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The Webway Opportunity

In 1985, Antioch purchased the Holes Webway Company in St. Cloud, Minnesota, a manufacturer of photo albums and social books. Antioch thought they had found a good facility and avenue with which to expand their line of gift products. What they had actually found turned out to be much more.

The Holes Webway company was founded in 1926, the same year Ernest Morgan started the Antioch Bookplate Company. Its founder was Wilbur Whipple Holes. Like Morgan, Holes was a commercial printer and an innovative entrepreneur. In 1938, he invented and patented a unique "flex-hinge" binding method for scrapbooks. He also engineered and built the binding machinery needed to produce his invention. Soon the company became a leading manufacturer of scrapbooks and photo albums.

Like Antioch, the Holes Webway Company grew and prospered through the decades. Unlike Antioch, the second generation of leadership at Holes Webway failed to continue the vision of its founder. By the late 1970's, the company's strategy was adrift and desparately needed a change.

Cheryl Lightle, a longtime Antioch employee, was sent to Minnesota to oversee the transition. The name was changed to Webway Incorporated. Management structure was flattened and employees were given freedom to contribute ideas and participate. Webway, like Antioch, became employee-owned. At Webway, Antioch found a workforce similar to its own: dedicated, skilled, many with decades of experience. They returned to what Webway did best: their album lines were re-engineered, repackaged and marketed to meet the demand for durable, attractive long-term photo storage.

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