A Passion for Print

MIKE SCHRADER, his wife, Deb, and their two sons—Rob, 13, and Pete, 11—reside in a small town halfway between the Green Bay Packers and the Milwaukee Brewers. Schrader was born and raised here, in Berlin, Wis., just northwest of the Fond du Lac headquarters of Mercury Marine, where he is manager of Printing & Mailing Solutions.

As far back as he can recall Schrader had an interest in graphics and drawing. While in high school, he painted signs and vehicles for local businesses. He went on to receive an Associate Degree in Commercial Art in 1984 from Western Wisconsin Technical College, in LaCrosse, Wis., then took a job laying out ads for a newspaper.

“Four months later, I began at Mercury Marine as a paste-up artist laying out service literature,” Schrader says. “For the first few years, I worked in the masking area, graphic arts camera, bindery and hand gathering area.”

He still recalls the absence of computers at that time, and the smell of wax that filled the air from the machines used in the paste-up process.

“When desktop publishing was introduced into the market, I was hooked, and worked in that area for 10 years,” he says.

After work, Schrader attended night school at Marian College, earning a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration in 1996.

“When the printing manager position opened up, I was fortunate to get the opportunity to give it a try and have been at it for the past seven years,” he says.

Changing with the Times
Since Schrader’s promotion to manger in 1999, short-run color printing has been introduced, and new equipment has been added.

“We also now print the mainframe reports, and the company mail center has been added to our team,” he says. “In 2005, we produced more than 7,500 jobs. We ran 50 million impressions offset, and 41 million impressions electronically on a DocuTech.

“Half of what we produce goes directly to our production lines for insertion into product boxes, such as owner’s manuals, installation manuals, and instruction sheets” for the company’s marine propulsion and other related products, he says. “Another quarter is for the service of our products, including service manuals, service bulletins and parts manuals. The remainder supports our office environment, parent company and external companies.”

The in-plant, which has 20 employees and a $2 million annual operating budget, also offers graphic design, bindery, mailing services and fulfillment.

In the past, Schrader says Mercury Marine’s printing department was annually reviewed to determine if it should continue to exist.

“I’m proud of the fact that since I’ve become manager, it has been reviewed only once,” he adds. “We don’t have time to feel threatened about losing our in-plant. We’re too busy satisfying our customers.”

Schrader seems to take it all in stride, balancing work stress with the pleasure he finds through his family and various interests.

“I enjoy many hobbies, but I’m not very good at any of them,” he admits. “I teach grade school kids how to play football, attend church and school meetings, and enjoy woodworking, golf, watching movies, and spending time with my family.”

Schrader also receives support as a member of the In-plant Printing and Mailing Association, where he is president of the local chapter.

“The IPMA gives me a network of managers and suppliers to call upon with questions,” he says.

Looking forward, Schrader understands that developing technology will continue to impact his in-plant.

“The future is wide-open,” he observes. “I have no immediate plans to upgrade anything, but I can’t wait to see what technologies will be introduced and discover ways they can benefit Mercury Marine.”IPG