A brief history of VGR

Virgil Glenn Reed is born in Putnam County, Missouri on August 7, 1893. As a child, the young V.G. displays an innate fascination with printing that soon leads to an apprenticeship as a “printer’s devil” at the ripe old age of 10.

V.G. marries Roberta H. Johnson in 1914, beginning a lifelong journey together that would see the newlyweds move to Kirksville, Missouri, where V.G. further hones his craft at a local print shop, before purchasing a daily newspaper in the small town of Cincinnati, Iowa which they operate for the next seven years.

As the Great Depression grips the nation, the Reed family, which now includes four sons, Max, Ronald, Howard, and Glenn, Jr., heads south for Florida, when fate intervenes with an unexpected pit stop in Louisville, Kentucky, changing the course of their lives forever.

Choosing Louisville as their adopted home, the couple mortgages the family furniture to set up shop in the tiny half basement of their Indiana Avenue rental, where the newly named V.G. Reed & Sons secures their first official printing contract for a small order of Wheatley’s mayonnaise labels. 

As word spreads and volume increases, the Reeds purchase a larger home on Maylawn Avenue and move the business into its “spacious” 900 sq. ft. basement. What little room is left in the garage is used for storing paper.

World War ll brings unique challenges to the fledgling business. With three sons in the armed forces and the fourth working in a defense plant, V.G. and Roberta carry on alone. 

Tragedy strikes the Reed family when son Howard, a Sergeant in the United States Army, is killed in action on July 28, 1944 in St. Lo, France. 

Following the war, Ronald, Max, and Glenn, Jr. return home to help grow the family business.

They soon purchase a 20,000 sq. ft. shotgun building on South Shelby Street. Requiring additional space to keep pace with growing demand, the adjacent building is acquired in 1951.

V.G. Reed, Sr. and Roberta retire to St. Petersburg, Florida. Under the leadership and guidance of their sons, the company continues to expand and flourish. Eight years later, they and the entire Louisville business community mourn the loss of their friend, father, and founder, who passed away on April 3, 1967.

V.G. Reed & Sons relocates to 1500 Arlington Avenue, a 24,000 sq. ft. building at the end of the Butchertown area. Due to skyrocketing demand, and the need to accommodate their first Four Color Press, the building is expanded by 18,000 sq. ft. in 1985 with a memorable ribbon cutting by V.G.’s wife, Roberta.

Having outgrown the Arlington Avenue plant, the company makes its fifth move to its current location: a sprawling 144,000 sq. ft. state-of-the-art campus at 1002 South Twelfth Street, setting the stage for decades of unprecedented innovation.

As part of our ongoing effort to embrace environmental sustainability, V.G. Reed & Sons is proud to receive its Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC®) and Sustainable Forestry Initiative® (SFI®) certifications.

V.G. Reed & Sons becomes ISO certified, allowing us to streamline our production process, improves lead times, and provide higher-quality products at reduced costs. 

Reaffirming our commitment to the economic and social growth of our community, V.G. Reed & Sons becomes HUBZone certified, a diversity status with the Small Business Administration (SBA) for those who invest in areas of high unemployment.

V.G. Reed & Sons installs motion-sensing LED lights, energy-reducing capacitors, and leak-detecting technology to reduce their carbon footprint and improve energy efficiency by 30%.

Nearly 80 years after dying in combat, World War II Veteran Staff Sgt. Howard E. Reed is honored for his heroic achievement in a war zone during a posthumous Bronze Star Medal ceremony hosted by U.S. Senator Rand Paul. Watch Highlights of this Historic Event