ECM Publishers, Inc observes 25 years of commitment

Posted 6/6/01

ECM Publishers, Inc observes 25 years of commitment

ECM Publishers , Inc. this year is observing 25 years of commitment to its customers, associates, shareholders and communities.

The company, founded by former Minnesota Governor Elmer L. Andersen in 1976, has grown from two newspapers merged into one to 18 community weekly newspapers and six shopper publications. ECM Publishers also posts online versions of its weekly newspapers on the World Wide Web, updating stories daily to provide up-to-date information for its communities. More than 330,000 Web pages were downloaded from the ECM Web site in April of 2001.

Printing operations at ECM include a sheetfed printing plant at Coon Rapids and a newspaper web plant at Princeton. The Princeton web plant begins printing the Midwest edition of the New York Times this summer. The Times reportedly chose the ECM plant because of its quality and commitment to customer service.

ECM Publishers is also proud of its large distribution operation which is responsible for 300,000 deliveries each week for 43 publishers. Deliveries include publications, directories, sample products and advertising pieces.
Becoming a newspaper publisher was a lifelong dream of Andersen. He was 67 when he purchased The Princeton Union and The Princeton Eagle of Princeton, Minnesota, and merged them into one weekly newspaper, the Princeton Union-Eagle. The new publication, along with the Rum River Shopper and Town & Country Shopper, were the original pieces of the Princeton Publishing Company, formed on June 9, 1976.

ìI believe that community newspapers have a great potential to make a positive contribution to the communities they touch,î said Andersen in his autobiography, ìA Man's Reach.î

Andersen continues: ìFor me, entering the community newspaper field in 1976 has provided a pleasing kaleidoscope of personal relationships and experiences, including the satisfaction of expressing my opinions in writing. . .î Editorial writing was always one of his favorite newspaper tasks, Publisher Emeritus Andersen says.
At ECM, the Andersen family has continued the pattern began at H.B. Fuller where Elmer and son Tony were once chief executive officers, the pattern and tradition of offering employees a benefit package that is more generous than the industry norm. A parenting leave policy, adopted in 1998, is widely believed to be the most enlightened program offered by any employer in the state.

Associates, totaling 500 full time and part time at ECM, are very much a part of their company and community in which they serve. The Community Affairs Council of ECM is a group of associates who ensure service to communities by providing countless volunteer hours and more than $167,000 in contributions to worthy non-profit projects since the CACís formation in 1991.

Many of the newspapers and other publications of ECM have a long history, points out current ECM board chairman and CEO Julian Andersen. ìSome of our publications have endured for more than 125 years,î Andersen says. The oldest established newspaper owned by ECM is the Anoka County Union, founded in 1865. The Caledonia Argus was founded in 1872, the Elk River Star News began in 1873, the Coon Rapids Herald is an offshoot of the Anoka Herald which originated in 1874 and the ECM Post Review of North Branch and Rush City was started in 1875.

ECM associates currently rise to the challenges of providing trusted community journalism, exemplary printing and transparent delivery by demonstrating creativity, collaboration and persistence, CEO Andersen remarks. ìLetís celebrate this anniversary confident that ECM Publishers will thrive in the years to come,î Andersen added.