Pitney Bowes Celebrates 90 Years of Innovation
April 23 2010 - 9:00AM
Business Wire
Pitney Bowes Inc. (NYSE: PBI) today celebrated its 90th
birthday, honoring the 1920 incorporation of the company with plans
to ring the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange.
“Ninety years is a milestone few companies achieve,” said
Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Murray Martin.
“Paradoxically, the key to longevity is continuous reinvention, and
I am proud to state that our commitment to renewal has never been
stronger. Even as we celebrate this amazing anniversary, we are
laying the foundation for our next 90 years as a specialist in
multi-channel communications technology and know-how.”
One key feature of that renewal, Martin noted, is that Pitney
Bowes – historically known for its ability help companies lower
their costs -- can now provide technologies and tools to help
companies grow.
Symbolizing the company’s shift from its historical focus on
productivity to its new capabilities in business growth, the newest
mailing systems from Pitney Bowes can digitally print customized
marketing or other messages on the outside of an envelope,
dramatically increasing the chance that the recipient will open,
read, and act on the information inside. Other systems from Pitney
Bowes can help businesses target their marketing and operations
more effectively by easily identifying potential customers based on
integrated demographic and geographic information.
“There is so much more to Pitney Bowes than most people
realize,” Martin said. “Our systems can help organizations link
their physical and online communications channels in powerful ways.
We find that more organizations are taking a strategic approach to
managing these communications channels, and Pitney Bowes is there
to help them.”
Pitney Bowes is now a global enterprise deriving 30% of its
revenue from outside the United States. The company is integral to
the business processes of nearly two million organizations
worldwide. Representative clients include more than 90% of the
Fortune 500 firms; local, regional and national governments in
scores of countries; global giants in the health care, insurance,
financial services, and telecommunications industries; and hundreds
of thousands of smaller firms like Cole Mussel Farms in Canada, and
We Be Uh…Campin’ in California.
The company’s origins are classically Anglo-American. Inventor
Arthur Pitney patented his first postage meter in 1902, but it
wasn’t until he joined forces with British-born entrepreneur Walter
Bowes that he began to realize the meter’s commercial potential.
The two men incorporated the Pitney Bowes Postage Meter Company on
April 23, 1920, and began to sell their new system to companies
that were eager to find an alternative to buying and handling large
quantities of stamps for their business mailings.
“New Mail Machine Eliminates Stamps,” read the headline in the
August 21, 1921, issue of The New York Times. The article noted the
“lightning-fast” speed of affixing postage (250 letters per
minute), the system’s size (“hardly three times the size of a
typewriter”) and cost ($40 per month to lease, equivalent to about
$487 today). The story went on to note that the National City Bank,
a predecessor to the modern financial giant Citigroup, was the
first Pitney Bowes customer in New York City.
How times have changed. The fastest systems from Pitney Bowes
now process business mail at up to 26,000 pieces per hour, and
fully-digital entry level systems can be leased for a fraction of
the cost of that 1921 machine.
What has not changed is the company’s focus on developing and
sustaining long-term business relationships: Citigroup is still a
Pitney Bowes customer.
Martin praised Pitney Bowes’s 33,000 employees worldwide for
their contributions to the company’s long-term success. “We
inherited a great global enterprise from those who came before us,
and the current generation is striving every day to make it even
stronger for those who will follow,” Martin said. The company is
part-way through a strategic transformation process that is making
it more flexible, more agile and better-positioned to capitalize on
new business opportunities.
While the company is transforming, major elements of company
culture will remain true to the Pitney Bowes legacy. The firm has
been a management leader and innovator for decades. Under the
leadership of legendary Chairman Walter Wheeler, the company
adopted the principles of diversity and inclusion in the 1940s,
nearly a decade before the beginnings of the civil rights movement
in the United States, and it continues to win awards and accolades
for its modern diversity practices. It is a pioneer in employee
health care and was cited as a national model for others to follow
by President Obama in 2009. It is also a leader in global ethics,
and has been cited by both Corporate Responsibility Officer
magazine and the Ethisphere Institute for its business practices
and management commitment to honest dealings. Pitney Bowes
employees annually volunteer thousands of hours of time for
community service projects where they live and work, and the
company is a generous corporate philanthropist, investing most
heavily in programs that support youth literacy and education.
“It is an honor for me to represent Pitney Bowes at the New York
Stock Exchange on this happy occasion,” Martin said. “Pitney Bowes
is a great company, and we are charging into the future with a
renewed excitement about all of its possibilities.”
About Pitney Bowes:
Celebrating its 90th year of innovation, Pitney Bowes provides
software, hardware and services that integrate physical and digital
communications channels. Long known for making its customers more
productive, Pitney Bowes is increasingly helping other companies
grow their business. Pitney Bowes is a $5.6 billion company and
employs 33,000 worldwide. Pitney Bowes: Every connection is a new
opportunity™. www.pb.com
Pitney Bowes (NYSE:PBI)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jun 2024 to Jul 2024
Pitney Bowes (NYSE:PBI)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jul 2023 to Jul 2024