Family Business of the Year Honoree

Advertising Supplement to the Business Courier
August 27, 2010

50+ YEARS IN BUSINESS

In 1905, Albert Steinhauser started Steinhauser, Inc. as a small commercial printing company in his garage with the goal of providing for his family and children. Steinhauser succeeded to a degree that perhaps he could not have imagined: today the company is led by brother and sister Trevor Steinhauser and Tara Steinhauser Halpin – the fourth generation of the Steinhauser family to lead the company.

Steinhauser, Inc. embodies the evolving nature of family business, as each succeeding generation brought new innovations and new ways of approaching the business. Albert Steinhauser ran a commercian printing shop, printing fliers, letterheads, direct mailers and bonds. In 1958, the business was passed on to Albert’s son Winbur. Wilbur developed and perfected a re-moistenable glue strip process that was used for credit card applications, season ticket mailers and anything needing to be re-sealed. In 1983, the company was purchased by Wilbur’s son Robert. Robert introduced the first 4-color sheet-fed printing press in Cincinnati, and in the ‘90s he led the charge in perfecting printing in-mold labels. Labels and packaging became a big part of the Steinhauser business.

Today the company is under the leadership of Robert’s children, who have continued the Steinhauser tradition of adopting innovative new technologies with the acquisition of the company’s first digital press.

A year after Tara and Trevor succeeded their father in 2007, they decided to sell the commercial printing division of their business and focus solely on labeling and packaging.

“We couldn’t compete in both, and our core strength was in packaging, “ said company President Tara Steinhauser Halpin. “The commercial printing market is extremely competitive, and creating new business was a challenge.”

The Steinhausers made the right decision – Halpin said the sale of the commercial printing division and the focus on packaging has improved the health of the company.

Having two people at the head of the company is a first for Steinhauser. However, having multiple directors hasn’t proven to be a challenge for the firm.

“The key is communication and making sure the leaders are on the same page,“ Halpin said. “My brother and I have the same vision for the company, and we were able to communicate that to our board of directors and really have them buy into the vision.”

With 19 employees, Steinhauser is a very family-oriented business. Halpin says she learned from her father that a leader can’t sit behind a desk in front of a computer all day – a leader must be involved in the lives of his or her employees. The Steinhausers make multiple trips to the production floor each day, getting to know their associates and their families and sharing in successes both professional and personal.

As for the future, the Steinhausers plan to double their business in the next five years. They also hope to see the entrance of the fifth generation into the family business.

Steinhauser is a certified women’s business enterprise through the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council. Steinhauser is also committed to sustainability through environmental stewardship, social responsibility and positive economic impact through local charities and nonprofit organizations.