Founder Otto Josten Founded 1897 | Website www.jostens.com | |
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Number of locations 13 facilities in North America Area served United States, Canada, Europe Products Class rings, Yearbooks, Announcements, Caps & gown, Apparel, Championship rings Headquarters Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States CEO Charles Mooty (1 Jan 2014–) Parent organizations Newell Brands, VISANT CORP, JOSTENS HOLDING CORP Profiles | ||
Jostens is an American manufacturer of memorabilia. The company is primarily known for its production of yearbooks and class rings for various high schools and colleges as well as championship rings for sports. Jostens also produced photobook products for Disney's PhotoPass photography service offered at Disney theme parks and resorts.
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Otto Josten founded the company as a watch-repair business in Owatonna, Minnesota, in 1897. As well as its headquarters near Minneapolis and operational offices in Owatonna, Jostens has facilities in Calgary, Alberta; Clarksville, Tennessee; Denton, Texas; Eagan, Minnesota; Laurens, South Carolina; Norman, Oklahoma; Sedalia, Missouri; Shelbyville, Tennessee; State College, Pennsylvania; Topeka, Kansas; Visalia, California; and Winnipeg, Manitoba.
In mid 2013, Jostens released the yearbook industry's first iPad app at the National Scholastic Press Association Spring Convention in San Francisco.
In April 2015, Jostens entered into an exclusive partnership with Adobe Systems to produce Monarch, the industry's first browser-based InDesign and Photoshop yearbook creation solution.
On October 14, 2015, Jarden announced that it would acquire Jostens for $1.5 billion, stating that it planned to take advantage of synergies with its other properties (particularly Rawlings and Yankee Candle), and "turn it into a true consumer-product business, as opposed to it historically being run like a printing asset". The acquisition was completed on November 2, 2015.
History
Begun in 1897 by Otto Josten, Jostens (then called "Josten's" — the apostrophe was later dropped) began manufacturing emblems and awards for nearby schools and in 1906, the year of incorporation, Josten added class rings to his product line, to be sold to schools throughout the Midwest. The company remained small and relatively inconspicuous until Daniel C. Gainey, a former teacher and football coach, was hired in 1922 as the first full-time Jostens ring salesman. By 1923 Gainey had enlisted four more sales representatives, thus class rings became the central concern for the Jostens Manufacturing Company.
During World War II, Jostens contributed to the war effort by adapting its plant and equipment to manufacture precision parts and other materials. Major expansion came following the end of the war. In 1946 the company added graduation announcements to its offerings; in 1950 Jostens launched the American Yearbook Company. In 1958 the company made its first acquisition, purchasing the Ohio-based Educational Supply Company, a manufacturer of school diplomas. Jostens went public the following year obtained its listing on the New York Stock Exchange in 1965. The company expanded into the Canadian photography market in 1968 with the purchase of Winnipeg-based National School Studios. Jostens relocated to Minneapolis in 1969.
Jostens bought the Hunter Publishing Company in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, in 1998, making it one of six yearbook and commercial printing plants (Clarksville, State College, Topeka, Visalia and Winnipeg being the others).
Photography operations were later ended in 2001. Printing was consolidated later in Clarksville, Visalia and Winnipeg, with the Winston-Salem plant being shuttered in 2009.
Current
After being acquired by Jarden in 2015, Jarden merged with Newell Rubbermaid in 2016 to form Newell Brands.
Jostens offered financial relief to Louisiana schools affected by flooding in 2016.
The company also produced the championship rings for Super Bowl 50, the 2015 World Series and the 2015 MLS Cup.