In 1870, a young artisan engraver named Axel Mellgren immigrated to the US from Finland and set up shop in downtown St. Paul, Minnesota to open an engraving business.
Throughout the 1870’s, Axel’s shop grew. He enlisted the help of his brother-in-law and expanded his business to offer rubber stamps and dog license tags. By 1885, Axel’s burgeoning business included 12 employees, seven presses, and an impressive range of product offerings.
During these decades following his immigration, Axel maintained a daily routine of taking long walks to deliver and solicit orders. He owed much of his success to the support of his tightly knit family, which laid the groundwork for St. Paul Stamp Works’ current culture and continued family commitment.
St. Paul Stamp Works spent the next half-century enduring two wars, the depression, and a home mortgage to support it. Despite this, the second and third generations of the business were able to strengthen the company and maintain close family bonds.
In the 1960’s and 70’s, St. Paul Stamp Works would diversify significantly. By the 1990’s, improved machinery and electronics allowed St. Paul Stamp Works to begin producing parts for the consumer electronics, aerospace, and medical device industries.
As their Xstamper business grew in the 1990’s, St. Paul Stamp Works made the strategic decision to become a laser partner, purchase a laser, and produce Xstampers locally.
Today, St. Paul Stamp Works’ products trek the globe by way of personalized nametags, pacemakers, nameplates, signs, and of course, stamps.
St. Paul Stamp Works is now, jointly run by the fourth and fifth generations of the Mellgren family and our continued strength through family ties and employee commitment.
Digital printing and laser marking equipment have added precision and flexibility to St. Paul Stamp Works’ repertoire, and lean manufacturing principles have allowed them to maintain competitive pricing on their products.
Ed, Emma, Jerry, and Jim Mellgren are looking forward to a future of increased specialty in custom printing and marking, and plan continuous improvement to their processes and service through agile response to customer, employee, and family input.
