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History

HISTORY

R. V. FleshA Home Run

During the summer of 1913, Roy V. Flesh (known as R.V. to most), closed a rather large sale. R.V. was a salesman by trade, and an excellent one. To reward himself for closing the sale, he took the afternoon off and attended a Cardinal baseball game. The next day, when R.V.'s boss asked him where he had been the previous day, R.V. told him he had gone to a baseball game. "Well, I wish you hadn't done that," his boss said. "We could have used you around here." R.V. was disappointed by the lack of gratitude his boss displayed, and shortly thereafter, he decided to leave his sales position and go into business for himself. He named his new sole proprietorship The Flesh Company.

A Tradition Begins

From the beginning, R.V. established three principles that have guided The Flesh Company to a long history of success:

1.     Stay on the cutting edge of new technologies.

2.     Always provide customers with the best service the industry has to offer.

3.     Stand behind every order produced, thereby providing customers with total peace of mind.

 R.V. was a visionary, and his three principles guided him throughout his career. Soon, his young company grew into a thriving business. The Flesh Company blossomed in the 1920s, and continued to do so, even during the Great Depression years of the 1930s. R.V. ran the company through World War II. As the war concluded, The Flesh Company was poised for a new chapter in its history.

Leading The Industry

Scud FleshThe year 1946 was a pivotal one for the company. First, R.V.’s son, Royal S. "Scud" Flesh joined the company. Scud had delayed his business career to serve in the Army during World War II. With the war over, he was able to join the company. Also that year, The Flesh Company teamed up with eight other companies to form the National Business Forms Association, which evolved to become the Document Management Industries Association (DMIA), and is now called the Print Services and Distribution Association (PSDA). As a charter member of PSDA, The Flesh Company has attended every Annual Meeting since the association was founded. Both R.V. and Scud believed that when manufacturers and distributors share their knowledge and expertise, each becomes stronger; and as a result, the entire industry benefits. Time has shown that their vision was correct.

 

A New Era In Manufacturing

During the 1960s, Scud realized that computers were going to revolutionize business. He could see that with the growth of computers, continuous forms were going to become a huge part of our industry. That's why he made a key decision: The Flesh Company would specialize in the production of custom continuous forms and checks. At the same time, Scud and longtime business partner Bill Lawrence saw the growing need for a strong manufacturer of unit set forms. In 1968, they and two additional partners established IMI Business Forms. Bill was one of the most knowledgeable manufacturing experts in the industry. As chief administrative officer of IMI for many years, he played a key role in the growth of the unit set segment of the business.

Roy FleshPreparing for the 21st Century

In 1998, The Flesh Company and IMI Business Forms consolidated their sales and manufacturing operations at The Flesh Company’s facility in Parsons, KS. The move was praised by customers across the country. This consolidation increased their full-color print capability and added digital variable imaging, driving growth into barcoding applications such as chain of custody documents where image quality and accuracy is critical. Eight-color flexographic print capabilities were added for producing labels, cards and tags, which were also supported by a strong sales and production team. As with the forms division, inline variable imaging was added for label applications used in warehouse and distribution. This also allowed for the generation of labels and cards affixed to business forms to be produced under one roof.

And Beyond

For more than 100 years, The Flesh Company has symbolized ingenuity, integrity and innovation. Its ability to leverage corporate power while staying true to its family principles is one of the many aspects that attracted Ennis, Inc. to add The Flesh Company to its growing network of locations in July 2019. The Flesh Company understands the value of maintaining the company’s core philosophies while also recognizing the need to constantly innovate by exploring newennis logo products, advanced production technologies and efficient internal processes to support customers. That’s where Ennis comes in. Since 1909, Ennis has built a strong reputation and brand awareness in the industry. As one of the largest private-label printed business product suppliers in the United States, Ennis looks forward to continuing the rich tradition of excellence The Flesh Company has established well into the future. With the acquisition of The Flesh Company, Keith Walters, Chairman, President and CEO of Ennis, expects to seamlessly “combine the Flesh organization with the other operations of Ennis,” thus expanding its overall direct mail, integrated products and label capabilities. The printing industry is a challenging one, but with quality leadership, proven business practices and principles, Ennis and the Flesh organization will continue to be leaders in business forms and label manufacturing.

 

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