The W.B. Mason Story
Our Beginnings
William Betts Mason, founder of W.B. Mason Company, was born in Auckland, New Zealand in 1865. After his father's death in 1871, Mason immigrated to the United States with his mother and sisters in 1872, taking up residence in Brockton, Massachusetts (at the time known as North Bridgewater).
Mason was employed as a counter maker and trimmer in Brockton at V. & F.W. Filoon until approximately 1893. He then transitioned into the printing trade working at S.W.S Howard, a local printing company. He left S.W.S. Howard in 1896 and went into business for himself making brass plates, checks, and rubber stamps.
In 1898, William Betts Mason founded W.B. Mason Company in Brockton, Massachusetts. The company sold printing products, engraved products, rubber stamps and stencils. As Brockton began to flourish during the shoe industry boom, Mason too expanded W.B. Mason adding office supplies to the company offering.
William Betts' Legacy
After William Betts' death in 1912, his wife Marcena continued to run the company until the late 1920's when she sold it to businessmen and partners Samuel Kovner and Charles P. Brooks Jr. Brooks passed away in 1942 and Kovner, who owned 5 printing companies, continued to run the business, reaching sales of $243,000, before passing it on to his daughter and son-in-law, Helen and Joseph Greene, around 1963.
"W.B. Mason continues to keep our promise to provide
the best service, best prices, and to be the best overall
solution for all of your workplace needs."
Under Helen and Joseph Greene's leadership, the company added furniture to its product offering and reached nearly a million dollars in sales. After Joseph Greene's passing in 1973, his son Steve moved into a leadership role and he and his brother John took over the business in 1983. At that time, the Greenes invited the top two sales representatives, Leo Meehan and Thomas Golden, to join the ownership group. By 1993, under Steve Greene's leadership, the company grew to $20 million in sales. That same year, Steve replaced his mother as Chairman of the Board of Directors and appointed Leo Meehan as President and CEO of the company.
Under the guidance of Leo Meehan, the company adopted a new business model focusing on localized service, personalized solutions, and free next-day delivery on their fully decorated, iconic, company-owned trucks. Under this new model, the company reached $247 million in sales by 2001. Ten years later, in 2011, the company reached $1 billion in sales.
W.B. Mason Today
Today, W.B. Mason has expanded to over 60 locations nationwide with a workforce of over 3,600 people. In November 2013, began W.B. Mason providing worldwide delivery solutions to multi-national customers through Global Partnerships.
The W.B. Mason Brand has expanded to now include W.B. Mason Interiors and Whattabargain! – the discount outlet for new, used or discontinued furniture and supplies. W.B. Mason has also grown its product offerings to include Office Supplies, Paper, Technology, Break Room, Coffee, Facilities Maintenance, Food Service, Furniture, Industrial Packaging, School Supplies, and Medical Supplies.
"At W.B. Mason, maintaining our customer-intimate
model of doing business is the foundation of who we are."
In 2003, W.B. Mason placed its first ball park advertisement on the iconic Green Monster at Fenway Park becoming the Official Office Products Supplier of the Boston Red Sox. This was the first advertisement painted on the Green Monster since 1947 and marked the beginning of W.B. Mason’s longstanding relationship with baseball. Today, W.B. Mason is the Official Office Products Supplier of the Philadelphia Phillies, New York Yankees, and Boston Red Sox.
