Our Story
The Friesen Story
Starting from a single 20-foot-wide general store on Main Street in Altona, Manitoba, selling groceries, pencils and other items necessary to rural life in 1907, Friesens has grown to encompass four divisions (Book, Yearbook, History Book, and Packaging) employing over 600 people across North America.
We continue to embody founder D.W. Friesen’s motto “If our customers are successful, so will we be.” This has shaped our approach to customer service, our commitment to investing in our company, and the way we support our team and local communities.
From One Man to 600+
When Friesens opened on October 1, 1907, it was a one-man operation, but it led to a second-generation opportunity for a trio of brothers with ambitions in wholesaling, newspaper publishing, packaging, and commercial printing. In the decades ahead, Friesens would transition from a family firm to one of the largest employee-owned companies in Canada.
The Friesen family always felt that if everyone owned a part of the company, the people who worked in it would treat it like their own; if individual employees did well so would they. They wanted the company to be owned by the people that worked in the business…that included family, but it also included hundreds of others.
Today there are many employee-owner Friesens in the business, though not one from the original family!
Commitment to service, quality and innovation
Since day one, our processes have changed, our people have changed, and even our customers have changed.
What has not changed are our values, our commitment to service, quality and innovation. These values have always been at the forefront as we continue to grow and expand our business.