11/2023 – For Immediate Release

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Thysse Announces Significant Expansion of Leadership Team, Positions for Growth

The expansion of Thysse’s Leadership Team restructures the way decisions are made, further empowering these clearly capable, trustworthy, and proven industry leaders.

The Approach

  • Further empowers leaders to inspire, guide, and act.
  • Fosters an agile culture that welcomes innovation.
  • Amplifies team engagement, motivation, and morale.
  • Enhances competitive positioning in a dynamic business landscape.

Meet the Leaders

I am proud to welcome the members of our newly formed leadership team to the helm at Thysse.  Their collective vision, expertise, and fresh perspectives will help shape the future success of our company as we continue to grow, evolve, and expand our value proposition.

Thysse has proven to be inventive and sincere.  …An industry leader and the type of organization that puts my 50+ years of industry experience to good use. Continually challenging me to keep learning and utilize my skills and experience to reach goals I didn’t imagine. Despite our 80+ year history, we are just getting started. We have assembled the most capable, passionate, and intelligent leadership team I’ve ever been associated with. Together we will continue to accomplish great things for our teams, their families, our customers, and our community.

The best part about Operations is the physical production of ideas. Taking our customer’s vision for their brand and bringing it into reality is extremely fulfilling, and I’m grateful to be part of that process.

The opportunity to join Thysse’s exceptional Creative Services Team and create additional value for our current and future customers is thrilling. The mission is to create future growth with a renewed, fresh approach. This team, combined with Thysse’s production capabilities, has a truly unique opportunity to be a national creative services powerhouse. Thysse is a special company, and my commitment is to do everything I can to further delight our current partners and forge new relationships with the people and brands I know we can amaze.

I’m grateful for the opportunity to join the talented group of individuals forming the leadership team and to contribute to Thysse’s continued growth as VP – Sales & Marketing.  We have a great sales and marketing organization and will be focusing our efforts on providing valuable design, print, and fulfillment solutions to clients with programs built specifically for them.    

I am deeply honored to be part of this exceptional leadership team where our collective wisdom, vision, and dedication come together to propel Thysse forward.  I’m also excited to apply my 28 years of industry experience to help drive innovation and continuous improvement across both internal technologies and customer-facing tools. …Wrangling our 1’s and 0’s to realize our full potential and bring technology to life.

It has been a privilege to be part of Thysse’s growth over the past 7 years and it’s an honor to join this group of leaders as we take Thysse to the next level. As VP of Finance, my focus goes beyond ensuring our internal financial health. Providing clear insights, reporting and guidance to our customers is just as important and critical to the types of relationships we build.

I am proud to be a part of this new leadership team. It’s a milestone that inspires me to use my skills and experience to help guide the business strategies that ensure Thysse’s growth, amplify our strengths, and support the aspirations of our valued employees. A key objective will be to continue to strengthen Thysse’s unique identity and reputation as a premier employer and partner within our industry.

Ariel view of Thysse, located 15 miles south of Madison, Wisconsin.

Q:  What is Thysse? 

A:  It’s where you go with your brand.®

Pronounced ‘TIE•SEE,’ Thysse is a brand experience provider that creates a wide variety of creative, print, and manufactured brand assets in their state-of-the-art, 95,000 sq ft facility.

This (still) family-owned company was established in 1941 and attributes its growth and client retention to a strong focus on exceptional service, craftsmanship, and project outcomes.

Experiencing the difference is easy, run your next project through #TeamThysse!

Thysse Adds Capacity & Capabilities To Oregon, WI, Print Operations

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Over the past couple decades there have been numerous consumer packaging innovations but if you ask Johnie Thysse, it’s still hard to beat the sombrero hole. Johnie is the fourth generation in the Thysse family to ply his craftsmanship in the rapidly evolving print industry.

The packaging line at Thysse has grown substantially over the past 12 years. Johnie has seen it go from literally hammering out sombrero holes to processes that perfectly punch thousands per minute.  …And from one customer to some of the biggest brands in the country.

We cornered Jason Thysse, CEO and Johnie’s dad, to reflect on the images:

Jason Thysse

That’s how our packaging line started. …Two buildings ago. It’s how many of our service lines started- small. Our growth is a testament to the team here. It’s really their skill, hard work, and dedication that made our growth possible. When you do that consistently, word spreads. We’re really doing the same thing we’ve always done, it’s just at a different scale now. 

The nostalgic look back is a great reminder that prioritizing exceptional outcomes from humble beginnings is a time-tested way to grow a business. In fact, Thysse is currently in mid-process on a multi-million-dollar tooling and capabilities investment aimed at meeting the rising demand for the type of service and quality it delivers.

Thysse Director of Operations, Tony Smithson, is managing the project and shared his insights on the growth:

It’s easy to slip into a mindset that commoditizes what we do in the print and brand services industries. It’s not hard to have a great day, come up with a great design element or have a clean production run. It IS hard to do that every time. It takes a lot of dedicated experts spanning many disciplines to resolve issues before they become problems. I doubt we’re ever the lowest bid, but our customer retention rate and growth indicate we’re often the highest value.

Thysse is a commercial printing and brand services provider located 20 minutes south of Madison in Oregon, WI. If you’re in the neighborhood, stop by and take a tour! Or, reach out! We’d love to discuss solutions to your next project!

Thysse Unveils New Campus and New Capabilities.

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New Address, Same Thysse Culture.

  • Rendering of Thysse’s new campus (2019)
  • Thysse’s new campus is unveiled on July 27, 2020.

Monday, July 27 marked the next chapter in the Thysse legacy. The company opened the doors on its new headquarters, a 95,500 square-foot building in Oregon, WI. The new campus, situated just a stone’s throw from the previous Netherwood location, is the third expansion in seven years to support Thysse’s enhanced services and growing lines of business.

The building itself is as functional as it is visually impressive; featuring 2 glass lined stories and triple the production space. The new location brings together a full in-house design suite for Thysse’s Experiential Graphic Design team, moves all production, specialty graphics, and fulfillment services to a single site, creating greater efficiencies for Thysse’s customers, and enhances the close team culture for its employees. For President Jason Thysse, this is the real measure of success,

“Since my grandfather started Thysse in 1941, this company has always been about the people. We designed the new campus with both client and employee needs in mind, and the result we’ve realized with the team of Thysse architects, designers, and assistance from OPN Architects is a dream come true. We are very excited for this next chapter in Thysse’s story!”

Fleet of Thysse delivery trucks at new campus

Director of Operations, Nick Brevik knows that the new campus will start showing a return on investment almost immediately,

“The move to a larger space that can house all our services in one location minimizes our logistical inefficiencies. We’ll be able to reduce travel time, particularly in fulfillment, and we’re able to increase our service offerings, adding on foil stamping and embossing capabilities starting in August. The bigger production space allowed us to bring in a larger format and faster press, as well as the prepress workflow to support it, effectively doubling our offset printing rate. The move also increased fulfillment storage by 30%. Thysse has always looked for the best way to meet our customers’ current needs, while simultaneously planning for their future; this move is a continuation on that promise.”  

Thysse’s new address, as of July 27th, is 780 Cusick Parkway, Oregon, WI 53575.

Production space in Thysse's new campus

Although the building was completed for Thysse, it wasn’t done alone. The project had many partners involved including: The Village of Oregon, Oregon Community Bank, Wisconsin Business Development, OPN Architects, Newcomb Construction, and Thysse’s very own Experiential Design Team. Thank you for your support and assistance along this journey!

To stay up to date with what’s happening at Thysse, stay tuned on our social channels and at www.thysse.com.

Facebook | Twitter | Linkedin | Instagram

For more information, contact Jen Braga, Thysse, at 608.249.6951.

Adequate or Awesome? 6 Questions to Help You Rate Your Printer’s Customer Service

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Questions to Help You Rate Your Printer’s Customer Service

Your printer’s customer service involves a lot more than a friendly voice on the other end of the phone line. Or at least it should. 

Sure, customer service that’s adequate should keep misinterpreted orders, stalled projects, and missed deadlines to a minimum. But is that all you should expect from a printer’s customer service? We don’t think so.

In this post, we ask the following six questions to help you rate the performance of your printer’s customer service:

  • Do you consistently get answers—even before you ask the questions?
  • Do you have multiple points of contact you can count on?
  • Does customer service staff have the insight to catch problems early and keep projects moving forward?
  • Does your customer service include getting cost-saving solutions? 
  • Does your customer service place a priority on your brand and your brand colors?
  • Is customer service a company-wide focus for your printer?

In the process, we’ll also help you distinguish adequate customer service from the truly awesome!

Anticipating customer needs helps save time.

1. Do you consistently get answers—even before you ask the questions? 

How much back-and-forth should there be for a typical print project? Answer: as little as possible. 

Sending emails, calling staff, leaving voice messages, waiting for replies—the time it takes for you to do these things adds up.

“A customer should know what to expect. That’s customer service 101. Detailing the steps of their project and anticipating their needs saves them from having to chime in multiple times with queries,” says Kris Holden, Customer Service Manager at Thysse.

In other words, of course you’re going to want to know when:

  • The estimate is coming.
  • The proofs will show up.
  • The delivery can be expected. 

Should you really need to ask?

Having more than one contact is useful when your rep is gone.

2. Do you have multiple points of contact you can count on?

When you do really need to talk with customer service, it should be an easy process to get the help you need. But have you ever had a situation where the customer service rep you normally talk to was gone and their backup just plain didn’t understand your needs? 

Print vendors who use a team-based customer service system ensure you have more than one helpful point of contact. 

More specifically, a team-based system means you have: 

  • Info on your go-to’s. This should include the names and contact info for more than one person working on your account.
  • A helpful front desk. It shouldn’t be too much to expect receptionists that know who’s filling in for who and can redirect you accordingly.
  • Staff who care, even if they’re out. Staff who actually use out-of-office automation tools make it possible for your emails and voicemails to get redirected to those prepared to help you.
  • A group communication option. If it’s right for your needs, you should have an option to use a dedicated group email address so your messages always go to multiple people in the know.  
Customer service staff can help avoid delays by catching problems early.

3. Does customer service staff have the insight to catch problems early and keep projects moving forward? 

Taking your order and getting your request exactly right is obviously critical. But you should be able to expect more than that. 

When customer service staff have job training in print production and/or backgrounds in areas such as graphic design, pre-press operation, or project management, that can play a significant role in keeping a project moving ahead.

“If your customer service support has the knowledge to notice basic file issues, they can shoot an email back immediately to say there’s a problem. That can really help prevent delays,” says Holden.

Specific examples include:

  • File formats. You sent a JPEG, but your printer can’t work with that format.
  • Basic file readiness. You forgot to include bleeds.
  • Spec requirements. Files for large-format print items require different specs.
Does your printer suggest cost-saving solutions?

4. Does your customer service provide cost-saving solutions?

You pay your printer for products and services that you hope will help your business function better. But that doesn’t necessarily mean they should just rubber stamp every request you have—especially when more cost-effective options are possible.  

“We had a customer order thousands of thank you cards to be mailed. Originally, they requested a size that couldn’t be machine-inserted. The project estimator flagged that, and we ended up giving them an option for a slightly larger card that could be machine-inserted. That ultimately saved them hundreds of dollars,” says Holden. 

That’s just a small example of a larger concept: Your printer’s customer service should have a vested interest in helping you perform more cost-effectively. Here are additional examples:

Mailing lists. Is purchasing a mailing list for a certain geographic area always necessary? EDDM®  (Every Door Direct Mail®) could be a much better solution—with no list purchase cost and lower postage rates to boot! But first, you need a printer to suggest it. 

Inventory management services. If you lack space for your print inventory, you may be forced to order smaller quantities at higher rates. But a printer who offers warehousing can store your high-volume items and empower you to take fuller advantage of economy-of-scale costs.

Fulfillment services. Are you desperately grabbing staff for all-hands-on-deck kit assembly marathons? Using a printer’s fulfillment services could be a less stressful—and way more cost-effective—alternative. 

Standardized pricing option. Standardized pricing is an approach that views your print needs as more than a series of single projects. It involves a print vendor taking the time to analyze and evaluate your projected print projects to maximize the potential for economy-of-scale pricing.

Digital storefront. Would having all your print assets available through a single web portal be right for your organization? Depending on your print needs, a digital storefront could create significant improvements in ordering consistent print assets, tracking what you have, controlling item distribution, and reducing waste.  

Brand colors should be a priority.

5. Does your printer’s customer service place a priority on your brand and your brand colors?

Think of the time and care you’ve put into your brand colors. Those concerns should be more than afterthoughts for your printer, right? 

That’s why your printer’s customer service should include color management, which is really a concerted effort to understand your brand and your brand colors—and to reproduce them to your satisfaction. 

One way a printer shows they take your colors seriously is by asking you specific questions upfront about your color expectations, such as: 

  • What are the color standards or branding guidelines we need to adhere to?
  • Are we matching to a previously printed sample or contract proof?
  • What kinds of color issues have you encountered in the past?

Beyond that, attention to your colors should be unrelenting over the course of a print project. Thysse Project Manager Jana Woodhouse says that should include keeping an eye on color performance even after a file has been approved and is “ready.” 

“Our pre-press department recently brought a customer’s print sample to me and were concerned about the hot pink color,” recalls Woodhouse. 

“They wanted to know if that was really what the client was going for. Well, it wasn’t at all. We caught that mistake, let their designers know how to fix it, and were able to save them from costly reprints,” she says.

Customer service should be a company-wide focus.

6. Is customer service a company-wide focus for your printer?

What #5 also points to is that customer service should be the concern of more than a few people who have “customer service” in their job title. In practice, every step in the printing process is an opportunity to carry out customer service. 

Woodhouse points to a recent project example where a customer’s booklet had reached the finishing stage and was all set to be stapled, trimmed, and put out the door.

“Our staff noticed the page numbers were off, and upon closer examination we noted several other mistakes that the customer had missed. We let them know, and that actually led to more than one document being corrected and reprinted.”

Woodhouse says that good customer service ultimately comes down to trust. “Nobody can catch every mistake. But just because you approved something four steps earlier doesn’t mean customer service is a switch that gets turned off.”

How does your printer rate?

Do you recognize the awesomeness of your printer’s customer service from the above points? If so, then great! 

But if you don’t, you may want to have a frank conversation with your printer about their customer service. Are there specific things you’d like them to work on? Let them know!

You may also want to strengthen your connection by becoming more familiar with your printer’s staff and procedures. A great way to do that, assuming it’s practicable, is to request a tour of your printer’s facilities. 

If in the end, you’re still not getting the exceptional service you should be, maybe it’s time to rethink your loyalty. 

Lots of details go into creating awesome customer service. But in the end, it really comes down to feeling—and experiencing—that your printer has your back.

Download our free guide
5 WAYS YOUR PRINTER CAN IMPROVE YOUR
COMPANY’S BUSINESS PERFORMANCE.

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