Winthrop-Atkins Company was founded in 1919 and has a long-standing history with the town of Middleboro. It is probably one of the few existing businesses that for many years employed mostly local residents and many of their family members.

Originally started by Horace K. Atkins, the company took shape when Horace decided to call upon his World War I training as an aerial photographer for the U.S. Army, rather than return to the cranberry growing business associated with his family on Cape Cod. Subsequently, he began his own photo-finishing business. In 1923, Horace’s brother-in-law, Frank Winthrop, joined in this venture and Winthrop-Atkins was born. The primary location of the company being Middleboro, MA, other facilities included Providence, RI and New York City.

As the depression loomed upon the horizon, the Providence and New York facilities were forced to close. Shortly thereafter, the Middleboro plant expanded its photo finishing business to include the manufacture of desk calendars which helped to launch the company into the vast wilderness of Specialty Advertising. A hall of fame member of the Promotional Products Association and the Photo Association, Atkins built the company into a major supplier of specialty paper products until 1973.

The business continued to flourish throughout the nineteen seventies and eighties under the direction of Horace’s sons, Donald and Harold who followed the example set by their father until their retirement in 1986. To date, three Atkins family members still remain active in the business.

In 1986, the Atkins family sold the business to the partnership of Charlie Milot and Ron Baron. After a successful reign of thirteen years, Winthrop-Atkins was acquired by the Chilcote Company of Cleveland, Ohio.

Atkins invested early and heavily in factory automation, a policy which continues today. In addition, to Bobst Die-Cutters and Foil Stampers and large format printing presses by K & B Planetta, Solna, and Man Roland, the company maintains a complement of custom machinery. This unusually broad array of converting equipment allows the company to produce virtually any paper product under one roof.

A state-of-the-art prepress facility staffed by graphic artists, prepress professional and diemakers allow the company to design products from the ground up. More recently, a staff of MIS professionals have been added with the mission of improving all aspects of customer communications.

Despite its continual growth, Winthrop-Atkins remains a small town company. Located about 15 miles west of historic Plymouth, the company’s greatest strength resides in its 200 employees, many of whom are second and third generation.