Worzalla Publishing Company

Though it got its start as a newspaper publisher, Worzalla Publishing Company today prints books, and books only. Purchased by brothers Joseph and Steven Worzalla in 1892, this once fledging publisher of a Polish newspaper located at Main and Third Streets in downtown Stevens Point has grown to a 300,000 square foot plant dedicated to the printing and binding of books. In 2003, a 30,000 square foot building was purchased to house the fulfillment arm of the business.

From children’s books to coffee table, medical books and directories, Worzalla Publishing has a strong presence in the publishing industry. In 1912, the company purchased a lot and building from the Hoffman Piano Company and moved their facility to Second Street. This allowed the Worzalla brothers to expand their job printing operation and expand into the bookbinding business. Along with this expansion came a name change, operating as the National Bookbinding Company.

With the addition of two warehouses during World War II, the company was able to expand its letterpress operation. In 1955 the company built a new facility on Jefferson Street, and added offset printing to its list of capabilities. Business expansion brought about the growth of Worzalla Publishing’s workforce. With 67 employees in 1957, the company swelled to over 400 employees in 1995.

Ownership in the business has seen changes over the years as well. In 1984, the family owned business of Worzalla Publishing Company sold out to two investors from Chicago. Poor business sense by the two owners nearly led to the demise of the company. In the spring of 1985, Worzalla’s employees acquired 1/3 of the shares of the company and created an ESOP (Employee Stock Ownership Plan). By the end of 1986, the employees acquired the remaining 2/3 shares making Worzalla Publishing Company a 100% employee-owned company.

In 2001 Worzalla Publishing had grown to 625 employees generating $62 million in sales. But at the same time, Worzalla began losing a significant portion of its color printing work to China. The company made some tough decisions that would allow them to remain competitive and profitable within their industry. Early in 2003 with sales having dropped to $48 million, the decision was made to reduce the company’s full-time work force from 485 to 350. While this decision was a difficult one, it protected the future of the company.

When sales bottomed out at $44 million in 2005, Worzalla was already in the process of replacing older, less productive equipment with new higher speed and efficient machinery. This created the foundation for the company’s turnaround where it recently completed its fiscal year with $63.6 million in sales with only 360 employees. Worzalla Publishing provides the best in book manufacturing services, all under one roof. From in-house digital scanning and state-of-the-art electronic pre-press, 1- to 6-color printing and soft or hard cover bindings, they do it all.

The loss of color printing to China continues, including the printing of the famous children’s Curious George books previously printed at Worzalla. While many United States printing companies can compete with China on wages based on their plant efficiencies, these same companies cannot compete with the subsidized Chinese currency nor can they compete environmentally. Unlike the U.S., China’s environmental regulations are limited with little or no control of the waste being dumped in the ground and water or emitted into the air. These China problems combined with poor quality issues, an inflationary economy and rising work force unrest could improve the competitive environment for Worzalla with China.

In the printing industry, paper waste can be a physical and costly problem. Worzalla has turned the problem into a profit center. To eliminate paper waste issues, the company sells their waste paper to be used in making recycled paper. The waste paper is trucked from Stevens Point to Green Bay where it is then shipped to paper mills across the country and, ironically, even to China.

This 100% employee-owned company has an excellent reputation in their industry as well as in the community. Worzalla Publishing Company has earned the ISO-14001 certification for Environmental Standards and the ISO-9002 certification for Manufacturing Standards in their industry.

Closer to home, the company has a fully trained and certified First Responder Team made up of company employees who respond to a crisis inside or outside the plant. Employees are encouraged to participate in their children’s school activities and support local organizations such as the United Way and Special Olympics.

The Company, led by President and CEO, Chuck Nason, is certainly in good hands. His forward-thinking ideas and grass-roots approach to customer service add to the success of this business. While touring the plant floor, Chuck moves easily throughout each department, greeting everyone by name, taking time to stop and share a laugh or two along the way. It’s easy to see the pride that each owner/employee has for the business, and; more importantly, the respect they have for each other.