Friesens

Friesens Corporation

Type	Employee owned
Industry	Book Manufacturing
Genre	Printing
Founded	Altona, Manitoba, Canada
Founder	David W. Friesen
Headquarters	Altona, Manitoba, Canada
Area served	North America
Key people	Curwin Friesen, President and Chief Executive Officer David G. Friesen, Chairman of the board
Products	Books, yearbooks
Revenue	CAD$74,000,000 (2006) 6% from 2005[1]
Number of employees	600
Divisions	Friesens Book Division, Friesens Yearbooks, Friesens Fastprint & Packaging, FriesenPress
Website	http://www.friesens.com

Friesens Corporation is Canada's largest printer of hardcover books.^[2] They are employee-owned, specializing in hardcover books and yearbooks, and located in Altona, Manitoba, Canada.

History

Friesens was founded by David W. Friesen in 1907 as a confectionery store, which expanded to become a bookstore. In 1933, he purchased a printing press and began publication of the Red River Valley Echo. The company underwent rapid expansion in the 1960s and 70s, becoming a regional printer of high school yearbooks.^[3]

Current operations

Friesens is Canada's largest printer of hardcover books.^[2] Furthermore, they have been rated as one of Canada's Best 50 Managed Companies by Deloitte and Touche on several occasions.^[4] As of 2006, Friesens is number 81 of the top 400 printing companies in the United States and Canada.^[1]

In 2000, Friesens printed the Canadian run of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, producing 400,000 copies of the book.^[5]

Awards

• In 2004, The National Association for Printing Leadership awarded Friesens its highest management award.^[6]
• In 2004, Caldwell Partners and the Globe and Mail named president Curwin Friesen as one of Canada's "Top 40 Under 40".^[7]

External links

• Friesens Corporation

References