March 31, Agawam, Mass. - The year 2004 marks the 165th anniversary of the founding
of Southworth Company, a leading producer and marketer of fine cotton-fiber business
paper and related products. The company held its first organizational meeting
on April 29, 1839, a date which serves as the official “birthday.” Given that
paper is the traditional gift of a first anniversary, Southworth chooses to celebrate
its first-year anniversary for the 165th time.
When Wells Southworth and his brother Edward, the two largest investors in the
initial subscription of $30,000, set up the company - then called the Southworth
Manufacturing Company - they built their mill in Mittineague, in the area west
of Springfield, Massachusetts. Before the concept of market segments existed,
they set out to make fine cotton-fiber paper for government and business use.
Southworth is still located in the same town where it first opened its paper mill,
is owned and run by the same founding family, and continues to produce the same
high quality cotton-fiber paper with which it began.
“In the 165 years succeeding the company’s founding,” says David Southworth,
president and a fifth generation member of the family, “the paper industry has
undergone many changes. The particular segment occupied by Southworth has seen
some of the most serious challenges but we have found opportunities where others
see headaches, and made profits where others see problems.”
In the past two years, Southworth’s line of products has evolved radically, adding
papers with contemporary colors, textures and shapes. Southworth markets products
suited to both small-to-medium-sized businesses and computer-savvy consumers,
with products such as presentation kits, awards, wedding invitations, and an array
of die-cut, textured and colored stationery. And it continues to lead the market
for résumé stationery with 100-percent cotton-fiber papers.
Underpinning Southworth Company’s strengths is the belief and knowledge that
there will always be a need for premium cotton-fiber paper. If a document is important
and needs to last, it has to be printed on heavy-weight, cotton-fiber paper, otherwise
it will deteriorate and be worthless. In short, there will always be wills and
wedding invitations, résumés and cover letters, proclamations and presentations.
Southworth Company is located in Agawam, the heart of the “Pioneer Valley” of
western Massachusetts.
