Founded: 1953
Incorporated: 1958
NAIC: 511130 Book Publishers; 511140 Database and Directory Publishers
SIC: 2731 Book Publishing; 2741 Miscellaneous Publishing
J.J. Keller & Associates, Inc., a specialty publisher and service provider with more than 275,000 North American customers, offers safety and regulatory solutions geared to satisfy requirements overseen by government agencies. The company's products and services, numbering more than 5,000, range from technical publications and forms to safety consulting and online training. Among its targeted industries are transportation, construction, utilities, manufacturing, and food processing. The family-owned operation began as a small consulting business serving the transportation industry.
All in the Family
Born in 1918, John J. "Jack" Keller attended elementary, high school, and business college in his hometown of Appleton, Wisconsin. In 1939, Keller was hired by the Kimberly-Clark Corporation and worked in traffic management. Enlisting in the U.S. Army in October 1942, he served in Europe for the duration of World War II. The decorated master major sergeant was honorably discharged in April 1946, according to Paper Industry International.
On the cusp of the 1950s, Keller added to his educational experience, studying at the College of Advanced Traffic and the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) Law School. In 1951, he joined Kampo Transit, Inc., as vice-president and general manager. Keller had worked for transportation companies during a time when the trucking industry was usurping the hauling business of railroads. The federal government had begun regulating the burgeoning industry during the mid-1930s. Keller observed a growing state of confusion in the market regarding issues such as tariffs, permits, and routes. In 1953, Keller left his position to establish a consulting firm, along with his wife and cofounder, Ethel. The parents of three young children took out a second mortgage on their home to start the venture. First focusing on Department of Transportation (DOT)-related compliance issues and assistance with warehousing and insurance underwriting services, Keller planned to develop a full line of services and products supporting the day-to-day operations of motor carriers. "It was an unproven opportunity," Jack Keller recalled in a company history. "No prior work was assured or guaranteed. The endeavor was pure supposition." Yet companies bogged down by compliance issues were more than ready to sign on if it would save them both time and money.
Keller did the legwork, clarifying matters for his clients and then filing the information he had collected. Accumulated research led to books, pamphlets, and forms produced both internally and by vendors. During the 1960s, Keller purchased printing equipment from a small publisher in order to do more of the work in-house.
When his sons were still in high school, John Keller talked to them about joining the family business. If they joined, he planned to expand the company, but if not he would continue on a more modest level, Avi Stern recounted in a Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News article. Bob and Jim Keller came aboard, in 1956 and 1958, respectively, and would help move the company to a new level.
A Wider Circle
J.J. Keller expanded through growth in its safety-publishing niche, entering regulation compliance publishing in 1970. By 1994, the company offered 2,000 regulation compliance associated products and served as a consultant to companies across the country seeking up-to-date information on the DOT, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rules. J.J. Keller also benefited from a trend toward outsourcing as clients hired out customized printing of their safety and training materials. Ranked among the 100 largest privately held companies in Wisconsin, J.J. Keller produced sales of $90 million in 1993.
In an "unprecedented agreement" with the American Trucking Association (ATA), Keller gained access to all ATA customer lists for safety and regulatory products, Arlen Boardman reported in January 1997. Under the agreement, ATA exited the publications business and Keller paid the association royalties for related increases in business. Keller would add about 50,000 new accounts, 34,000 of them corporate, although some overlap was expected with its existing list of more than 200,000 customers. Keller had been adding about 3,000 customers per month prior to the deal.
ATA, Keller's largest rival in U.S. DOT and transportation safety markets, planned to concentrate on its core lobbying and policy development activities in Washington, D.C., according to the Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News article. Bob Keller said of the deal: "The alliance is slated to cover a 10-year time frame which will help expand the scope of our industry-leading products and services offerings, grow our customer base and improve our technological capabilities as we enter the new millennium."
The new activity and the likelihood of additional business from ATA meant added jobs. Employment at Keller had already climbed by nearly 10 percent during the previous two-year period. While Jack Keller's sons were in charge of the company's 800 employees, family ties alone were not a guaranteed pathway to a leadership position at Keller.
The company, unlike many others, had built a succession component into its business plan, Stern reported for Knight-Ridder. "It isn't something we talk about all the time, but we dust it off once and year and discuss ... issues like personnel evaluation, career pathing, retention and recruitment," President and CEO Robert Keller explained. Key management posts would go to the most appropriate candidate, someone from the inside--general management staff numbered 80--or a qualified person from the outside. Bob Keller's son Adam had been flexing his entrepreneurial muscles in a project separate from the family business. Meanwhile, Adam's brother Rustin created a new Internet service for the business their grandfather founded.
In addition to their business interests, the family had a well-established involvement in charitable giving, dating back to the early days of the company. During the 1990s, they established Keller Foundation, Ltd., and a donor advised fund at the Community Foundation for the Fox Valley region, according to Paper Industry International.
Profitable New Era
In 2000, J.J. Keller joined with Advance Online, Incorporated, a web-based safety-training solutions company, to develop a dozen new courses targeted at corporate employees and workers. The U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics reported 5.9 million cases of injuries and illness within private industry workplaces in 1998, according to an October PR Newswire article. The courses addressed issues such as office ergonomics, hazard communications, and respiratory protection. Content developer for the project, J.J. Keller had worked with the online company earlier in the year to adapt one of its popular video-based courses for the web.
In 2001, J.J. Keller produced revenue in excess of $160 million from its 4,000-plus products and services. The company's offerings ranged from compliance publications and regulatory forms and supplies to software and Internet services to workshops and consulting.
During 2003, the specialty publisher received a request from the Department of Homeland Security and the Transportation Security Administration to assist with an online system to relay pertinent information to the nation's truckers. "This alert system will help industry professionals develop a higher level of awareness," J.J. Keller's Washington, D.C.-based Senior Account Executive Greg Scott explained in a Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News article. "It lets them know what's going on, what to look out for, how to better secure themselves, and how to report suspicious activity, all of which will contribute to a safer, more secure country." The endeavor arose from the 50-year-old company's longstanding relationship with regulatory agencies and its transportation industry expertise.
With 90 percent of growth internal, J.J. Keller projected 2004 sales at about $150 million. Target annual growth rate for sales and profits was 12 to 15 percent. The business operated out of a 500,000-square-foot facility, compared to the 1,000-square-foot office in 1953. Net sales had climbed from about $10.5 million in 1983 to more than $111 million in 2002. Employee count (although the company preferred the word associate) had climbed to about 950.
The Kellers were quick to share credit for the company's success with their associates. All were involved in task forces, work groups, or problem-solving teams, which created a sense of commitment to the organization. Profit-sharing, merit pay increases, and bonus programs provided additional motivation. Approximately 50 new products were added in 2003; all grew from the creativity of the associates, who made suggestions regarding line extensions or additional products, according to Robert Warde, writing for Marketplace.
The company averaged 50 to 60 new products per year, but had 150 planned for 2004. Eleven catalogs a year were produced for its customers involved in areas including transportation, hazardous materials, OSHA and workplace safety, human resources, construction, EPA and hazardous waste, and food safety. Among its newer products was a PC-based simulator for truck drivers who engaged in hazardous conditions, defensive driving, and crash avoidance situations. J.J. Keller put approximately $1.5 million into development, which it expected to recoup in about two years, according to Marketplace.
Bob Keller, in the January 2004 Marketplace article, highlighted three key family decisions: maintaining private ownership; introducing profit sharing; and establishing two foundations. Upon their deaths his parents' assets were slated to go to the Keller Foundation. The second-generation leaders continued to build on the dual goals of giving back to the community and creating a successful business. Moreover, a third generation had begun taking on greater responsibility in the company and in philanthropy.
Robert Warde wrote: "The brothers have plotted a strong future for the company and the family. For 2004, the company wants to reach an operating profit of $20 million, with a $2.8 million contribution to its profit sharing plan. The goal is also to reach ... an unheard of 62 percent gross profit margin."
Ethel Keller, cofounder and member of the board of directors of J.J. Keller, died at the end of 2004. She and her husband had been honored in 2003 with the Outstanding Philanthropist Award from the Northeastern Wisconsin Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals, according to Transport Topics. "Dad said he was a commercial missionary, and he said Mom was a spiritual missionary," COO James Keller recalled of his parents in Panache. By the winter of 2006 total charitable contributions by the family and the company had topped $9.5 million.
Further Reading
Bach, Pete, "Vinland, Wis., Publisher Relays Security Updates by E-mail to Trucking Firms," Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News, April 15, 2003.
Boardman, Arlen, "Wisconsin Transportation Safety Publisher Signs Deal with Trucking Group," Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News, January 31, 1997.
Dougherty, Terri, "Different Roads, Same Destination: Two Area Printing Firm CEOs Nominated for State Entrepreneur of the Year Award," Marketplace Magazine (Waupaca), July 19, 1994, p. 24.
Hummel, Alex, "The Business of Generosity: Keller Synonymous with Philanthropy," Panache, Winter 2006, pp. 37-38.
"John (Jack) Keller: 2001 Inductee--Founder/Leadership/Service," Paper Industry International, http://www.paperhall.org/inductees/bios/01/keller.html.
"Obituary: Ethel Keller, Co-founder, J.J. Keller & Associates," Transport Topics, January 10, 2005, p. 32.
Stern, Avi, "Wisconsin Printer and Publisher Bases Success on Common Sense," Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News, May 5, 1998.
Waggoner, Judy, "Appleton, Wis., Entrepreneur Designs, Builds, Sells Cages," Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News, August 7, 2000.
Warde, Robert, "Profile: J.J. Keller & Associates, Navigating the Waters," Marketplace (Appleton, Wis.), January 27, 2004, p. 13.
— Kathleen Peippo
