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In 2022, Lewisburg Printing Company (LPC) merged with Huston Patterson (HP), allowing them to focus on customers’ wants and needs while maintaining their core business model. Creating and sustaining a united front with a strategic business model that continues to build an innovative, reliable, and motivating culture has been no small task. LPC & HP rose to the challenge by strengthening their team’s growth in the industry by implementing a complementary value system and combined business practices to build and maintain a strong foundation.
Merging your company with another can be an exciting experience that leads to further success and growth if done correctly. Instead of preserving your company’s old values, look for ways to transform your business to reach new heights while applying community values, transparent communications, cohesive technology, strategic hiring, and the overall blending of company standards.
Employee these five tactics to successfully combine the mission statements of your transformed company and, more importantly, learn how to unify your cultures to create an impenetrable business model that stands the test of time.
1. Building Community
For most companies, the framework for success relies on how much they promote and value community. LPC and HP aim to motivate employees by creating transparent messaging for the entire company. Building community does not happen overnight, but keeping every employee informed of changes, events, and policies is a great place to start.
Hale Hawkins, CEO of Lewisburg Printing Company, described LPC’s culture as one that puts the wants and needs of the customer first, saying, “We have built a strong and hardworking team that makes that happen through world-class service.” Tonya Kowa-Morelli, Chief Operations Officer of Huston Patterson and Lewisburg Printing, added to that sense of community and service, saying, “We have always operated Huston Patterson as a small to mid-size company with the values of a family-owned business but with the drive and organization of a large company. Since merging with LPC, we have built an even stronger foundation. The values between both organizations are very similar, giving us a lot to build upon.”
Consider implementing the following modes of communication to ensure your business community is always on the same page:
- Social Media Presence: Showcase real people through videos and .gifs. For example, LPC utilizes LinkedIn by highlighting packaging, while HP highlights its employees in its digital content.
- Company newsletters: Create and promote human interest articles and community outreach opportunities to help foster connections and keep employees informed.
- Digital TV Screens: To keep employees who have a second shift later in the day in the know, TV screens can spotlight company updates, including marketing campaigns, important announcements, and sign-on bonus opportunities when offering referrals.
- Events: Company events are a great way to build community! For example, LPC and HP held a chili cookoff encouraging employees to put a dollar in a jar for a local charitable organization. The ownership then matched the donation, and the total funds supported their community giving efforts.
Building a corporate community creates a strong sense of unity and comradery, so everyone feels welcomed, included, and part of the team.
2. Establishing Transparency
When merging companies, it’s essential to establish transparency from the beginning of the process. To do this, a company should highlight its wins to its employees, its shortcomings to showcase how merging will help fill gaps, and its plans to bring the company cultures together to make them stronger than before.
When it came time for LPC and HP to merge, Kowa-Morelli of HP provided transparency through numbers, up-to-date knowledge to people working on the floor, community resources, and customer support. Hawkins of LPC said, “working with Radical Equity Partners on the merger gave us an added layer of experience, expertise, and support that allowed our team to continue growing our companies throughout the process.” Through collaboration and keeping lines of communication open, transparency also helped keep the entire team accountable and aware of merger updates throughout their departments.
By establishing transparency from day one, relationships with employees stayed intact because of a built-in awareness – providing an opportunity for all employees to discover how company cultures can band together to create a solid foundation that benefits all.
3. Streamlining Technology
In today’s technologically advanced world, streamlining technology throughout a company has become essential – a merger is no exception. Establishing a streamlined process for how technology is used throughout the company is vital, with consistent messaging being paramount. Consider these different messaging systems to develop and sustain connections within your workforce:
- Salesforce and IM/Bulletin Board: This messaging can be used by all employees to receive postings of what’s going on. Such communications can include how to use machines, ways to apply for benefits, and bulletin messages to start or end the workday.
- Connect with HR: Easily connect with employees by creating a simple process to sign up for employee benefits, schedule meetings, etc.
- Marketing and Innovation: Establish consistent messaging regarding company communications, such as holidays and community needs, and promote incentives for workers. For LCP and HP, this is currently in the works as they focus on innovation rather than concerning themselves with return on investments (ROIs) or costs.
By streamlining your company’s technology, communication is more efficient and systemized, creating a simplified way to connect with your team and colleagues.
4. Strategic Hiring
By hiring an HR Director, a company shows they’re ready to invest in the careers and well-being of their employees. A company can hire the best talent by establishing a strategic hiring plan while supporting company advancement and growth.
Since their merger, LPC and HP have focused on enhancing their HR through a newly established HR committee and subset groups, encouraging HR to form company communications with employees that are consistent to ensure employee feedback is being heard, acknowledged, and put into action.
5. Blending Missions
When companies merge, their mission statements should change to align with their respective goals, core values, and overall priorities. By blending missions, a company’s goal is more reflective of its broad audience, creating more sustainable, lasting connections. A similar mission and values complementary to one another are also integral for an uncomplicated merger.
LPC and HP, in their merger, explained that complementary values were one of the reasons they decided to come together. Kowa-Morelli said, “One prime focus for bringing Huston Patterson and LPC together is to build an innovative and reliable company that provides litho labels and top sheets to the packaging industry. There is a strong desire to provide a workplace that people enjoy coming to every day and will be sustainable long term.” Hawkins added to that point, saying, “Our focus when bringing our two companies together is to continue our mission by putting our customers’ wants and needs first and keep them as the core of our business model.”
Kowa-Morelli and Hawkins are also both concentrated on maintaining consistent performance from employees. They’ve done this by instituting Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to help recognize employees for a job well done while also boosting company morale. For leadership improvements, they’ve shifted to town hall meetings to benefit every leader in the company, ensuring that their overall mission is sustained.
By focusing on seamlessly blending two company missions into one, you’ll present a unified message to not only your employees but also to your community and, most importantly, your customers.
Follow these five recommendations to ensure your company merger sustains happy employees, a more robust company mission, and a more profound impact on the industry. Ready to learn more? Join us at our Fall Meeting & Leadership Conference this October in San Diego, CA!
In The Loupe is a new publication providing paper, print, packaging, and marketing industry news from global market experts. Stay informed of key developments and the latest news. Topics include sustainable materials, paper buying, wellness and more.
In The Loupe is brought to you by the newly merged teams of Huston Patterson and Lewisburg Printing Company, both of which are widely credited with a long history and a strong business culture. Both companies are well regarded as leading innovators in print, service, supply chain management and successful leadership in large format offset printing services. The combined teams are excited to bring you an even greater level of service in printing, folding carton, and POP graphic print manufacturing. For more information, please connect with either Kirk Kelso or Joseph R. Morelli.