Doug Weatherly: A Natural Printer

Having grown up around printing, Doug Weatherly has found it to be a natural fit. His father co-owned a print shop, at which his mother was involved in taking orders, working with customers and handling finances.

"I was intrigued by all the processes it took to complete an order," reflects Weatherly, Document Services manager at Noridian Mutual Insurance, in Fargo, N.D. "The older I got, the more I realized printing was pulling me toward that profession; and when I engaged in some of the work, I found out I was pretty good at it."

After graduating high school in the mid-'80s he attended North Dakota State School of Science, receiving a graphic arts technology degree. Between his freshman and sophomore years, he returned to his hometown of Fergus Falls, Minn., where he worked at the in-plant at Otter Tail Power Co.

"I came in for an internship and became their head pressman," he says.

Upon his 1987 graduation, Weatherly studied business management at Moorehead State University while working at the college's in-plant. Then, for nine months between 1991 and 1992, Weatherly held his first full-time job at Metropolitan Federal Bank, before the company decided to eliminate its in-plant. After that, he worked at a commercial print shop for about 12 years.

"I started out as a press operator, and became production manager and estimator by the time I was done there," he relays.

In 2004, Weatherly joined the in-plant at Noridian Mutual Insurance as Document Services manager. He now manages a team of 28, composed of printers, designers, couriers and multi-media artists, and works with a half million dollar budget.

Over the years, he has increased production at the 11,000-square-foot in-plant. When he started, he says, "we still had offset printing. We were running slow and weren't really productive. It was a slower-paced environment."

In the Fall of 2011, the in-plant eliminated offset.

"Today, we are able to do more with less, and we have become much more digital. We use technology to our advantage to boost productivity," he says.

When he first arrived at Noridian, Weatherly noticed that the in-plant was using a good amount of inventory space for the bulk forms and marketing materials it would purchase each year. One of the first changes he made as manager was to switch over to a print-on-demand approach.

"That has probably been the biggest change," he says. "We have been able to use that inventory space for other things, we have cut costs and we have kept our materials up to date."

Today, the in-plant is all digital. It recently replaced its Xerox 7000 and 8000 for two Xerox iGen4s.

"I'd like to try to help market our company, keep the brand strong and grow our business, in a very efficient manner," he says. "There is the trust I will do what is best for the business."

Staff Appreciation

A true manager, Weatherly keeps his staff motivated by offering opportunities for cross-training and further education, as well as perks to boost morale.

"They work hard and oftentimes work extra hours, so we try to give them [incentives], whether financial rewards or things like pizza parties," he says. And, by keeping up with new technologies, Weatherly offers the added bonus of working with fresh and productive equipment.

Weatherly says he is most proud of the high quality and high volumes the in-plant produces.

"We have also continually looked for cost-saving solutions and have provided them. We satisfy our members at a pretty high level," explains Weatherly, who is co-chair of the U.S. Postal Customer Council for Red River Valley. He says his biggest successes as manager have been growing the business, cutting costs, keeping quality up, and meeting federal and association guidelines.

During Weatherly's time at Noridian, the in-plant began outsourcing some of its transactional printing.

"There are always outside forces trying to get your business," he says. "But, I think we can show that we [provide] a very good value for our organization at a reasonable cost."

The Future of Healthcare

One of Weatherly's greatest challenges, he believes, lays ahead of him, as his in-plant adapts to healthcare reform.

"Where is healthcare going to go? How will it impact us?" he wonders. "We have a good handle on it, but we're not sure exactly where it's going to go."

All hurdles aside, Weatherly has managed an in-plant through technological advances, company changes and his personal movement toward higher productivity. He is working with something he always thought he would: print. Though, he enjoyed the pace of commercial print work, he feels at home in his in-plant.

"I like that it's kind of like running my own company within a company," he says, revealing that he has always had a desire to run his own business. "I am very comfortable where I am and happy and fortunate to have the position I have."

Now living in the Fargo suburb of Dillworth, Minn., with his wife Kali and four children, Weatherly says life is full. Working in a satisfying field and attending his children's sports activities makes this in-plant manager an all-around happy man, pleased with life and a successful career.