Ken Cook Co. is an ISO-certified provider of technical publications and training programs for manufacturers and businesses around the world. Whether your company manufactures a commercial refuse truck or a hand held power drill, we offer concept to completion management of your product information for web, new media, video and print applications.

Mission Statement:

Ken Cook Co.'s mission is to support client customers by developing and distributing client product operating, service and parts information worldwide.

History:

2000 - Today

We begin the new decade known worldwide for the production of quality technical support documentation in electronic and printed formats and in most languages. Web design, ISP hosting, e-business and internet communications are available to our customers.

A privately-owned company, we are the largest, single source producer of technical and marketing information in the Midwest. We continue to recognize emerging technologies and incorporate them to provide our clients with the most flexible and cost effective solutions to their product information needs.

"To continually improve productivity, quality and delivery by keeping pace with the latest technological advances" has been the basis of Ken Cook Co.'s corporate philosophy since 1944. This approach will continue into the future as we evolve to best serve our customers.

1990-1999

The company incorporated new technologies to meet exciting challenges on the business side. With sadness Kenneth A. Cook passed away at age 81. He was succeeded in 1995 by a seasoned executive management team which continued to nurture his corporate vision.

The company installed a state of the art imagesetter, high quality flatbed scanner and advanced imaging hardware and software. High performance copy equipment began to give way to a full blown Print-On-Demand center featuring DocuTech 6180 systems. POD offerings would include electronic job submission, document capture, storage and retrieval, customization and database management.

We pursued a new direction in fulfillment. Encouraged by major accounts, incorporated "one off" order fulfillment. We added an 800 number Call Center and developed the internal support systems necessary to support our client base with same day shipping. Fulfillment operations were consolidated in a new 19,000 square foot facility.

1980-1989

Installation of a new Heidelburg 28" x 40" perfector press enhanced the traditional production equipment. The CAD and main computer systems were upgraded to support the company's continuing growth in Just-In-Time customer programs.

The Training area expanded with a full line of off the shelf audio-visual programs for the international vocational technical market. Interactive skills courses in welding and all types of small engine repair find wide acceptance in the US and Latin markets.

We transitioned from traditional typesetting department to a personal computer workstation for every writer, artist and page assembly specialist.

1970-1979

Growth continued in the training and commercial publications areas. Magnetic tape replaced paper tape Justowriters. The first CRTs made their appearance in typesetting under the IMLAC and Varityper labels. These dedicated systems would dominate typesetting until the "desktop" revolution of the eighties.

Ken Cook Co. was one of the first Wisconsin companies to purchase a Computer Aided Drafting (CAD) system. This enabled us to store customer line art offline and to update and change designs without starting from scratch.

Enhancements from Harris to Heidelburg offset press equipment and related upgrades were implemented in the Printing Services Area.

1960-1969

Expansion in land and production space bring the total square footage to over 35,000. Two marketing divisions were established. One continued the technical publishing sector and the other expanded into the vocational and technical training market.

Advances in computer application (IBM, CHI and Data General systems) were used for far more than job accounting. From our first system, we used this equipment for mass word processing storage, manual assembly and various military provisioning activities.

1950-1959

Ken Cook, an avid pilot, transported writers and photographers quickly to client sites. Several moves to ever larger leased facilities took place. In 1955 a custom building was erected on the northwest side of Milwaukee. By the end of the decade, the company was housed in a modern 19,800 square foot structure.

The expansion of operations included a full service graphics arts facility. All the operations required to produce a project, from writing, art and photography through printing, binding and shipping, were contained in one facility.

1944-1949

Ken Cook Co. was founded in 1944 by Kenneth A. Cook. He started out writing and producing military equipment manuals for WWII. In the early years he subcontracted for most of the graphic arts services.

However, as the business grew, he gradually hired typesetters, artists and writers.

Typists worked on our first word processing systems which were known as Justowriters. A recording unit punched a paper tape as the typist input copy. Reproducers would play back this tape in different formats creating justified, two column, word processed pages. Manuals could be stored on tape and sections could be recalled without the need for rekeyboarding.

By 1949 the company had incorporated and transitioned to a base of accounts outside of the military, in the commercial and industrial areas.