The Kaeser & Blair Tradition
Bill Blair |
Dutch Kaeser |
Our foundation was built over a century ago in 1894, during the administration of Grover Cleveland. A small printing
company, Cincinnati Printing and Paper Products Co., opened its doors at 200 West 8th Street, Cincinnati, Ohio. The
company was a division of a Northern Kentucky printing company dating back to the 1850's. In 1923, two paper salesmen,
Dutch Kaeser and Bill Blair, negotiated to purchase the assets and stock and incorporated the name Kaeser & Blair,
Inc. In 1925 Dutch and Bill expanded their sales efforts by inaugurating a new and revolutionary method of marketing
called, "Direct Selling". That is selling its paper products, by mail, exclusively through a national network of
independent sales persons. The sales person would write the order and receive a commission on the sale. This
revolutionary marketing strategy remains the "heart" of our business today, as we continue to market exclusively
through independent sales professionals.
Kaeser and Blair flourished even during the depression. We are proud that we never missed sending a single commission check. In fact, corporate minutes reflect Dutch Kaeser met his payroll with cash during the "bank holiday" that ignited the 1929 depression. During that era Dutch Kaeser proclaimed, "There is, I feel, no nobler, more secure endeavor than providing business with the means to attract and keep the patronage of their customers. We are in the business of building business". A statement that is still accurate and noteworthy to this very day. New items such as imprinted pencils, book matches and other unique printed products were introduced to the market by Kaeser and Blair.
In 1946 Dutch Kaeser's two entrepreneurial sons, Dick and John, decided to give the printing business a try and started their own corporation, Kaeser Incorporated. Their relationship was perfect. Dick pounded the streets all day selling, while brother John ran the shop. In 1951, Bill Blair retired from Kaeser and Blair selling his shares to Dutch. Dutch reached an agreement with his sons, and in 1954 a merger between Kaeser Incorporated and Kaeser and Blair was complete. The three continued to build the business, implementing a solid business strategy for direct marketing through independent contractor sales people. In 1966, Dick Kaeser was faced with the most difficult decision of his life. Dutch asked him to leave the streets where he religiously "pounded the pavement" selling for 25 years and come inside and run the company.
A new home for Kaeser and |
3rd Generation of Kaeser Family |
In 1968, Dick Kaeser became president. After 37 years Dutch Kaeser became chairman, so he could spend more time afield with his beloved "bird dogs." It did not turn out that way - he died at his desk while serving Dealers on January 14, 1970.
From 1970 through 1983, Dick and John worked side by side. Dick passed along the title of president to John in 1975. Together they continued to build their business. John and Dick pursued the addition of more advertising products which were manufactured and printed by suppliers on their behalf and delivered to customers. These custom printed items, known as "advertising specialities" gave the family of Kaeser & Blair dealers access to an ever growing market. No longer restricted to those items manufactured in their own plant, K&B dealers had access to thousands of items, including nationally recognized brands like BIC, Paper Mate and Scheaffer, printed in hundreds of different plants throughout the United States. These product lines were much more profitable for the company and for dealers. In 1981, it was decided that the original Kaeser manufacturing plant be closed. This gave K&B the opportunity to concentrate all their efforts and resources to serving dealers. In 1983, after 37 years, John Kaeser retired to his sailboat in Florida.
Dick knew it was time to prepare the next generation of leadership for Kaeser and Blair. Dick's son Kurt came on board after attending Wittenberg University and began his "K&B University" training. Kurt worked in every department of the company. His experience "in the trenches" included many years on the phone providing direct assistance to Dealers. Kurt often answered more than 150 calls a day solving problems and generating ideas that produced orders. He's totally "Dealer oriented," "Dealer devoted" and "Dealer dedicated."
In 1996, Kurt Kaeser became the third generation to assume the office of President of Kaeser & Blair, Inc. Today Kurt is President and Chief Executive Officer. His responsibilities include the thousands of things that must happen behind the scene to keep K&B functioning smoothly day-in and day-out. Kurt learned well from his father and grandfather and works every day to preserve the K&B traditions that are responsible for the longevity and success of the company, Integrity, Responsibility, Reliability. These ethical principals combined with an incredible devotion to Dealers, has resulted in true stability and continuous financial prosperity for K&B and our family of independent Dealers.
Dick Kaeser, the Chairman, is still plenty active. He claims to have cut back to half days... he chooses whichever 12
hours per day he wants. Actually, he is still as enthusiastic about this business as he was when he deliberately got
himself kicked out of college so he could join his Dad at Kaeser 56 years ago. Dick makes sure you have the tools and
information you need to see your sales accelerate. He is K&B's mentor, making certain everyone follows the Kaeser
tradition, never forgetting the sole reason for K&B's success, the family of dealers. In fact, he often reminds K&B
officers of the quote written by Dutch Kaeser in the 1937 prospectus:
"You won't find any 'shiny pants' executives in our organization, just honest, hardworking folks devoted to your
success."