disputed . relevant discussion may be found on the talk page . please do not remove this message until conditions to do so are met . may 2016 learn how and when to remove this template message w.b. mason type private industry workplace products founded 1898 founder william betts mason headquarters brockton massachusetts u.s. area served united states key people steve greene chairman leo j. meehan iii president and ceo 1 john greene president office products division christopher meehan coo revenue 1.455 billion 2 number of employees 3 435 divisions whattabargain outlet stores 3 w.b. mason interiors 4 website www.wbmason.com w.b. mason is an office products retailer in the us . the largest privately held office products retailer in the country it competes with staples officemax and office depot . the company is based in brockton massachusetts and primarily serves new england the mid atlantic and the mid west . it has over 60 distribution centers across the united states . the company has 3 435 employees 2 1160 sales representatives over 750 delivery trucks leased from ryder 2 and over 230 000 customers . 5 6 w.b. mason is the largest customer of essendant . 7 8 contents 1 history 1.1 selection 2 advertising 2.1 baseball 3 locations 4 references history edit w.b. mason building brockton massachusetts september 2011 image of the w.b. mason original building from the national archives . w.b. mason was founded in 1898 by william betts mason in brockton massachusetts where its headquarters is still located . william betts mason was born in auckland new zealand in 1865 . upon his father s death in 1872 he immigrated to the united states with his american born mother and two sisters where they settled in his mother s home town of brockton massachusetts . in the 1880s he began working in the printing and sign making trade and eventually became a master engraver . 9 in 1898 mason founded w.b. mason a business that sold printing engraved products and rubber stamps . as brockton prospered with the growth of the shoe industry in the early 20th century w.b. mason added office supplies to the company s sales offering . mason died in 1912 . w.b. mason continued as a family operated business until 1943 when it was sold to a brockton businessman samuel kovner who as a boy swept the w.b. mason floors and worked his way up through the ranks . under kovner the company reached sales of 243 000 by 1963 at which time it was sold to kovner s daughter and son in law helen and joseph greene . greene added furniture sales to the company s selection and the w.b. mason company reached nearly a million dollars in sales upon his death in 1973 . after his death helen greene moved her son steven greene into the leadership position of the company and under his leadership the company grew to 20 million in sales by 1993 . the ownership changed hands in 1983 when steven greene and his brother john greene took over the business from their mother and invited their two top sales people thomas golden and leo meehan to join the ownership group . greene which remained president until 1993 when he became chairman replacing his mother helen . leo meehan became the president and ceo as the company launched a new office supply initiative based on free fast and complete next day delivery on company owned trucks . w.b. mason grew twelve fold in the next eight years achieving sales of 247 million by 2001 . the next ten years saw the company grow four fold again and reach a billion dollars in sales in 2011 . citation needed in november 2013 lyreco teamed up with w.b. mason for a world wide distribution partnership . 10 selection edit w.b. mason s selection of products includes office supplies paper ink and toner furniture break room office coffee water facilities maintenance technology foodservice supplies and custom print and promotional items . advertising edit w.b. mason flag logo the flag on the right has 50 stars but the one on the left shows only 45 stars the july 4 1896 configuration . the company began advertising in earnest in 1986 . at that time the slogan who but w.b. mason was introduced which came from the advertising firm t.j. clark and was created by one of the partners named paul steven stone . the slogan was combined with a picture of the founder w.b. mason a handsome mustachioed gentleman from the 1890s . their logo features two u.s. flags flanking a portrait of w.b. mason . the flag on the right has 50 stars but the one on the left shows only 45 stars the configuration as of the company s founding in 1898 . baseball edit w.b. mason is the official office products supplier to the boston red sox philadelphia phillies new york yankees new york mets pittsburgh pirates washington nationals and cleveland indians . they sponsor w.b. mason s extra innings the post game show after red sox games on nesn w.b. mason post game live the mets post game show on sny the w.b. mason post game show the yankees post game show on yes pirates pregame presented by w.b. mason the pirates pregame show on root nat s xtra post game presented by w.b. mason on masn and w.b. mason behind the pinstripes part of the philadelphia phillies big sunday show on csnp . w.b. mason also has its corporate logo prominently displayed in those seven team s home ballparks citizens bank park in philadelphia yankee stadium and citi field in new york the green monster at fenway park in boston pnc park in pittsburgh and progressive field in cleveland and nationals park in washington . w.b. mason also has sponsorships with madison square garden in new york city the barclays center in brooklyn new york and foxwoods resort & casino in ledyard connecticut . w.b. mason ballpark sponsorships boston red sox fenway park new york mets citi field new york yankees yankee stadium philadelphia phillies citizen s bank park pittsburgh pirates pnc park cleveland indians progressive field washington nationals nationals park along with these sponsorships w.b. mason assisted with funding a new sports complex at stonehill college in easton massachusetts w.b. mason stadium . the special relationship with stonehill is due in large part to w.b. mason s ceo leo meehan being an alumnus . a number of w.b. mason television commercials have used the college as a filming location . locations edit w.b. mason has a workforce of over 3 435 people spread over 60 locations throughout the usa . 11 references edit profile leo j. meehan iii 75 board of trustees stonehill college website a b c w.b. mason company expands fleet and strengthens 30 year partnership with ryder ryder press release miami florida july 21 2010 w.b. mason s whattabargain outlet stores . wbswhattabargain.com . retrieved 2012 12 22 . w.b. mason interiors . w.b. mason interiors . retrieved 2012 12 22 . profile w.b. mason co. inc. privco the private company financial data authority profile w.b. mason company . hoover s the updated file on office supply stocks fbr capital markets rates shares of office max staples office depot and others barron s friday april 29 2011 . quoting w.b. mason also happens to be among the top five customers of office wholesaler united stationers ticker ustr hence the inclusion of that company s share price on the fbr top picks list . big interview cody phipps office products international magazine march 1 2010 . the interview is with cody phipps president of united stationers . ask the globe who was the famous w.b. mason who founded the brockton based office furniture and supplies store the boston globe january 9 2001 lyreco joins hand with w.b. mason for us contract w.b. mason locations . retrieved 11 july 2014 . coordinates 42 5 2.0 n 71 1 5.6 w 42.083889 n 71.018222 w 42.083889 ; 71.018222 retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title w.b. mason & oldid 739911694 categories companies based in plymouth county massachusettseconomy of the northeastern united statesoffice supply companies of the united statesretail companies of the united statesretail 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