“Making It Work!” Has Been The Cornerstone Of This Company.
I am the son of the son of a printer. In 1888, JH French was first established. We have records dating back as early as 1932.
When my grandfather returned from World War I, he worked at a textile mill as a clothing tag printer. He worked three days a week through the Depression, always finding a way to make it work. Since then, “Making it work” has been the cornerstone of this company.
My father Believed Empathy Was The Greatest Asset In Business.
Eventually, my father began working at the company, and continued to work here for the next 46 years. He began his career as a pressman, then salesman, union vice president, and then, eventually, as owner. It was now seemingly family tradition, and I began working at the company too. My father and I worked together for 15 years until 1996 when I bought JH French.
As my father grew the business, he always stayed true to his core beliefs - beliefs that we continue to stay true to and value to this day. He always believed in the importance of looking after his employees and customers alike. My father believed empathy was the greatest asset in business, and he was always optimistic. He loved sharing little tidbits of wisdom, like “travel light and wear a good pair of shoes!”
When I took over the business, I kept all of my father’s core values and then extended them. I instituted profit sharing, which allowed all to benefit from our success - as well as learn from our failures.
As a company, we’re more dynamic than print on paper!
As a company that has been in business for over 100 years, we have seen new technologies emerge time and time again. The dark shadow of these new technologies have always been a threat to our business, but we’ve observed, adapted, and like always, we’ve made it work!
