed at

fine office products

retailers throughout

the United States.

For Smead, the early fifties brought a

company sales office and a warehouse

facility in Chicago, Illinois, plus a plant in

Toronto, Canada. And 1954 began a

chain of events that brought a new

Smead era. P. A. Hoffman died at the

age of 74. Harold Hoffman became

President of Smead. His energetic and

imaginative leadership, however, would

fuel the company for just 14 months more.

In August of 1955, Harold passed away

unexpectedly while attending an

industry meeting in Buffalo, New York.

A stunned Mrs. Hoffman had two

options: she could step in and run the

debt-burdened Smead, or she could

sell the company and find another job

to support her young family. Knowing it

was her husband’s intent to pass the

company on to their children, Ebba

Hoffman took her place at the helm.

So it was that Mrs. Ebba C. Hoffman

became Smead President on

November 15, 1955—45 years old,

widowed with two young children to

raise, two will-less estates to settle, and

a struggling company to run.

An unlikely leader in 1955, Mrs. Hoffman

was one of the few women in the world

to head a company the size of Smead.

Determined to save the company, she

didn’t flinch. She dug right in and got to

know her employees, customers and

dealers. Everyone who was involved

with Smead felt Mrs. Hoffman’s presence.

The Smead Tell-I-Vision filing system became a

standard for drawer filing. The system was designed

to save time filing and retrieving documents. Using

file guides, single tab position folders, and colored

“miscellaneous” folders, the expandable system

introduced many important filing principles.

Smead introduced many new products in the 1950s, ranging from

household organizers to proposal covers to complete filing systems

for managing large numbers of records at large businesses.

Al Nordstrom (right) was Smead’s first sales

manager, starting at the company in the 1910s.

He worked closely with Harold Hoffman to

develop a national sales force by the 1950s.

The sudden death of Harold Hoffman changed the

role of his wife Ebba from housewife and mother to

President and CEO of Smead. Her leadership and

business savvy brought about an era of

unprecedented growth for the company.

When Harold Hoffman

passed away unexpectedly,

the company lost its spirited

leader, and an innovator of

new ideas for organization.

Ebba Hoffman

made her first

acquisition in 1958

with the purchase

of Yale Filing

Supply Company

in Los Angeles.

Smead continued to

add products to meet the

changing needs of business.

Hanging Folders became a popular

alternative to standard file folders.

The calendar read 1955, but Smead

was headed for the 21st century. Mrs.

Hoffman would direct Smead

Manufacturing Company to its greatest

period of growth and success.

To make operations

more cost effective,

she began consol-

idation and re-

grouping. She

closed the Toronto

plant, combining it

with Hastings in

1956. To extend

distribution and

production facil-

ities, she made her

first acquisition as

President in 1958.

She acquired Yale

Filing Supplies

Company in Los

Angeles, California,

adding new

products and new

territories to

Smead operations

and firmly estab-

lishing Smead in

the Western part of the nation. She

added new products; to meet the filing

needs of America’s largest companies,

Smead invented the end tab filing

method, an efficient new way to

organize vast numbers of records using

color-coded folders on shelves.

Mrs. Hoffman also showed natural

marketing ability in her first years of

leading the company as she sought

bright colors and innovative designs.

She retired the traditional brown

packaging of the day and chose Smead’s

red-and-maroon plaid box design.

Smead employees were also active

during this time, forming their own

union. Because employees respectfully

felt that “management would rather talk

with the employees themselves than

with an outside union,” the Independent

Filing Supplies and Specialty Workers’

Union (IFSSWU) was not affiliated with

any national union. Formed as a

protective measure when a national

attempt to organize the plant failed, the

union was certified by the National

Labor Board.

With foresight as a new decade

approached, Mrs. Hoffman purchased

from the Hastings Country Club the

23-acre tract of land on which, under

her guidance, a new plant would

eventually be built. By 1960, she had

turned the company around. And in her

dual role of successful businesswoman

and mother, she continued grooming

the skills of the third generation of the

Hoffman family—Sharon Lee and

John Peter.

flyswatters & Muzzles

The company grew, often with some interestingdetours and side trips into making other products.The Brownson Company, acquired by HaroldHoffman in 1954 for its production facilities andbuilding, made flyswatters, chicken egg catchers,and horse muzzles. Despite sending out letters thatthe muzzles were no longer available, Smead keptgetting customer requests. The equipment was stillpresent, so Mrs. Hoffman said, “Well, go ahead andtry it.” Sales were brisk. When an order came for athousand gross, an astonished Gus Heinold,Production Manager, said, “A thousand times 144?”The customer explained he muzzled mules forcultivating tobacco on steep Appalachian hillsides tokeep them from getting sick on grass sprayed with“good-tasting” weevil pesticides.

The first job on the Brownson site wasproduction of Korean War Air Force folders. Gusstarted with four people, and within 60 days had 120people working on three shifts. When orders for flyswatters were received, Gus started the fly swatterproduction equipment again and continued theswatters along with the government folders.

The fly swatter operation kept running until abuyer was found.

Ebba Hoffman assumed the role of President and CEO of Smead after

her husband’s sudden death in 1955. Her leadership would guide Smead

through its greatest period of growth for the next 43 years.

Young Sharon and John Peter Hoffman

joined their mother at the groundbreaking

of a new headquarters and manufacturing

facility in Hastings, MN in 1961.

The ubiquitous red plaid Smead box

became a familiar sight in nearly

every office in the country.

The opening of a new plant in

Hastings was celebrated by the

entire community and signaled

Ebba Hoffman’s commitment to

the growth of Smead and her

dedication to its employees and

their families. Young Sharon and John Peter Hoffman

joined their mother at the groundbreaking

of a new headquarters and manufacturing

facility in Hastings, Minnesota in 1961.

Helpful guides for using Smead

products to organize documents

were published to educate

consumers. Detailed instructions

helped office personnel set up and

maintain efficient filing systems.

For Smead, too, the decade mingled

milestones and turmoil. By now Smead

manufactured the most complete paper

line of stationery and office supplies in

the world. In the coming decade

Smead would introduce End Tab filing

and color coding along with the

patented AlphaZ filing system for

alphabetic storage. These products

combined to launch a revolution in

records management.

The sixties began with celebrated

innovations and expansions. In January

1961 came the realization of a dream of

almost 20 years as Smead’s spacious

new corporate headquarters and

manufacturing plant were completed

in Hastings, Minnesota. The new plant

combined under one roof all the

manufacturing and warehouse facilities

previously housed in 1 1 buildings on

East Second Street and adjacent areas,

including rented garages around town

to help alleviate the acute lack of

storage space. The spacious new

quarters added 11,000 square feet of

office space and 129,000 square feet

of factory production area. It was quite

a contrast from the tiny, dimly lit room

where a single Smead item was first

made 55 years earlier.

Festivities included tours and open

house celebrations for employees and

their families, as well as some 2,000

vendors, dealers, and invited guests

from throughout the country. Senator

Hubert H. Humphrey sent

congratulations, hailing the occasion

“an eloquent testimony to faith in the

economic future of Hastings.”

Minnesota Governor Elmer L.

Andersen thanked Mrs. Hoffman and

her associates “for the contribution

you are making to the well-being of

our state.” Hastings Mayor Gerard

T. Kranz praised Smead’s contributions

as a vital factor in the growth of

Hastings, and sent wishes that

the next 55 years be “as successful as

the past 55.”

Still, Smead was not untouched by the

turmoil that marked the sixties. In 1962,

Mrs. Hoffman faced one of her greatest

management challenges when a labor

strike slowed manufacturing. In the

words of then Plant Manager Gordon

Swanson: “The Oil, Chemical, and

Atomic Workers (OCAW) Union was

strong at 3M, Koch Refinery, and other

places in the Hastings area. They

exerted a lot of pressure for Smead to

become a union shop, where every

employee would join the OCAW.

Mrs. Hoffman wouldn’t go against the

independent union workers who had

been so loyal to her. Consequently, we

had a 1 6-week strike. People tried to

come to work. But when things on the

picket line grew unsafe, the plant shut

down from August to October. During

this time Mrs. Hoffman got many phone

calls from people who wanted to work.

It was a matter of keeping the place

going. We concentrated on the catalog

items to keep the dealers in stock.

Finally, in December they settled. The

first contract said the people who were

already on the payroll did not have to

join the OCAW. A few years later, a

new contract contained the OCAW

pension plan. It was an incentive for

some of the die-hard independent

people to join the union at that time.”

Almost every family in Hastings felt some

effects of the strike. For months, Smead

was a house divided. But the company

did not yield to union demands, and

ironically some workers who stood on

the picket line later moved into

management positions. Everyone was

relieved when production geared up

again and Smead was back to what it did

so well: making over 2,000 stock items

plus custom orders.

The 1960s were times of turmoil and change. The most sweeping civil rights legislation in history was signedinto law, and the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Senator Robert

Kennedy stunned the nation. It was a decade of milestones that included our first steps on the moon.

Ebba Hoffman was one of the few women in the world to head a company the size of Smead. Shown

here with her salesmen in 1961, she was often the only woman at industry events. Her “farm girl grit” and

uncanny business savvy transformed Smead into the industry leader in filing systems and supplies.

John Peter Hoffman helps Ebba Hoffman break

ground for a new manufacturing plant in

McGregor. The 1960s was a decade of growth

and expansion for Smead under Mrs. Hoffman’s

visionary leadership.

®�

the

1960s

Stillwater, Minnesota plant and operationscloses and moves to Hastings, Minnesota

1960

New corporate headquarters completed inHastings, Minnesota

1961

Strike closes Hastings, Minnesota plantAugust-October

1962

President John F. Kennedy assassinated Martin Luther King Jr. makes his “I Have aDream” speech

1963

US Congress enacts the Civil Rights Act Smead Central Distribution Center inChicago, Illinois expandedSmead introduces AlphaZ color-coded filing system

1964

First minicomputers are sold Third generation Sharon Lee Hoffman joinscorporate administration

1965

Indira Gandhi elected Prime Ministerof India

1966

Third generation John Peter Hoffman joinscorporate administration

1967

Hastings, Minnesota plant expanded by30 percentMartin Luther King Jr. assassinated,prompting race riots around the nation

1968

Subsidiary Yale Filing Supply Co. renamedwith Smead nameUS Apollo 11 astronaut Neil Armstrong isthe first human to walk on the moon:“…one giant leap for mankind”

1969

In 1964, Mrs. Hoffman marked the

68th Anniversary of the company by

announcing the construction of a new

50,000-square-foot factory in Logan,

Ohio. Patterned after the highly efficient

Hastings plant, this new Logan plant

would at last consolidate under one

roof all manufacturing and warehousing

of Logan’s raw materials and finished

products. In the span of less than ten

years, however, the new Logan plant

would be increased to 104,000 square

feet to keep pace with the demand for

Smead products in the eastern and

southeastern states and some of the

foreign markets.

Mrs. Hoffman also implemented

changes in Chicago, Illinois, where

Smead product warehousing had

existed since early in the company’s

history to provide faster service to

dealer-customers. In 1964, Mrs.

Hoffman greatly expanded this function

by establishing a Central Distribution

Center at a new location in the city.

Doubling the Chicago warehouse and

sales facility better served dealers in the

Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Kentucky

markets. Smead products were shipped

to the Chicago Distribution Center

from Logan and from Hastings.

A Purchasing Department was

established, with Walter Snelling

serving as first official purchasing agent.

He was assisted by veteran employee

Gus Heinold, who became the

purchasing agent upon Walter’s

retirement in 1967. And still the growth

continued. With sales volume,

production, and inventory increasing,

Smead expanded the Hastings plant by

30 percent in 1968—only six years after

its original construction.

Throughout the growth and change, the

youngest generation of Hoffmans paid

attention. Occasionally, Mrs. Hoffman

brought her children to district sales

meetings. Gus remembers a time when

he went to pick up young Sharon

Hoffman and John Peter Hoffman at

school to surprise Mrs. Hoffman with

their presence when she received the

Jaycee’s Businessperson of the Year

Award in 1960.

Indeed, Sharon and John Peter got

their business apprenticeships early.

They began by hanging around the

office until they were old enough to

work weekends and summers.

Sharon’s first project involved putting

together a sales catalog. She often

filled in where needed, including as

secretary or receptionist. In 1965,

after two years at Hamline University,

Sharon began working full-time in the

credit department. In 1969 she

became Assistant to the President.

John Peter joined the company in

operations in 1967, preferring the

production side of the business.

Showing much of the innovative

business savvy of his father, John Peter

worked his way up to Vice President

and a place on the Board.

FACTORIES

WAREHOUSES

FACTORY SALESMEN

The 1960s was a decade of great expansion for Smead. New manufacturing plants, warehouses and sales

territories spread throughout the US. Smead products became commonplace in offices nationwide.

The costliest feature of the new Hastings, Minnesota plant was this $30,000 specially-built high

frequency room. Without the copper “isolation” provided by the room, the high frequency welders would

cause interference with radio and TV reception within a 50 mile radius of Hastings.

In 1957 young JohnCrawford rented a room inHudson, Wisconsin, from alady named Mrs. Pfister.Her son was Smeademployee Art Pfister. “Onenight Art came home andhis mom introduced me tohim,” recalls John. “Art sawpotential in me and said goover to Smead and tell them there was a job therefor me.” John came to work and saw right awaythat “Smead didn’t resent paying their salesmen afair commission. That moved a lot of guys to workvery hard back then.”

David Fasbender, Senior Vice President of Salesand Marketing, credits John for Smead’s role as apioneer in systems filing. Knowing that misfiling ofpatient records in hospitals was a problem thatneeded a solution, John called on hospitals in hisIndiana and Illinois territories. His goal was todevelop a solution for their misfiles, but hisapproach was unusual. David recalls accompanying

John on a hospital call inIndianapolis. “John wore atrench coat and dark glasses,saying, ‘We have to slip inthrough the back door.’ I wastrying to understand why. It’sbecause we had to get past thepurchasing agent — whose jobwas to control costs — toreach the user, who was backin the file room trying to solvea filing problem! We werepioneers in color coding as aresult of John’s willingness

to bull his way into customers,snoop around, and get the information we neededto develop the solution: colored bands on folders.”

John retired in 1998 after forty years withSmead. Today he comments, “I have seen a lot ofdifferent company operations in this industry andno one has treated their employees like theHoffmans have. Mrs. Hoffman took interest in thepeople that worked for her and took interest in theirfamilies too. Sharon Hoffman Avent has alwaysbeen the same way. They treated me right and Itried to treat them right. When I was at Smead, Idon’t think there was a salesman that ever lookedfor another job.”

JOHN CRAWFORD“They treated me right and I tried to treat them right.”

A bitter labor strike closed the Hastings,

Minnesota plant for several months in 1962.

Ebba Hoffman refused to turn against her

loyal employees who were being pressured

to abandon their independent union and

join a national union.

Within ten years of their opening, the

Hastings, Minnesota plant’s capacity

was increased by 30 percent and the

Logan, Ohio plant doubled in size.

Smead’s reputation for quality and innovation

spread as new and better fling solutions were

introduced. The Smead brand was

synonymous with durability and integrity.

The efficient and modern Hastings,

Minnesota factory streamlined

operations and became the model for

several other manufacturing facilities

built throughout the United States.

The Smead AlphaZ color coding system

assigned colors to the letters of the alphabet to

speed filing and retrieval of folders. The system

became extremely popular in medical and

dental offices, and is still widely used today.

As demand for Smead filing supplies

grew, so did the fleet of 18-wheelers

that distributed products to office

products dealers. By the mid-1970s,

Smead trucks were covering more

than 650,000 miles per year.

Smead opened its sixth manufacturing plant in

Locust Grove, Georgia in 1978. The 103,000

square foot facility established efficient distribution

of products in the southeastern United States.

Presentation binders and proposal covers

added an important new category of

products to the Smead line.

November of 1978, but the story goes

back to John Peter’s search for suitable

land on which to build the new facility.

John Peter turned to Atlanta salesman

Leo Hart to help him “reconnoiter" the

area. They drove down Interstate 75

and stopped to walk the open land near

Locust Grove—so rural that, according

to Leo, it was just a wide spot in the

road and "the zip code must be e-i-e-i-o."

Happy to find land that was fairly low

with access to railroad siding and a

state highway, the two decided to

investigate further. Leo recounts the

events, saying “We went into town and

we found the only bank. The banker’s

back was toward us as we entered and

walked into his office.”

“All of a sudden he jumped up; we think

he was snoozing and we woke him up.

We asked how we could find out more

about the land. ‘You go to the hardware

store (the only 2-story building in town)

and talk to Howard Gardner,’ came

The times were changing at Smead,

too. Inspired by her father Harold

Hoffman’s tradition of giving a gold

watch on an employee’s 25th

anniversary, Sharon Hoffman, Assistant

to the President, initiated the Smead

Merit Award Program in 1970. The

program would recognize employees

at all company plants for their years of

service. “Our service is the best of any

in the industry,” she said firmly. “Your

employees are your company, and we

wouldn’t be here without them.” Many

Smead employees proudly wear gold

watches, rings, tie clasps, necklaces, or

other cherished items as tributes to their

years of dedicated service.

Expansion of the Hastings, Minnesota-

based company steadily proceeded

under Mrs. Hoffman’s leadership.

Customer demand for Smead quality

products in the southwestern states

resulted in the 1971 opening of Smead’s

fifth manufacturing plant. The 75,000

square-foot facility in McGregor, Texas,

was built under direct supervision of

John Peter Hoffman. Six years later,

Smead opened a plant in Locust

Grove, Georgia to meet demand in

southeastern states. The company

began shipping filing products from the

new 103,000 square-foot plant in

The 1970s celebrated the nation’s 200th birthday, saw its first resignation of a US President, andchanged the voting age for Americans from 21 to 18. Anti-war and social movements swept college

campuses. Smiley faces, mood rings, lava lamps, Rubik’s cube, and pet rocks captured our imaginations.the

1970s

Merit Award Program initiated by Sharon Hoffmanto recognize employees’ years of serviceEnvironmental Protection Agency established

1970

Smead’s fifth plant opens in McGregor, Texas1971

Outstanding athletes at the 1972 OlympicGames in Munich included Russian gymnastOlga Korbut and American swimmer Mark Spitz

1972

US President Richard Nixon resignsFirst ATM appears in a New York bankPepsi-Cola becomes the first Americanproduct licensed for sale in the Soviet Union

1973

Smead named Wholesale StationersAssociation Manufacturer of the Year

1974

The US evacuates its troops, civilians, and manyof its Vietnamese allies from South VietnamFirst commercially successful VCRs introduced

1975

The US celebrates its 200th birthday on July 41976

Ebba Hoffman is the first woman inductedinto the Minnesota Business Hall of Fame

1977

Smead opens manufacturing plant inLocust Grove, GeorgiaRiding a horse named Affirmed, 18-year-old Steve Cauthen wins thoroughbredracing’s Triple Crown

1978

The worst nuclear power accident in US history occurs on March 28 at ThreeMile Island nuclear power plant near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

1979

Ebba Hoffman’s caring commitment to Smead

led the company to steady growth during the

1970s and earned the loyalty of employees,

suppliers, and customers.

Employee loyalty is a tradition at Smead. John Peter, Sharon and Ebba

Hoffman honor Marcella Drilling (third from left) for forty years of service

in 1973. Marcella was honored again in 1993 for sixty years with Smead.

®

According to Leo Hart, a 40-year Smead salesmannow retired, “Ebba Hoffman considered the SmeadManufacturing Company an extension of her ownfamily.” Jim Holmes, retired interplant coordinator whowas with Smead for 32 years, concurs. “At Smead therewas no ‘me.’ Everything we did was ‘we.’” TheHoffman’s steadfast dedication to its employees andtheir families is returned with long tenures and loyalservice. Many stay with the company their entirecareers. Like Jim and Leo, it is not uncommon foremployees from factory workers through topmanagement to stay with Smead thirty or forty years.Others include Jay Sommers with nearly 50 years, GusHeinold with 43, Adolph Denn with 41, Joe Podner with38, Jim Holmes with 32, and Art Pfister, who retired with65 years. Sharing her family’s gratitude and respect foremployees’ loyalty and their contributions to thecompany, Sharon Hoffman initiated the Smead MeritAward Program in 1970.

the reply. We learned that two

individuals owned the land we wanted,

and within five minutes we were

rumbling through the area in Howard’s

pickup truck. A couple weeks later John

Peter came back, eager to close a deal.

We negotiated over the phone, first with

one owner and then the other. To our

astonishment, we ended up with 38

acres of land—much more than needed.

John Peter, who fondly referred to Mrs.

Hoffman as “Ma,” was worried about

what she would say. I told him, ‘When

you go home and tell Ma you got 38

acres of land, more than an abundance,

she will still be your mother. But, what

about me? I may be out of a job!” Well,

Mrs. Hoffman thought that was just fine,

recalls Leo, and 38 acres for a facility

that maybe used 4-6 acres turned out

to be a good investment.

This was the peak era in the long and

loyal Smead-Dealer relationship, a time

when regional Smead sales

representatives made personal contacts

with the nation’s thousands of office

supply retailers and wholesalers,

through whom all Smead products are

sold. (No direct selling to consumers is

done with any of Smead’s items, a

policy of dealer loyalty to which Smead

has been dedicated since its beginning.)

Annual gatherings at the industry’s

trade shows were highlights everyone

anticipated with pleasure.

Respectful esteem went both ways, and

the Wholesale Stationers Association

(WSA) was one of many organizations

that honored Smead for innovation

and quality through the years. In 1974,

Smead received their first WSA

Manufacturer of the Year award

in recognition of “outstanding

performance.” They received the award

again in 1989 and 1990. In 1977 Mrs.

Hoffman was the first woman to be

inducted into the Minnesota Business

Hall of Fame. First to break into that sort

of recognition, she kept that award on

her desk for the rest of her career.

The late 1970s brought an

industry-wide paper shortage and

Smead again showed its character. Like

other manufacturers, Smead couldn’t

get enough raw stock from mills to

satisfy customer needs. Given human

nature and laws of supply and demand,

it might have seemed a chance to get

higher prices. But Mrs. Hoffman firmly

declared, “We’re not going to do that.

We’re going to allocate our resources

based on what our customers gave us

in the past.” Total purchases in all

categories for the past year were

calculated for each customer, and these

determined the customer’s allocation

during the shortage. In the meantime,

Smead was able to buy additional

paper from a nontraditional mill for a

premium. Called Krivila, this paper was

slightly different. Smead made it

available to dealers, saying here’s what

it costs, and you can get it—but making

sure they got their allocation of regular

product too. “We didn’t show favorites

or lose any customers,” recalled David

Fasbender. “We stayed with the ones

who brought us to the dance; it was the

fair thing to do.”

The board of directors in 1979, clockwise from

left, Millett O’Connell, John Peter Hoffman,

Art Pfister, Ebba Hoffman, and Sharon Hoffman.

The prestigious award for her induction into

the Minnesota Business Hall of Fame was a

prized possession that sat prominently on

Ebba Hoffman’s desk. She was the first

woman to ever receive the award.

From the time he was hired back in 1935,plant engineer Joe Podner was a strong andsteady presence in the company as well asfor the Hoffman family. It’s well known thatJoe built much of Smead’s early equipment,and he built it to last forever.

Jack Calkins, hired by Joe Podner 38years ago, is the current manager of the engineering department. Sharing recollections at the company’s centennial,Jack explains that Joe was born in Austriain 1898 and arrived in the United States after WWI. He began working at Smead in July of 1935, and much of the early equipment was built by Joewith wood as the main construction material.

Those machines haveall been modified orreplaced in the last 30years, says Jack, but theyserved the company well.“Joe taught me a lot,” states Jack, but he alsorecalls that “Joe had a real German brogue andsometimes it was hard to understand him. Thatfrustrated him, although itmade for good storiesabout things that happened

to him because of his accent.” Joe also had aconviction that he was always right. “Most ofthe time it was true,” laughs Jack, “but wehad plenty of ‘interesting discussions’ whereI knew I was right. Usually it would frustrateJoe, but he would take the new ideas and goalong with them.”

Jack and everyone else knew that Joewas a real asset to Mrs. Hoffman. “She usedto come out and seek his advice on things.He was a mainstay of the company at thattime.” The esteem went both ways, and Joewas John Peter Hoffman's godfather. Jack isclear about Joe’s contributions. “He passed

on a lot of good work ethics.He would be in here before5 AM and after 5 PM. He’dcome in on Saturdays andSundays. I think Joe wasmost proud of how thecompany grew and thedirect influence he had overthat growth. He was proudof what he did.”

Joe retired in Septemberof 1973 when his healthbegan to fail. He died onAugust 13, 1975. His legacyis firm, and so is his place inthe hearts and memories ofhis Smead family.

Joe Podner, shown here in 1961, was a

mechanical genius who built many new

machines used in manufacturing.

Joe Podner“Joe was most proud of how the company grew

and the direct influence he had over that growth.”

Colored products grew in popularity

during the 1970s. Using color to

categorize materials helped

make it easy to locate

different types of

documents.

Bold and colorful

graphics on catalogs

and advertising

materials reflected the

spirit of the 1970s.

The Smead Sampler was used by dealers to

showcase a wide variety of Smead products.

“Smead Week” was celebrated in

Hastings, Minnesota in May of 1982.

In honor of the city’s largest employer,

the street in front of the Hastings plant

was renamed Smead Boulevard.

Smead earned widespread recognition as the

leading provider of color-coded shelf filing systems.

Most large institutions adopted end tab filing as the

most efficient way to manage their records.

The familiar red pattern of Smead

packaging appeared in virtually every

office products store in the United States.

Prosperity and double-digit inflation

began the spendthrift eighties, and

names like Donald Trump, Leona

Helmsley, and Ivan Boesky iconed the

meteoric rise and fall of the rich and

famous. At the close of the decade the

Berlin Wall came down, portending

great changes for the decade to come.

The 20th century raced on, and Smead

reached new milestones.

In recognition of the company’s 75th

anniversary, Hastings, Minnesota

saluted their homegrown company with

Smead Week. A new street sign for

“Smead Boulevard” went up, renaming

the street on which the corporate

headquarters is located.

In a sudden and tragic loss, Mrs.

Hoffman and Sharon Hoffman Avent

laid John Peter Hoffman to rest in 1986.

Like his father before him, John Peter

died unexpectedly and prematurely

while out of state. His genius and

personality would be sorely missed.

What followed for Mrs. Hoffman was a

long period of grieving, illness, and

recuperation. The Smead family of

employees, also mourning the loss,

showed great loyalty and support

during this difficult time. Clearly they

wanted Mrs. Hoffman to stay and keep

the company. The family management

team was now mother and daughter.

Together they would build Smead into an

enterprise ranked 44th on the list of the

top 500 women-owned businesses by

1998, when Mrs. Hoffman passed away.

In the same year as the death of John

Peter, the company reached its 80th

year of growth and success as a result

of quality products and innovations

that keep us organized in the

Information Age.

What makes Smead such a success? It

is not unusual for a Smead employee to

stay with the company for many years.

Nearly one of seven employees had 20

years of service or more at Smead’s

90th anniversary. Only stepping down

from the board in the early 2000s when

he was in his 90s, Art Pfister had been

an employee of 65 years. Still working

in 2006 were Janet Fox (65 years),

The 1980s arrived, bringing a roller coaster of change. Satellites and fiber optics, cable TV, and faxes wrapped us in a crazy quilt of information. Binge buying and credit became a way of life,

and so did video games, aerobics, minivans, camcorders, and talk shows. the

1980s

Post-It Notes invented by 3M chemistArthur Fry Mount St. Helens, a usually quiet volcanoin Washington, erupts

1980

Smead celebrates 75th anniversaryUS President Ronald Reagan and PopeJohn Paul II are injured by assassinsAIDS first identified

1981

Barney Clark, 61, becomes the first personever to receive an artificial heart and survivesfor 122 daysThe City of Hastings, Minnesota celebratesSmead Week

1982

TV series M*A*S*H ends after 10.5 years1983

To fight acid rain, New York becomes thefirst state to require factories to lower theamounts of sulfur dioxide they pump intothe air

1984

Nintendo launches its home entertainmentsystemBritish scientists in Antarctica announce ahole in the ozone layer over the South Pole

1985

John Peter Hoffman dies unexpectedlySpace Shuttle Challenger explodes

1986

The stock market had boomed throughoutthe eighties, but Wall Street had its worstday ever on October 19 when the marketfell 508 points

1987

Michael Jordan is the NBA Scoring Leaderfor the second yearHeat waves and drought roasted much ofthe United States during the summer in oneof the century’s worst droughts

1988

Cold War ends as communist governmentsin Eastern Europe collapse; Soviet Unionbegins to break apartBerlin Wall comes down

1989

John Peter Hoffman worked closely with plant personnel to improve product quality and develop efficient operations. Shown here with longtime Hastings

employee Edna “Coney” Hankes and plant manager Gordon Swanson, John Peter was keenly interested in making sure that equipment was up-to-date.

Third generation Hoffmans, Sharon and John

Peter joined their mother to guide Smead in

continued growth through the 1980s.

®�

Colored products

and color coding

were promoted in

advertising in the

late 1980s.

Longtime employees,

friends, family

members, and key

employees gathered

November 15, 1985

to honor Ebba

Hoffman for 30 years

as President and

CEO of Smead.

Gold watches, given to

employees at 25 years of

service, are a symbol of the

company’s gratitude to its

workers. Smead has a

remarkable number of

employees with tenures of

more than 25 years.

By 1985, Smead had factories and distribution

centers in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Ohio,

California, Georgia, Texas, and Illinois.

Al Trapp (49 years), Nancy Dack (47

years), David Fasbender (46 years), and

Patricia Carl (45 years). Their pictures

are among those of dozens of workers

on the company board who have been

part of “the Smead family” for decades.

The length of time employees stay with

Smead is an indication of the way the

company is run. Interviews with

employees on Smead’s 80th

anniversary sum up the reason they

stay. The late Gordon Swanson, then

Plant Manager, credited Mrs. Hoffman:

“The growth of the company has

happened under Mrs. Hoffman’s

leadership. She has made a lot of good

business decisions.” He noted that Mrs.

Hoffman’s decision to expand the

company outside of Hastings was

essential for Smead to be competitive

with other office supply manufacturers

by making the products more

accessible to their customers.

Senior Vice President of Sales and

Marketing David Fasbender joined

the company in 1959. He attributes

Smead’s success to quality products

at fair prices and says that Smead has

“always been recognized as the best

service company within the industry—

always.” David adds: “Our owners have

always had a willingness to provide

us with the most effective, up-to-date

equipment necessary to be competitive

and grow the business. It is that shared

vision of success and growth that has

kept the many dedicated employees

here for a lifetime.” He also credits the

family atmosphere that was created by

Mrs. Hoffman and nurtured by her

daughter Sharon. “People feel a part

of a family and when we hire a new

individual from outside, they find it so

unique.” Smead currently ships more

product in one day than they shipped

and manufactured in the entire first year

that David was with the company!

Veteran Smead salesman Leo Hart joinedthe company in 1958 at the recommendationof John Crawford, who recalls, “Leo and Iwere friends in Indianapolis, where he wasattending law school. His romance wasdeteriorating and I told him he had to cometo work for Smead.” When a territory becameavailable, John told General Manager OrvinMoen that he had just the man for him. Johnenthused about Leo having “quite apersonality,” which made him hands andshoulders above most salesmen in a timewhen building personal relationships was theway to gain a customer’s business. Sureenough, in the long career that followed, Leo won affection and respect for focusing on his dealers’ businesses, on their customers, and theirsuccesses. People seldomheard Leo say the word “I.”

Leo’s huge sales territoryoriginally included SouthCarolina, Georgia, Alabama,and Florida. But the closestmanufacturing location was inLogan, Ohio, explains DavidFasbender. “Concerned aboutthe high freight costs fromLogan to his customers, Leodevised a creative plan. He

drove from dealer to dealer, takinginventories, writing orders, and convincingthe competitive dealers that waiting until their combined orders filled a truckloadwould benefit them all. The pooled shippingsaved dealers money and earned Leo theirbusiness.”

As Leo’s success increased, his territorywas slowly decreased to enable him to keep servicing dealers the way theyrequested and deserved. David comments,“Every time Leo’s territory was cut, heimmediately went to work to increasebusiness and bring his earnings back up towhere they’d been.” But Leo could draw theline. David once approached Leo about a yetanother territory reduction. He asked, “Leo,

why don’t you take the Floridaterritory? It’s so much bigger.”Leo was quick to reply: “I don’tlike bugs.”

Leo is still beloved for hisfine character, and those whoknow him best say he’s alsostill adding to his reputation forbeing a character. Leo retiredin 2004 after more than 40years of service. He remains amember of the Smead familyand is a popular fishing buddy.

LEO HART“Leo had quite a personality, putting him above most salesmen at a timewhen building relationships was the way to gain a customer’s business.”

Ebba Hoffman

generously donated a

beautiful Holtkamp pipe

organ to Our Savior’s

Lutheran Church of

Hastings in memory of

John Peter Hoffman.

Ebba Hoffman established a tradition of

purchasing the winning entry from the Sister

Kenny Institute Art Show, a competition for

handicapped artists. The paintings are repro-

duced on the annual Smead Christmas card.

Smead was a prominent exhibitor at the National Office Products Association (NOPA) annual trade

show. Dealers looked forward to meeting with Smead personnel, often forming long-lasting relationships.

The 90s have been called the Merger

Decade. The stock market reached an

all-time high as people learned to buy

and trade via the Internet. Minimum

wage was increased to $5.15 an hour,

the economy was healthy, and

Americans “consumed” as never

before. By the end of the decade,

everyone had a cell phone and phrases

like “the server’s down” were part

of our vocabulary.

In 1990 the 20th anniversary of Earth

Day started a new era in public concern

for the environment. Many of Smead’s

competitors created separate product

lines of filing supplies with recycled

content at higher prices. But this confused

customers and caused duplicate

inventory problems for many struggling

dealers. A firm believer that today’s

decisions affect tomorrow’s America,

Mrs. Hoffman decided that recycling

was simply the right thing to do. By 1991

all Smead paper products contained

recycled fibers diverted from America’s

landfills. Despite extra cost for recycled

paper, Smead kept prices the same.

By the early 90s, the Information Age

was fully upon us. With it came a paper

blizzard from computers, copiers, and

fax machines. Computers were

common on everyone’s desk and we

downloaded and printed, dramatically

increasing the amount of paper use.

Then came a hail of e-mails and

documents created digitally on top of

the paper-based documents that are

scanned and stored digitally. Where to

The calendar turned to the 1990s, truly the electronic age. Macintosh computers and then PCs weredesktop fixtures. The World Wide Web cast its net through cyberspace, changing the way we communicate

(e-mail), spend our money (online shopping), and do business (e-commerce). the

1990s

Smead converts all paper products toinclude post-consumer recycled content

1990

Soviet Union breaks up; end of the Cold WarThe six-week Persian Gulf War, led by theUS and mandated by United Nations,results from Iraq's invasion of Kuwait

1991

Mall of America, the largest shopping mall inthe USA opens in Bloomington, MinnesotaWorld Wide Web begins at a Swiss-basedscientific organization

1992

Smead launches Treveall® bar-codetracking software

1993

The North American Free Trade Agreement(NAFTA), signed into lawThe Chunnel (English Channel tunnel)allows travel between England and France

1994

Smeadlink Integrated DocumentManagement Software launchedDigital video discs (DVDs) are inventedeBay founded

1995

The 1996 Summer Olympics open inAtlanta, Georgia as Muhammad Alilights the Olympic Torch

1996

Smead introduces Viewables® LabelingSystem

1997

Sharon Hoffman Avent named SmeadPresident and CEOSmead acquires Atlanta-Hoogezand B.V. in the Netherlands

1998

Ebba Hoffman dies on February 5 at age 87Smead acquires Document ControlSolutions in Fullerton, California

1999

To meet a demand for recycled products, Ebba

Hoffman converted all Smead paper products

to include post-consumer recycled paper.

Despite the extra cost, she did not raise prices.

Ebba Hoffman and Sharon Avent pose with the sales force and key corporate employees at the 1992

national sales meeting. At a time when many competitors were being bought by international

conglomerates and manufacturing abroad, Smead proudly emphasized that it was a family-owned

company manufacturing its products in the USA.

file? How to file? Which to keep and

which to destroy? How to find it when

you need it? More focus on electronic

records management and a convergence

between paper and electronic material

was needed. Smead now applied its

inherent understanding of the critical

nature of records to electronic systems.

As Sharon Avent declared, “Smead is

in the solutions business, not just the

products business.”

While paper records still accounted for

ninety percent of all documents stored,

the gradual migration from paper-based

to electronic document management

had begun. We slowly realized things

stored in our computers need not be

printed out. Records management

systems for all forms of business records

were the challenge of the 90s, and

Smead saw it coming. The company

responded and began carving a

niche in the new frontier of electronic

document management. In 1993

Smead introduced Treveall®, bar code

tracking software that used computers

to help manage paper records.

Smead’s Super Tuff

Pocket® is a favorite

at law firms where

overstuffed files are

the norm.

As large office products retailers

became common, Smead began

to change its packaging from the

familiar red plaid to include

product images and descriptions

of features and benefits.

In 1991, Smead changed all of its

paper products to include post-

consumer recycled content.

Smead entered the software market in 1993 with

the introduction of Treveall®, a DOS application

that used bar code technology to track the usage

and locations of paper records.

A new line of premium quality expanding files

made with textured materials and new features

appealed to image-conscious office workers.

The introduction of Viewables® Labeling

Software and its unique tab design for hanging

folders was an instant hit with consumers.

A complete line

of poly filing

products offered

innovative colors

and designs

combined with

rugged durability.

The Smeadlink® suite of software modules

was the first document management system

that could manage both electronic and

paper documents in a single application.

Smead’s early recognition of new

technologies and the need for

electronic document management led

to the development of the Smeadlink®

Integrated Document Management

System. Paper records, electronic files,

imaged documents, fax or e-mail

transmissions, microfilm or fiche, and

mainframe data or hard copy—all could

now be indexed, tracked and retrieved

through a single application called

“Smeadlink Librarian.” Smead Software

Solutions became the operating division

leading the way in combining innovative

new technologies with nearly a century

of experience solving real-world

document management challenges.

Thus Smead became an industry leader

in the frontier of electronic information

storage and retrieval. Sharon believes

the company has done a good job of

preparing for the electronic age: “Early

on, we embraced computerization

throughout our own system—not only

for Human Resources and Finance, but

also on the manufacturing floor,

computerizing much of our workflow.

We carved a niche by building

programs around the needs of users.”

On Smead’s 90th anniversary in 1996,

a beloved Mrs. Hoffman—well past

retirement age—still actively oversaw the

company as President and CEO. She

teamed with Sharon, now Senior

Executive Vice President and member

of the Board of Directors. On July 1,

1998, Mrs. Hoffman turned Smead

leadership over to her daughter, naming

Sharon her President and CEO. In

announcing the appointment Mrs.

Hoffman said, “Sharon has

forged strong relationships with our

employees, suppliers, and customers.

It seems fitting that I turn the leadership

of our company over to her now, while

we can continue to work together.”

True to an earlier vow, Mrs. Hoffman

did not retire. She was frequently at the

office, working closely with Sharon to

ensure a seamless transition.

As new CEO, Sharon firmly stated,

“We are committed to the future

success of Smead Manufacturing and

to bringing innovation to organize

today’s office. We believe producing

quality products while maintaining loyal

relationships with our customers and

employees are what make Smead a

leader in the filing products industry.”

In the Smead tradition of creating

solutions in response to need, Smead

introduced a new line of filing products

made from heavy-duty polypropylene

named InnDura. Innovative and durable,

these attractive products combined

bright colors with rugged toughness. In

addition to being tear proof and water

resistant, InnDura products introduced

many new features that were not

available in paper-based filing supplies.

Their stylish appearance and functional

practicality made them favorites with a

wide variety of users, from students to

construction workers.

Since globalization and consolidation

were clear trends in the office products

industry, Smead recognized the need

to expand. “Our major US customers

are going global, and they’re expecting

us to do the same,” said David

Fasbender. In 1998, Smead found the

perfect match: Atlanta-Hoogezand

B.V., a privately held office products

manufacturer located in Hoogezand,

the Netherlands. The Dutch company’s

office organization products, computer

supplies and accessories fit right in with

Smead expansion plans. In addition,

the Atlanta Group had three

manufacturing plants in the

Netherlands, locally managed

For 46 years, the foresight andbusiness acumen of DavidFasbender has kept Smead on acontinuum of growth, innovation,and change. It brings a smilewhen today’s Senior VicePresident of Sales and Marketingrecalls his first acquaintance withthe company that’s now aninternational player: “I had livedhere all my life and didn’t even know Smeadexisted; the offices were in an old buildingdowntown on the second floor. The whole placewasn’t much bigger than my office today.”

David was hired in 1959. Now-retiredSmead salesman John Crawford tells howDavid started out as most people did, learningthe business from the correspondence andsales end. “About that time Smead wasdeveloping color coding,” explains John, “and Ihappened to sell a few jobs of it. Orvin Moen,then Smead’s general manager, wanted Dave tolearn something about color coding so Davecame down and traveled with me for a week.We had a Saturday morning presentation inLexington, Kentucky. But I didn’t take intoaccount that it was the day of a big horse race.Not a single hotel room was available. We hadto stay at the YMCA! It was a good introductionto a traveling salesman’s life.”

But David wanted to work inside thecompany. Orvin quickly saw David’s potentialand brought him aboard as his assistant,recalls John. “Mrs. Hoffman had a lot of faith inDavid,” he adds, “and she made David a VicePresident in charge of sales.”

David can be credited with much of thecompany’s rich history of product innovationand specialization. Former Advertising ManagerKen Linde spent a lot of time on the road withDavid for meetings and sales calls. “Customerswould make requests or demands and we’d goback and proactively rethink or restructurethings to meet their needs and expectations,”

recalls Ken. “If David had notbeen such a forward-thinkingand progressive person, open tonew ideas, we wouldn’t havebeen timely or responsive to ourcustomer’s needs.”

David is clearly a visionarywho sees what’s coming andgets Smead on course. Johncomments, “Dave was instru-

mental in the color coding that catapultedSmead into the limelight. He could see thatdealers wanted to buy it and he promoted andadvanced color coding in a way that madeSmead stand out.” John continues, “When USdealers organized together to form buyinggroups, David saw that their next move wouldbe to sign up dealers around the world. He sawtheir potential at a time when mostmanufacturers wanted nothing to do with them,and got us involved with these big buyinggroups. Soon they dominated all themanufacturers in the US. Now the superstoresare in that role.” John believes Smead hassurvived with the superstores in large part dueto the efforts of David and Sharon Avent inbuilding relationships with them.

David’s skill in identifying opportunity alsoled to Smead’s timely entry into the frontier ofelectronic document management and thecompany’s overseas expansion and producingglobal products. He has also developed asales force with unrivaled knowledge of thefiling and document-management market-place, saying “We make sure that weunderstand the dealer as well as the consumerside of the business.

With David at the helm of Sales andMarketing, Smead starts their second centuryof doing business in a changing world. Davidcontinues to ask: Where is the future? How canwe continue to grow our business? “Thecompany is in very good hands with David,”declares John, and no one would disagree!

DAVID FASBENDER“The company is in very good hands with David.”

distribution subsidiaries in seven other

European countries, and good distrib-

utor relationships in Eastern Europe.

In Atlanta-Hoogezand B.V., Smead

found a company that was both global

and local. A big draw was that each

subsidiary of the Atlanta Group offered

products unique to their respective

European countries. Atlanta made

products geared toward helping people

organize their lives, and also excelled

in producing injection-molded and

metal-bending products. Atlanta was

pleased with Smead’s thorough

knowledge of the US markets and

placement with global players. Beyond

that, both companies were over 90

years old. Both had family-oriented,

family-owned origins, a long history

of quality products and services, and

a focus on the customer. Both

understood what makes a universal

product, and neither sold direct to

an end-user. Each saw opportunities

to capitalize on the strengths of

both companies.

The 1998 acquisition of the Atlanta

Group established Smead’s foothold in

Europe’s office products industry and

expanded Smead’s global presence

through Atlanta’s worldwide agents

and distributors. It gained for Smead

two valuable new technologies:

injection-molding and metal

fabricating. It also meant Smead was

speaking the international language

of document management—and

becoming a world team.

On February 5, 1999, Ebba C.

Hoffman died at age 87 after a brief

illness. Under her leadership, the 100

percent women-owned company grew

from sales of $4 million and 350

employees to $315 million and nearly

2,500 employees. “While woman

ownership has become more common

over the past decades, it was unusual to

say the least in the 1950s,” recalls

David. “On the first day of my

employment with Smead I saw, but did

not meet, Mrs. Hoffman. I remember

my shock at seeing this beautiful young

woman sitting in the front office and

being told she was President. It didn’t

take long to learn that she also was a

very savvy businesswoman and ran the

operation with a firm and practical, yet

caring, hand. It is Smead’s great fortune

that these qualities were passed along

to her daughter Sharon, herself a 33-

year employee of the company when

named President and CEO in 1998.”

Guided by the competent hand of Sharon

Avent, Smead entered a new period of

significant growth and innovation.

The twentieth century was in the final

stretch. People were still coming to

grips with the fact that electronic

documents are just as important as

paper documents; an electronic file is

just another document stored in a

different format. Since Smead has

always helped people better handle

their critical information, the company’s

increasing focus in electronic products

was natural. It was boosted by an

acquisition that added product

expertise in the relatively new field of

document management software. In

June 1999, Smead acquired Document

Control Solutions (DCS), a technology

company based in Fullerton, California.

Smead gained DCS’s significant

product development and support

resources as well as exciting products.

Among them: ColorBar® Gold,

recognized as the industry’s best color

coding and bar code label printing

software; and the popular ImageTrax®,

a bar code tracking product.

As the year 2000 approached, people

were filled with high spirits in

anticipation of the new millennium. At

the same time, they were apprehensive

of the effects of the Y2K “bug” on

computer-operated equipment and

systems. Billions of dollars and years of

frantically rewriting software were spent

to keep systems from shutting down.

Everyone wondered: When the clock

struck midnight on New Year’s Eve,

would the world come to a standstill?

Smead sales personnel were called upon by office products dealers to analyze their customers’

document management requirements and develop the systems that would provide the solution that

was most efficient and cost effective.

One of Ebba Hoffman’s last

public outings was the

groundbreaking for a new

wing at Regina Hospital in

Hastings. Her gift echoed

the generosity of herself

and Harold Hoffman that

made the hospital a reality

in the early 1950s.

Accepting the traditional wooden

shoes of the Dutch, Sharon Avent

steps into the international

market with the acquisition

of Atlanta Group in

the Netherlands.

In addition to traditional filing supplies, the

Atlanta Group brought a number of new

products to Smead’s offerings, including

plastic desktop storage compartments,

rolling files, and desk accessories.

With efficient systems to handle both

paper and electronic documents,

Smead became the only provider who

could provide complete solutions to

manage all forms of records.

In addition to the

Smeadlink suite of

document management

applications, the acquisition

of Document Control

Solutions added ColorBar®

and ImageTrax® to Smead

Software’s digital solutions.

The launch of Smead’s

website gave consumers an

easy way to find products

and helpful information to

help them stay organized.

Smead ClickStrip® and

Smartstrip® software enables

easy printing of file labels with

color codes, text and bar codes

on a single strip.

New privacy legislation and several high-profile

legal cases raised the importance of having good

document management. Smead responded with

new products that helped businesses better

control their records.

The acquisition of S&W Manufacturing in 2001

greatly increased Smead’s ability to produce

custom filing supplies for a variety of businesses.

Small offices and home offices use Smead Arrange® software

on their PCs to manage paper and electronic documents as

well as e-mail messages and favorite websites.

Large businesses

save valuable floor

space with Smead

high-density

mobile shelf files.

Tech stocks fell hard and much of the

rest of the economy went down too.

The attacks of September 1 1, 2001

shook the world and underscored our

interconnectedness. But aftershock

slowly turned to hope and recovery.

People showed a remarkable resilience

and capacity for optimism, and making

sure technology improves our lives and

decreases our vulnerability became

central to progress in the new

millennium. It was a commitment

Smead had already made.

In 2001 Smead increased their custom

product manufacturing capabilities with

the purchase of S & W Manufacturing

in Florence, South Carolina. Another

generation of family participation con-

tinued with Casey Avent, Sharon Avent’s

son, who joined Smead in marketing at

the home office in 1996. He moved to

sales in Dallas, Texas before becoming

Sales Manager at S & W in 2001.

It was a new millennium and the time

was right for updating Smead’s

corporate identity. The Smead plaid had

been one of the industry’s most

recognized symbols of quality for

decades, but Sharon

recognized the need

to solidify the

Smead image both nationally and

internationally. “Our research has

shown that many consumers instantly

recognize our plaid packaging as the

Smead brand,” said Sharon. “So as part

of our 95th celebration, we unveiled a

new, updated logo and chose to keep

the plaid design.” The updated red-and-

maroon plaid remains as ubiquitous as

ever, but creates a more contemporary

appeal using the new Smead identity.

Taking advantage of the World Wide

Web like everyone else, Smead went

online in 2001. The new website

www.smead.com gave consumers a

direct way to find out about

Smead products and

how to use them—an important

connection that all but vanished with

office products now sold primarily

through giant superstores. The online

catalog meant consumers could find

the right filing and organizing solutions

and ask for Smead items by name.

The launch of Smead Organizing

University in 2004 further enhanced

the online connection with consumers.

This one-stop training site invites

business professionals and home office

workers to “get

their degree

through

Smead

University.”

A click on

the Web

browser opens

a world of free

online courses to help anyone get

organized and learn valuable skills.

In 2002 Smead began serving the

Canadian market with Sirius Agency

to represent its products in Canada.

The next year, Smead’s global

expansion took a giant leap forward

with acquisition of several subsidiaries

of Norway-based Lindegaard, a market

leader in Scandinavia. Formerly a

family-owned company, it enjoyed a

leading position as a manufacturer of

filing and organization products, desk

accessories, and stationery products.

Lindegaard had over 700 employees,

with sales activities in the Nordic and

the Benelux countries, Estonia, France,

Latvia, and the UK. The acquisition

positioned Smead for broader

European exposure, gained the benefits

of cost-efficient manufacturing, and

increased Smead’s range of products

in the international marketplace.

The year 2000 was a momentous turning point worldwide. Y2K fears failed to materialize. People hailedthe millennium and the dawn of the Internet boom. Everyone was excited and hopeful about living in anew century. But high spirits were soon dashed. The “dot com” bubble burst in the first quarter of 2000.

the

2000s

“Dot com” stocks plungeResearchers map the Human Genome, themaster blueprint of the human body

2000

September 11 terrorist attack on the USSmead unveils new corporate brand logoSmead.com website establishedSmead acquires S & W Manufacturing, Inc. ofFlorence, South Carolina

2001

Winter Olympics held in Salt Lake City, Utah2002

Acquisition of Norway-based Lindegaard ASA Group Smead introduces the Smeadlink® Express softwareViewables® Color Labeling System receives theOrganizer’s Choice award from NAPOAcquisition of Flexistand, European producer ofmobile computer furnitureSmead Cedar City, Utah plant wins MEPManufacturer of the Year AwardSharon Avent receives Spirit of Life Award from City of Hope

2003

Smead launches Retrospect® scrapbooking andpaper crafting organizational lineSmead Organizing University launched online Sharon Avent honored with the Office DepotCorporate Visionary Award

2004

Smead launches M.O., Inc.®, a collection ofhigh-style, customizable office tools

2005

Smead reaches 100 year anniversarySharon Avent named Minnesota’s WomanBusiness Owner of the Year by The NationalAssociation of Women Business OwnersSharon Avent accepts Torch of Liberty Awardfrom the Anti-Defamation LeagueSharon Avent receives Career AchievementAward from Minneapolis-St. Paul BusinessJournal

2006

A new

logo design

gave Smead a

strong global identity

while retaining its familiar

plaid pattern on much of its

product packaging.

In another move to reinforce Smead’s

identity internationally, the names

of European subsidiaries of Smead’s

Atlanta Group were changed in 2002.

Each took the name of Smead followed

by the country name. “The name

change to Smead-Europe reflects

Smead’s unified, global presence,”

said Sharon. “Since Smead acquired

Atlanta Group in 1998, our customers

throughout the world have had access

to one resource to fulfill all their office

product needs worldwide as well as

a broader range of products to keep

them organized. And now the name

reinforces that one resource.”

Developing new products that have

global application is a company goal.

Smead’s Viewables® line of indexing

software and labels is an example of

a product that has become universally

accepted. The National Association

of Professional Organizers chose

Viewables Color Labeling System as

Best Business Product in 2003. The

Viewables Color Labeling System

incorporates easy-to-use PC software

that allows users to create

customized, color-coded

labels for both file folders

and hanging folders. The

flexibility and versatility of

the software system sets it

apart from other pre-colored

labeling kits. Users can

import data from other

software systems, choose

from 14 available colors, and

print anywhere from one to 16

labels on a sheet.

Smead also introduced a new line of

antimicrobial filing supplies, made with

a unique stock formulated to fight the

growth of harmful microorganisms that

can damage or destroy documents.

Besides creating products with global

application, David Fasbender summed

up another challenge: “The opportunity

for Smead to grow becomes limited

by what the mega stores will stock.

Consolidators shorten the line to get

the product range that accommodates

what most people need. It requires

molding yourself to what the market

presents to you. Our new ideas aren’t

going to be embraced by mega stores,

so what we did was grow the company

by looking for other markets to enter

with a variety of new products that are

still focused on organizing.” That’s just

what Smead is doing.

Continuing the

Smead tradition of

pioneering in the

service of changing

needs Smead’s line

of Retrospect®

organizational

products brought

the company’s

expertise to

scrapbookers and

paper crafters.

Unveiled at the

Hobby Industry

Association (HIA)

Trade Show in

Dallas, Texas in February 2004,

Retrospect resulted from research and

development to target the unique needs

of this customer base.

The home and small office market,

another new base of customers, was

served when Smead partnered with a

team of women designers to introduce

M.O., Inc.®, a high-function, high-style

line of office products customizable to

an individual’s workspace and unique

needs. The M.O. line has become very

popular at college bookstores and

upscale stationery boutiques.

The office products industry

honored Sharon Avent in 2003,

naming her as the first woman in the

national office products industry to

receive the Spirit of Life Award

from City of Hope, a national

research center for cancer and

other chronic illnesses.

Smead celebrated 50 years of woman leadership in 2005.

The company is active in promoting the advancement of

women in business and supports many women’s groups. Smead

has been a certified Women’s Business Enterprise since 1991 .

All of Smead’s acquired European companies changed their names to Smead, followed by the name

of their country. Shown here is the headquarters of Smead-Europe B.V. located in The Netherlands.

To strengthen its worldwide identity, Smead exhibited its wide range of

organizational products at the PaperWorld show in Germany in 2005.

In addition to traditional filing

supplies, Smead-Europe produces a

wide variety of products ranging from

desktop organizers and schedule

planners to mobile furniture.

Smead introduced the

Retrospect® line in 2004 to

accommodate the special

organizing needs of scrapbookers.

The M.O., Inc.® line of filing products combine

stylish design with classic functionality to

serve the small office/home office market of

image-conscious professionals.

Smead continues to develop

software products that enhance

paper filing systems as well as keep

electronic documents organized.

What’s next for Smead?

David Fasbender describes the

landscape at the company’s

centennial: “We see the

continuing emergence of women

as key decision-makers in the

workplace and at home. With

the changing workforce, we have

witnessed the development of

the small office/home office

market along with an increased

number of people working out of

their homes. And as a company,

we continue to seek out new

and fresh ways to embrace the

opportunities that our changing

world presents.”

“Smead has always been focused

on the future beginning when my

mother assumed the leadership

role back in 1955,” Sharon Avent

comments. She also acknowledges,

“I do not have a crystal ball to see into

the future. Our leadership focus for the

entire 100 years has remained on filing

products and the office products

industry. But we live in a rapidly

changing world. I still believe there will

be paper or electronic records to file,

and of course, histories to be kept.

We will strive to remain flexible in an

ever-changing market as we continue

as a total provider of records

management solutions.

“Will this company remain privately

held? That is something I would hope

for. I do know that the Smead name

has stood the test of time for 100

years. Our customers, vendors, and

consumers use words like honesty,

integrity, service, and quality when

the Smead name or products are

mentioned. Our small-town family

values have nurtured a company culture

of genuine friendliness, mutual support,

and stellar service. All these attributes

are intrinsic to our company. They have

resulted in employee longevity and

industry-wide renown of which we

can all feel proud. I believe these are

achievements of the feminine side in

50 years of women ownership, and I

believe that no matter what we produce

or sell—as long as we stay true to these

qualities and carry on that culture—

Smead will survive for many years

to come.”

For 100 years, Smead has successfullyanticipated future trends through

continuous consumer insight and theunderstanding of trends in the

workplace. That will not change. Total filing solutions will continue to bedeveloped by Smead researchers as they

coordinate efforts to produce theproducts, systems, and methods to guide

their clients in the new millennium.

Although Smead is a global leader in

the office products industry with

modern factories around the world,

the company maintains the

wholesome family spirit that P. A.

Hoffman established in the early

1900s. Third generation CEO

Sharon Avent fosters that same spirit,

valuing employees as the company’s

greatest asset. Her pride in them is

returned by their loyalty and

dedication to producing the finest

organizational products in the world.

Smead Board of Directors

(from left)

Richard Fox

Sharon Avent

James Wicker

Sandra Martin, Esquire

Smead Executive Team

(from left)

Dale Olson, Vice President, Finance

Dean Schwanke, Vice President, Human Resources

Sharon Avent, President and Chief Executive Officer

Walter Glashan, Senior Vice President, Operations

David Fasbender, Senior Vice President, Sales & Marketing

Thomas Sullivan, Vice President, Sales

Robert Karrick, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer

Joseph Vossen, Vice President, Information Services

www.smead.comForm No. HB-06