Harry Herff and Randall Jones, who began their business in an old firehouse in downtown Indianapolis, founded Herff Jones in 1920. The company started out manufacturing class rings, medals, pins and other emblematic jewelry. In the 1940s, Herff Jones manufactured bullet dies for the war effort and was later commissioned to produce the Bronze Star.
The Providence location of Herff Jones was known as Dieges & Clust. In 1934, Dieges & Clust moved its manufacturing facilities from New York City to Abbott Park Place in Providence. And in 1956, the company consolidated production and administration into its present location at the corner of Public and Eddy streets. At the time of acquisition, Dieges & Clust was a strong motivation and recognition company serving New England and the mid-Atlantic states, Maine to Virginia, and west to Ohio.
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In 2003, the company added to its Rhode Island presence, dedicating an 80,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Warwick on a 26-acre park-like parcel on the banks of the Pawtuxet River.
PBN: Herff Jones has been adding employees and enjoyed increased sales at a time when we’re hearing about manufacturers cutting back or outsourcing. Why have you been able to grow?
AGIN: First, you have to believe in your business and be dedicated to it. You have to be dedicated to your customer and understanding their needs and wants. You have to be dedicated to striving to exceed their expectations. You need to believe in what your business is and who you go to business with. One of the secrets to our growth here is being committed to this area and knowing and being involved in the businesses and the skill sets in the area. We find Rhode Island to have the core work force with the skills we need to be successful in manufacturing.
PBN: So this area bodes well for you in terms of finding skilled workers?
AGIN: It certainly provides us with a pool of talent that is beneficial to our business. Another thing we are committed to is the money part of the equation. We are committed to providing capital to improve facilities … we have a lot of internal growth, capitalized in this building, as well as in the Warwick plant. We continue to invest in technology to help our business grow and be more productive in some of the things we do. We also dedicate capital to grow our business on the acquisition front. We’ve had several very successful acquisitions over the last six months.
PBN: There seems to be a real commitment to technology on the part of Herff Jones.
AGIN: Technology has been an important part of our success in the past and I’m sure it’s going to be an important part in the future. We’re in an old world, highly technical, skilled craftsmanship-type business, but we try to be on the cutting edge of technology. Right now, we have about two employees to every one computer. Again, in a very hand-skilled industry, we find that to be a very high rate.
PBN: Do you specifically look for people who are adaptable to computer training?
AGIN: With new hires we do, but over the years what we have done is to adapt our skilled people to utilize computer technology to make them more productive. On the manufacturing side of the business, we try to utilize computer technology as a multiplier for productivity. There are numerous cases throughout the organization where as we introduce technology and computerization, we have actually trained the people that were doing the job to run the computers. Our tool and die department is filled with that. We’ve been into computer technology in that area since the 1980s. It has continued to grow and some of our most tenured employees in that area were the people that did it by hand. We think in our business, having that skill and knowledge of doing something by hand only adds to the outcome of what the computer and/or technology brings to other parts of the business.
PBN: What is it about class rings or championship rings that resonate with people?
AGIN: We look at a school ring as a walking diploma. You can’t wear a sign around your neck that says, ‘I’m a high school graduate or I graduated from Providence College.’ So the ring is a symbol of recognition or accomplishment. And it’s a symbol of tradition. In many cases, family members have gone to the same high school or gone to the same college. Their parents or grandparents have a ring … so it’s a tradition. The championship ring business has taken on a life of its own. Everyone is looking for the ultimate and in championship sports, the ring is the ultimate. Everyone wants the ring.
PBN: Herff Jones, today, is a 100 percent employee-owned company. How does that translate into the relationship between management and the employees?
AGIN: We see it as the ultimate form of recognition – employee ownership in the company. We have service awards programs and annual wage reviews. But the biggest benefit and the biggest recognition we pay our people is giving them a piece of the company every year. It’s definitely a different paradigm for people. Being the owner … having ownership – sometimes it takes awhile. Maybe it’s not the first-year employee or second-year employee, but after they’ve been here a bit and they understand the program and see how the program adds value to their individual accounts, they take ownership in what they do. That makes everyone accountable for what they do.
PBN: What’s next for Herff Jones?
AGIN: More of the same. We’ll continue to invest in our business. We’ll continue to acquire companies where it makes sense. We’ll continue to listen to what the marketplace and our customers have to say. We’ll invest in technology to help improve our productivity and profitability. … We’re going to continue to grow in Rhode Island.
