Wayne 'Bumps' Brown

Wayne 'Bumps' Brown graduated from Waseca High School in 1942. Brown printing began in 1949 as the printing department of the Waseca Journal and Herald, a partnership with his dad, Donald C. Brown, and brothers Grove and Jim. The company had one catalog customer, Herters, Inc., and they decided to build the printing business with Bumps in charge. Today it is the largest employer in Waseca and the 4th largest web offset printer in the country.

Eight years later the tale was wagging the dog and Bumps sold his interest in the newspapers, and became the sole owner of a new business, Brown Printing Co.

Bumps felt that some day the printing business throughout the world would be dominated by web offset and he begged, borrowed, and thought about stealing, in order to get a press like that. He talked the manufacturer, ATF in New Jersey, to sell him a press with a very small down payment and in July of 1959 Brown Printing Co. started the press.

He did not hire any one from the outside to run the press. He dumped it in the lap of Cy Ostendorf, Kenny Bosacker and Leonard Bauman and a web offset printing plant was born. Later Nels Fostveit and Bennie Yerhot joined the company without any printing experience and the five of them were the core of the highest quality web offset press room in the country.

It wasn't easy getting publishers in New York, Chicago and Cleveland to print their magazines in Waseca but by 1969 Brown Printing Co had about 350 employees and four web offset presses.

At this time Bumps felt that with the financial backing of a New York stock exchange company Brown Printing could become one the top printing companies in the country. He opted to sell the company to Bemis, Inc., the first step in perpetuating Brown Printing Co. in Waseca.

By 1978 BPC was growing at a phenomenal rate and Bumps came to realize Bemis was not going to be able to finance the growth. He had made arrangements to have three BPC employees work for a month at Gruner & Jahr in Germany to learn the gravure technology and he went with them so he could get acquainted with the management of that firm.

It worked and in early 1979 Gerd Schulte-Hillen came to Waseca and, after a tour of the plant, came to Bumps' office and asked "Is Brown Printing for sale." The rest is history.

Bumps was asked to comment on his success. He said, "It's not my success. The employees built this company. I always knew that. I made the right decisions at the right time to perpetuate the company in Waseca. I am proud of that and I am proud of the hundred million dollars in the profit sharing fund."

Brown Printing has become a critical part of the Waseca area economy.  At the 50th Anniversary celebration last year, when asked to comment about the future of Brown Printing, Bumps said, "Don't worry. The sun always shines on Brown Printing Company." 

Waseca is pleased to honor Bumps Brown for his vision, his leadership and his love of Waseca with the Alumni Achievement Award.