After having the guidance of 2 men for an unbelievable 66 years, O.C. Tanner Co., 1930 S. Main, is on the verge of getting only its third leader.
Obert C. Tanner, who founded the firm in 1927, died Oct. 14, 1993, in Palm Springs, Calif. But a smooth transition occurred because Tanner had been grooming Don Ostler, who has been with the company for 40 years, to assume leadership of the company since 1974. Ostler became chief executive officer in 1981.Now with Tanner's daughter, Carolyn Tanner Irish, Episcopal bishop of Utah, continuing as chairman of the board, Ostler will step down in July to fill a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
In 1991, Tanner, Irish and Ostler selected Kent Murdock as president and chief operating officer with the goal of having him succeed Ostler as chief executive officer. Ostler will remain as vice chairman and a consultant.
Soft-spoken Ostler, who exudes love of his company in every statement, said Tanner's death made for a difficult time at the company because he was there for so long and cared about his employees. But, by incorporating Tanner's philosophy for doing business and with the help of 1,900 employees, the company remains a leader in corporate recognition awards.
Ostler said the company should be the leader in corporate recognition awards because Tanner created the market. Sales last year totaled $235 million, and the company has the distinction of selling awards to many of the Fortune 500 companies. And even though Tanner remained as chairman of the board, Ostler is credited with much of the recent success.
"Obert was a genius because he knew that people liked recognition," Ostler said. What started out as a company selling high school pins has evolved into a major company that sells its products in 166 countries and even has a manufacturing plant in Toronto, Can., with 80 employees.
The 22-acre campus on south State Street, with four buildings for the executive offices, manufacturing area, a showroom, rental space for other companies and a year-old automated retrieval system, doesn't look like an ordinary factory of drab-looking buildings and colorless interiors.
When approaching O.C. Tanner Co. in the summer, a visitor can't help but be impressed with the thousands of rose bushes, annual plants and trees that make parking areas as pleasing as possible.
A lover of fountains (he donated dozens over the years), Tanner made certain his factory was a thing of beauty with five fountains outside and three inside. The exterior of the administration building could be construed as an advertisement for glass dealers, and the inside is even more spectacular with liberal use of glass that separates the offices.
One building has a showroom where corporate representatives are invited to look at the recognition awards O.C. Tanner offers and deals are made for the company to design a program for its customers. Several years ago the company purchased a six-story building from Century 21, and this is used to produce the recognition award brochures for customers.
At the retrieval and storage system in another building, all aspects of O.C. Tanner's work come together; employees place company logos or emblems on various items and then ship them in time for an employee to be honored for various reasons.
From a few dozen customers when Tanner started his company, O.C. Tanner Co. has grown to serve 13,000 corporations - "any company that values its employees," said Ostler.
According to Tanner's book, "One Man's Journey - In Search of Freedom," Tanner started in the jewelry business when he was 17 years old and worked as an errand boy and clerk in a jewelry store. He started his own company in 1927, and his first products were high school pins that he made and sold to students.
He started manufacturing the pins in his mother's basement and later spent one year in the basement of the Atlas Building and 19 years in the basement of the Capitol Theater. Ostler believes the use of glass and the openness of the work areas in the company's modern facility was an attempt to overcome so many years in basements.
Ostler said Tanner decided in 1945 to develop the corporate recognition award market, and his business grew so fast that he purchased land where his company now sits. He started with 8,100 square feet and soon acquired land where an auto accessories shop and a motel used to stand.
Forty years ago, when Ostler started with the company, pins, tie tacks, bracelets and necklaces made of sterling silver or gold and some with jewels were the hottest-selling items. Today, the company purchases 6,000 separate items from a variety of sources and even is stocking video cassette recorders, radios and television sets that companies have in their recognition brochure.
With the help of O.C. Tanner designers and artists, a company sets up an award recognition program, with a nice brochure as the result. Just before an employee passes a milestone with a company, O.C. Tanner sends the worker a brochure so he or she can select an award.
For example, Toshiba employees with five years of service can select a watch, pen and pencil set, a flashlight, a knife, a ring, world atlas, clock, some crystal or a pair of binoculars. More expensive gifts are available for longer service. O.C. Tanner's job is to attach the customer's logo to the award.
Being in the employee recognition business, O.C. Tanner has its own program. Awards are regularly made at a person's workstation by a supervisor, but when an employee passes a milestone with the company, senior management is there to present the award of the person's choosing.
A Salt Lake native, Ostler graduated from the University of Utah in 1956 with a bachelor's degree in finance and economics. Originally thinking he wanted to work for a big company, Ostler spent several months with Mountain Bell before a university professor told him about a job at O.C. Tanner Co.
Ostler started in 1957 as assistant sales manager and three years later was promoted to vice president of sales. He was executive vice president for two years, became president in 1974 and since 1981 has been chief executive officer.
Continually stressing the company values of beauty, quality and integrity, Ostler has carried on Tanner's compassion for his employees and customers. Ostler said competition is keen in the employee recognition business, and staying on top is always a battle.
On the day of the interview with Ostler for this story, he was notified that O.C. Tanner was selected to continue providing an employee recognition program for US WEST Communications, following a bidding process. The first thing Ostler did was notify every employee so everyone could share in the joy.