Northern Excellence

What's most amazing is that, with just four full-time employees, this shop is a fraction of the size of the in-plants that it has beaten. Not only that, but the in-plant's vivid four-color annual reports are printed on a two-color MAN Roland press.

Though Puppe, a 21-year veteran of Minnkota Power, credits the press skills of operator Ken Kearney with producing the prize-winning pieces, the fact that the shop prints color in the first place is a testament to Puppe's vision. When he took the helm as supervisor, Puppe began bringing work in-house that had traditionally been sent outside. One such job was the company newsletter. At first he started printing it with two colors, but later he introduced a four-color cover.