Editor’s note: This story originally ran May 9, 2021. It’s part of Business Editor Tyler Strong’s Fave Five of 2021, highlighting some of his early stories readers may have missed.)
Phoenix Printing has operated in Augusta since 1876. The business has survived world wars, fires and floods, and most recently, a global pandemic.
How does a printing business come out of that stronger than ever?
It’s a family-oriented business and always has been. Phoenix has been in five families, and is currently run by Jeff Hadden. His children, John Wallace Hadden and Kaitlyn Hadden Adams, are the third generation of Haddens to work for the company.
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Jeff Hadden has placed more responsibility in the hands of his managers and his children in recent years, taking on more of a general overseer role as opposed to a day-by-day leader.
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“Throughout the pandemic, everybody was worried about their job, worried about their life,” Hadden said. It wasn’t always easy, and Hadden spoke about the hard hit that both Phoenix and Augusta took last year with no Masters patrons, no GreenJackets baseball and a lack of weddings and restaurant business.
“We’ve been running since 1876. We’ve been through it all, and we’re stronger than we’ve ever been.” he said as he pointed to a framed picture of 19th century-era Phoenix Printing employees.
Hadden said the business’s long-standing success can be attributed to the amount of talent at the company and how little turnover there is.
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“This company is not about Jeff, John Wallace or Kaitlyn. It’s made up of the folks that surround us,” Hadden said.
Adams, a project director at Phoenix, said it’s the craftsmanship the team at Phoenix brings every day that makes the difference.
“There’s a pride and passion people bring to whatever job they do, whatever department they work in,” she said.
They always try to give back to the community, as it has given so much to them and supported them throughout the years. Jeff Hadden said that 75% of Phoenix’s business is in-state, and the remainder is all across the country.
“Always leave a good impression. That’s what we want to do both with our printing and our day-to-day walk,” Hadden said.
Adams said the company is much more than ink and paper. The creative team there is designed to take a client’s idea or even a piece of an idea and guide it into a finished product.
“If you can think it, we can ink it,” Hadden said.
Throughout the facility, there were projects at various stages of production, from designing proofs and creating the aluminum plate that designs are etched on, to actually printing products and even machines folding brochures. Business cards and press releases, but also medical documents and posters.
Phoenix has a hand in a little bit of everything, and Hadden called to attention that their delivery vehicles and shipping boxes are stylized with Phoenix Printing slogans and icons.
“Branding is everything; recognition is everything,” he said.
As Hadden made his way through the maze of Phoenix Printing’s operation, pointing out different machines and departments, he greeted each person he saw by name and told them, “Good morning.”
Always leave a good first impression, he said.
Tyler Strong is the Business Editor for The Augusta Press. Reach him at tyler@theaugustapress.com.
