Beating the Odds, One Generation at a Time: The Koke Printing story.

According to the Small Business Association, only 30 percent of family-owned businesses in the United States survive into the second generation, 12 percent into the third, and barely three percent into the fourth and beyond.

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By this measure alone the Koke family is doing something right in Eugene, Oregon.?? Kokes have blazed a printing trail in the state since 1907 and by all appearances they aren’t going anywhere but into future, continuing to satisfy their customers by making a difference and helping them succeed.

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The Koke print dynasty began with Joseph Koke, an ambitious entrepreneur from Minnesota who just by happenstance got off a train bound for Seattle to purchase a newspaper in Eugene. The rest, as they say, is history.? Koke would strike up a partnership with a local entrepreneur by the name of Bill Yoran and in 1907 they opened Yoran and Koke, a fledgling letterpress shop.

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Yoran and Koke would go on to beat the odds in a difficult economy which saw a World War, the Great Depression, and several recessions by the late 1930s.? By this time Koke had terminated his partnership with Yoran and had launched Koke Chapman, still providing print services but selling office furniture and stationery as well.?

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The company flourished after the Second World War and Joseph Koke eventually passed the reigns to his son Phillip, just in time to capitalize on the bustling baby boom.? The second generation Koke was a chip off the old block in terms of entrepreneurship and brought the family business into the modern printing era with offset printing.? In fact, the company is believed to be first shop west of the Mississippi to install offset printing.

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Delbert and Doug Koke, Phil’s sons, were destined to follow in their father’s footsteps as third generation print leaders.? Both worked in the family business from an early age.? “I remember learning how to operate the Linotype press and making customer deliveries,” recalls Delbert.

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Both similarly marveled at the technology around them.? Kokes have always embraced technology, one of the tenets of their success.?

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Delbert Koke joined the company after serving in the Navy.? Looking back, he has no regrets and at 82 is still a fixture in the business, even though he retired 20 years ago.? He can often be seen working in the bindery showing much younger workers “how it’s done.” Delbert’s son Tyler, 52, also works in the business in production.

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Doug Koke, now 71, joined his brother in the family company after graduating high school.? “I thought I might go to college,” recalls Doug.? “But my dad had other plans.” The two took over from their father in 1982 when Phil retired.? At that time, there were double digit interest rates and huge unemployment.?

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The third generation Kokes introduced digital printing to the family enterprise, becoming pioneers in Indigo technology.? They would similarly add a myriad of ancillary services including wide format printing, mailing, fulfillment and storage, and web to print storefronts. ?

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When Delbert retired in 2004, Doug Koke became the sole owner of his family’s business, which three years later would be named Koke New Century, Inc, one hundred years after his grandfather started his first printing company.

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From 2007 until 2012, Koke New Century grew organically and by acquiring three additional printing companies – operating each as independent entities: QSL Print Communications, Instaprint and Quick Service Auction Printing.? While commercially very successful, Koke’s company had three logos, three different websites and in some respects three different cultures.? It also operated out of seven buildings.

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Taking the company into the future would require a different strategy and Doug Koke proudly recognized his lineage could provide the solution.

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Next Gen

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Enter Gen 4 – a tight knit group of siblings who purchased their father’s business in 2019.? President and CEO Melissa Koke, 47, is quick to point out that while she is the CEO, her siblings join her in all major company decisions, and all own the company equally.? “I just happen to be the bossiest, she laughs.? She is joined by her sister Keri Ortiz, 45, who oversees HR and contributes in accounting and HR and baby brother Ryan Koke, 39, a “math wizard” with a degree in engineering who serves as lead estimator.?

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Like his older brother Delbert, Doug is still a legend at the company and works on select projects.? “He’s also our unofficial mascot,” jokes Melissa.

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Were it not challenging enough to follow in the successful footprints of their great grandfather, grandfather, father and uncle, four months after their purchase of Koke New Century the world was hit by a global pandemic.?

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Not ideal timing.? But like their ancestors before them, the Kokes persevered and beat the odds.? “While our business certainly took a hit, we never closed our doors nor laid off a single employee,” shares Melissa Koke.? “We filled eight-hour days with special projects from painting the parking lot to updating operating procedures.”

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The company received PPP assistance “for the first time in our history and we invested every penny back into the business,” says Koke.?

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It’s no surprise that her employees are very loyal and that there is low turnover at the company.? “Run it like a place you want to be at,” she says, sharing that there are many families working in the company outside of the Kokes, including a recent retiree who had 41 years of service.? As for her own family, “we love each other and love working together.”

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Anxious to put their own stamp on the family business, Melissa and her siblings identified two priorities for the fourth-generation team: become a leader in sustainability and streamlining the company’s physical footprint and brand.? Along the way, following in their father’s footsteps, they similarly expanded the business by acquiring a friendly competitor with one third their volume -Technaprint.? Melissa brokered the deal after seeing Technaprint advertise for a lead pressman and knowing that would be difficult to find.?

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Sustainability

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Sustainability isn’t just a buzzword or platitude for the Kokes.? They practice what they preach.? “I’m a parent.? The quality of the future will be measured by how well we pursue sustainability now.? It’s up to all of us to do better,” asserts Melissa Koke.? “We are committed to being as sustainable as possible and are happy to share our best practices with others” she proudly maintains.

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This includes working with suppliers who champion responsible recycling and reuse of every consumable possible, investing in green power, using non-toxic, solvent free inks and sourcing chain of custody paper for each job; ensuring no storage or waste.? “I have yet to visit a printer that is doing more,” she proudly maintains.

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“I just can’t stand waste,” asserts Melissa.? I want to leave the earth a better place for our kids and grandkids!”

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Streamlining Operations and Brand

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An equally challenging objective was to address the company’s physical footprint and its brand.? “It was time to circle the wagons, rebuild who we are and what we do,” says Melissa Koke.

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Still a work in progress, the objective is to build on the best practices of all the companies over the previous 117 years.? And Melissa and her siblings have made stupendous progress, moving from seven buildings to two, housing all manufacturing under one roof – a state of the art 28,000 square foot facility that houses modern equipment and technology. “We buy the best equipment and hire the best people!”? A second 18,000 square foot facility houses the Koke fulfillment operations.

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The major equipment at the manufacturing facility includes a Heidelberg CD 64 and various other Heidelberg small offset presses / HP Indigo 15K, Xerox Irridesses and a Fuji Acuity flatbed printer with additional roll to roll capabilities in its wide format department.?

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As for the branding goal, Melissa has set a target for the end of the second quarter of 2024.?

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The new corporate identity?? As Jonathan Swift famously wrote in the 1700s – “everything old is new again.”? Returning to their roots the company will be known as Koke Printing with the tagline Since 1907.

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Melissa and her siblings are the first to boast about the lessons they have learned from their forefathers – risk taking entrepreneurs who always strived for excellence (“good enough is the enemy of great”) by investing in technology and people and understanding their “WHY” – helping customers achieve great heights and success.

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“We are lucky to have this opportunity,” Melissa Koke reflects.? “We get to take care of a great legacy and build upon it.”