Stamats Communications will host a centennial celebration Wednesday, Oct. 11 from 4-6 p.m. at the company’s headquarters, 615 Fifth Street SE in Cedar Rapids.
Light hors d’ouevres and refreshments will be served. RSVPs can be made to Kris McGarvey at [email protected].
There are only about 1,000 companies in the United States that have been in business for more than 100 years. An even smaller number have been entirely family-owned for that same period.
It’s just one of the things that sets Stamats Communications apart from many of its peers in the marketing industry, many of which have been subsumed by mergers and acquisitions that have come to define the industry.
And even as Stamats prepares for a physical move in early December, company leaders say Stamats is poised for a new century of growth and innovation in the industries it serves.
“Certainly there are regrets,” Stamats president and CEO Peter Stamats said of the company’s decision to leave its longtime headquarters at 615 Fifth St. SE for a new, smaller office on the second floor of the Wells Fargo building at 303 Third Ave. SE.
The move will be completed by Dec. 1, with the company’s lease on the Fifth Avenue building ending Dec. 31. The building, occupied by Stamats since 1934, was purchased by downtown entrepreneur Steve Emerson in 2018.
“Anytime an organization or family has been in a place for 90 years, you’re sad to see it go,” Peter Stamats admitted. “But we also feel that it’s a good time to transition and kick off a new era. We recognize that times change and needs change, and we’re trying to stay on the forefront of that.”
“I have less regrets about it,” executive vice president Bill Stamats added. “I think it’s actually very healthy for us to move to a new space and have a fresh start, in a way, with our next 100 years. With the way we’re operating today, all the way around, we’ll have a fresh go at it.”
A more comprehensive look at Stamats’ past, present and future will appear in the Oct. 23 edition of the Corridor Business Journal.
