‘A century of service’

Pennsylvania company targets employees and customers with multiprong centennial celebration

We may all be living longer, but making it to 100 is still something to celebrate.

The same goes for companies. If your organization stays in business for a century, do more than just mark it quietly, says Irene Keefer, manager of employee communications at tubular products distributorMarmon/Keystone.

“This is a rarity in the business world,” says Keefer, whose Butler, Pa.-based company will hit the century mark this year. “Our company had humble beginnings—just a couple of relatives selling used pipe in a small town, but it evolved into a world-class wholesale distributor.”

Communicators have been planning various ways to mark the centennial since April 2006, when the company’s president appointed a steering committee representing administration, human resources, merchandising, purchasing and employee communications.

Employees, it was decided, would be a significant part of the celebration.

“Our company president, Norman Gottschalk, has often stated that a company’s employees are its most important asset, so it was logical that our people play a role in our anniversary celebration,” Keefer says.