NORTH ADAMS — Crane has been in the paper business for more than 200 years, and the stationery company’s new owners want to ensure it’s around for at least 200 more.
“We really think there’s a great opportunity to expand. We have a rich history, but we’ve been doing the same thing for a long, long time, and we’ve been put in a box,” said Bart Robinson, chief revenue officer of Crane Stationery Co. “We need to be able to think outside of that box and design products that are for a larger audience.”
Crane Stationery’s new ownership Friday laid out a vision for growth, including millions of dollars of new investments and a doubling of its 270-employee local workforce.
“We will need to be hiring. … There’s no doubt in our minds that we can do that. It’s going to take us time,” Robinson said during a tour for local officials. “It’s not going to happen this year or next year, but we need to start looking at talent that we can tap into as we move forward.”
The event, organized by 1Berkshire, brought together Northern Berkshire leaders under Crane’s roof at Hardman Industrial Park in North Adams, where they received a tour of the entire operation and a presentation from executives that laid out where the Crane brand is headed. Read more about what is new for Crane Stationery >>