The Gauvin Press, Hull's first genuine commercial printing business, opened in November 1892 in the house of its one and only director, Georges Elzéar Gauvin. In 1900, the company's original building and equipment were destroyed by Hull's Great Fire. The Press then moved to its current location at 8 Leduc Street.
When Georges Elzéar Gauvin passed away in July 1945, the business was taken over by one of his sons, Joseph Royal Gauvin, who had been his father's partner since 1934. The postwar period was one of significant growth for the family business, with an increase in the number of employees. The Éditions Royales were founded by Royal - a reversion to one of his father's activities, for Georges-Elzéar had published a few books as early as 1892. The year 1949 was marked by the construction of the current building's earliest wing.
In 1952, the Press provided jobs for eight people. Eleven years later, a new wing was built and in 1964, thirty people were employed. On September 4, 1957, Royal's son Robert Gauvin joined the business. Having learned typography from a master (his father), he received further training from Kodak in Rochester. Robert introduced the direct lithography process and reproduced four-colour process analyses in the company's laboratory. His brother Jacques, Bachelor of Administration, joined the business, and major expansion followed. After a few years, Jacques left the Gauvin Press to continue his career in administration and publishing for a variety of public corporations.
The business was managed by Robert with his wife Georgette and his father. When Joseph Royal Gauvin died in 1984, Robert succeeded him as the company's president and owner.
Robert had been joined in 1983 by his son André, Bachelor of Administration. André computerized the company and implemented the direct approach with customers. Today, he is Chief Executive Officer and Pricing Director.
For over a hundred years, Gauvin's main activity was printing commercial documents. With changing markets and major upheavals in the Outaouais region, a new strategy was called for. The shift took place in 1997 as the Gauvin Press began to focus on books. Seven years later, every step of the production process is carried out in our workshop and book production accounts for over 65% of our sales.
The passion is still there - and the adventure continues.