12 / 112
INNOVATE
10 •
PPB
• MARCH 2015
INNOVATE
PROFILE
A LASTING
IMPRESSION
FEY PROMOTIONAL PRODUCTS CELEBRATES 50 YEARS AS A FAMILY-
OWNED BUSINESS
BY TAMA UNDERWOOD
HIS YEAR MARKS a milestone that Mike Fey, MAS, says would make his grandfather beam
with pride. It’s the 50th anniversary of Edgerton, Minnesota-based supplier Fey Industries
(UPIC: FEY).
“My grandfather would be proud of what the company has become and our effort to continue to
provide meaningful employment and uplifting family values,” says Fey, president/CEO and a third-
generation leader of the business. In half a century, the company has grown from a one-man opera-
tion to the largest employer in rural Edgerton, with approximately 200 employees.
The company is also a true domestic manufacturer, creating most of its signature vinyl prod-
ucts—think ring binders, calendars, policy wallets and more—in the U.S. In the past decade, the
company has tripled its product lines by making strategic acquisitions that beefed up its factory’s
capabilities.
“Our future is a bright one that includes us experiencing continued growth as we live out our
purpose of creating a lasting, positive impression on everyone we impact,” Fey says of the company’s
anniversary. “Individually and collectively, we get to make a difference, and the impact is both at
work and the world around us.”
Though the company has changed and grown a lot since 1965, some things remain the same.
John Fey
Fifty years ago, a life-changing business opportunity presented itself to Fey’s grandfather, John
Fey. He was operating a print shop in the basement of his home when the owner of a firm he pur-
chased vinyl products from approached him about buying the business. He moved his RF heat-sealing
equipment into a vacant poultry processing building in his hometown of Edgerton and started Fey
Industries. “A motivating factor was my grandfather’s desire to provide meaningful employment for
local people and enable them to be home at night for dinner with their families,” Fey says, noting that
Edgerton is a farming community of little more than 1,000 people.
T
Mike Fey, MAS, now runs the company his grandfather started in the basement of his home 50 years ago.