Friesens Corporation is Canada's largest

printer Printer may refer to: Technology * Printer (publishing), a person or a company * Printer (computing), a hardware device * Optical printer for motion picture films People * Nariman Printer ( fl. c. 1940), Indian journalist and activist * Jame ...

hardcover A hardcover, hard cover, or hardback (also known as hardbound, and sometimes as case-bound) book is one bound with rigid protective covers (typically of binder's board or heavy paperboard covered with buckram or other cloth, heavy paper, or occa ...

books. They are employee-owned, specializing in hardcover books and

yearbook A yearbook, also known as an annual, is a type of a book published annually. One use is to record, highlight, and commemorate the past year of a school. The term also refers to a book of statistics or facts published annually. A yearbook often ...

s, and located in

Altona, Manitoba Altona is a town in southern Manitoba, Canada, about 100 km south-west of Winnipeg and 158 km north of Grand Forks, North Dakota. The population at the 2011 Census was 4,123 residents. Old Altona was founded in 1880 by Plautdietsch-spe ...

, Canada. Friesens also operates a

self-publishing Self-publishing is the publication of media by its author at their own cost, without the involvement of a publisher. The term usually refers to written media, such as books and magazines, either as an ebook or as a physical copy using POD (pr ...

subsidiary named FriesenPress, launched in 2009.

History

* Friesens was founded by David W. Friesen in 1907 as a

confectionery store A confectionery store (more commonly referred to as a sweet shop in the United Kingdom, a candy shop or candy store in North America, or a lolly shop in Australia and New Zealand) sells confectionery and the intended market is usually children. M ...

. * In 1933, the family purchased a

printing press A printing press is a mechanical device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a printing, print medium (such as paper or cloth), thereby transferring the ink. It marked a dramatic improvement on earlier printing methods in wh ...

* In 1941 launched weekly ''

Altona Echo Altona may refer to: Places Australia * Altona Beach, in Altona, Victoria, Australia * Altona Meadows, Victoria, Australia * Altona North, Victoria, Australia * Altona, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne, Australia ** Altona railway station ** Alt ...

'' newspaper later amalgamating with the '' Morris Herald'' into the of the '' Red River Valley Echo''. * In 1950 incorporated as D.W. Friesen & Sons Inc,. * In 1959 built new 16,500 sq. ft. plant. Purchased first

offset press Offset printing is a common printing technique in which the inked image is transferred (or "offset") from a plate to a rubber blanket and then to the printing surface. When used in combination with the lithographic process, which is based on t ...

* In 1960 began employee profit sharing and post secondary

scholarship A scholarship is a form of financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, diversity and inclusion, athletic skill, and financial need. Scholarsh ...

s for employees' children * In 1965 started selling school

s in

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

and

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

* In 1970 launched Business Machines division * In 1971 purchased ACME Box Company. Expanded main plant by 12,000 sq ft. * In 1973 expanded school

force * In 1976 D.W. Friesen & Sons changes t
Friesens
* In 1978 printed first four-colour book * In 1987 purchased four colour presses * In 1990 started Graphic Arts course at

Red River Community College Red River College Polytechnic (RRC Polytech) is a college located in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It is the province's largest institute of applied learning and applied research, with over 200 degree, diploma, and certificate programs, and more ...

*In 1999 Friesens Fast Print and Packaging Division relocated. Started selling school graduation supplies. *In 2000, Friesens printed the Canadian run of ''

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire ''Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire'' is a fantasy novel written by British author J. K. Rowling and the fourth novel in the ''Harry Potter'' series. It follows Harry Potter, a wizard in his fourth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and W ...

'', producing 400,000 copies of the book. *In 2002 printed ''

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'' is a 1997 fantasy novel written by British author J. K. Rowling. The first novel in the ''Harry Potter'' series and Rowling's debut novel, it follows Harry Potter, a young wizard who discovers hi ...

'' by

J. K. Rowling Joanne Rowling ( "rolling"; born 31 July 1965), also known by her pen name J. K. Rowling, is a British author and Philanthropy, philanthropist. She wrote ''Harry Potter'', a seven-volume children's fantasy series published from 1997 to ...

*In 2004 Friesens landmark printing of

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix ''Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix'' is a fantasy novel written by British author J. K. Rowling and the fifth novel in the ''Harry Potter'' series. It follows Harry Potter's struggles through his fifth year at Hogwarts School of Witc ...

on 100%

post consumer waste Post-consumer waste is a waste type produced by the end consumer of a material stream; that is, where the waste-producing use did not involve the production of another product. The terms of pre-consumer and post-consumer recycled materials are ...

led author

J.K. Rowling Joanne Rowling ( "rolling"; born 31 July 1965), also known by her pen name J. K. Rowling, is a British author and philanthropist. She wrote ''Harry Potter'', a seven-volume children's fantasy series published from 1997 to 2007. The ser ...

to insist all future

Harry Potter ''Harry Potter'' is a series of seven fantasy literature, fantasy novels written by British author J. K. Rowling. The novels chronicle the lives of a young Magician (fantasy), wizard, Harry Potter (character), Harry Potter, and his friends ...

books worldwide be printed " tree-free" *In 2008 built

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

's most advanced and eco-friendly 130,000 sq. ft. book manufacturing plant. *In 2009 Friesens purchased think4D® a revolutionary and patented three-dimensional book cover and packaging technology; Friesens launches FriesenPress for self-publishing authors; *In 2010 Friesens designed and printed

American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to Ap ...

: Back Story and

Season 9 A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pola ...

Highlights; Designed and printed school yearbooks appearing on the television series, ''

Glee Glee means delight, a form of happiness. Glee may also refer to: * Glee (music), a type of English choral music * ''Glee'' (TV series), an American musical comedy-drama TV series, and related media created by Ryan Murphy * ''Glee'' (Bran Van 30 ...

'' *In 2015 Friesens install an 8-colour, format 8, R900 HiPrint XXL perfecting press from

Manroland Manroland AG manufactures newspaper web offset presses, commercial web offset presses, and sheetfed offset presses for commercial, publications and packaging printing. The company has production facilities in Offenbach am Main and Augsburg. Ma ...

that provides for an imposition of up to 64 pages, printed both sides, in one pass Successfully completed a shift in the employee-ownership model. *In 2016 printed ''

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child ''Harry Potter and the Cursed Child'' is a play written by Jack Thorne from an original story by J. K. Rowling, John Tiffany, and Thorne. Previews of the play began at the Palace Theatre, London, on 7 June 2016 as a two-part play, and it prem ...

'' *In 2017 celebrated 110 years in business with a corporate and community celebration

Current operations

Friesens is Canada's largest printer of hardcover books. Furthermore, it has been rated as one of Canada's best 50 managed companies by

Deloitte and Touche Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited (), commonly referred to as Deloitte, is an international professional services network headquartered in London, England. Deloitte is the largest professional services network by revenue and number of profession ...

on several occasions. In 2018, Friesens was number 60 of the top 400 printing companies in the United States and Canada.

FriesenPress

On July 13th, 2009, Friesens Corporation launched a self-publishing subsidiary called FriesenPress. FriesenPress offers editing, design, distribution, and promotional support services to assist authors with self-publishing their books. As of 2021, its team of over 55 employees and 100 freelancers have partnered with thousands of authors on self-publishing over 7,000 unique book titles. It is the largest company of its kind in Canada. In March 2021, the company shifted its headquarters to Altona, Manitoba and became a fully remote organization.

Awards

*In 2004, The

National Association for Printing Leadership National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

awarded Friesens its highest management award. *In 2004, Caldwell Partners and ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'' named

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Curwin Friesen as one of Canada's "Top 40 Under 40".

References

External links

Friesens Corporation
{{Self-publishing Book publishing companies of Canada Employee-owned companies of Canada