Keeping You Organized

About Us

Smead Manufacturing Company was founded in Hastings, Minnesota in 1906. Charles Smead began the company with one product, The Bandless File, and six employees. Acquired by the Hoffman family in 1916, the company is now in its third generation of family ownership, and has been a woman owned business enterprise since 1955. A world-leading provider of solutions for efficient document management, Smead is a woman-owned company well-known for its high quality, environmentally responsible products and innovative organizational systems. For more than a century, Smead has been committed to one purpose: Keeping You Organized.

Leadership

Sharon Hoffman Avent is President and CEO of Smead Manufacturing Company, a leader in office filing products and records management solutions. For more than 100 years, Smead has brought a spirit of innovation and integrity to keeping businesses and home offices organized. Headquartered in Hastings, Minnesota, Smead is recognized as one of the largest privately-held and one of the largest women-owned companies in Minnesota. Smead has been 100% woman-owned since 1955 and is certified nationally as a Women Business Enterprise.

Avent joined the family-owned firm in 1965 and held a wide variety of roles throughout the years. In 1998 she was named President and CEO, succeeding her mother as the third generation of the Hoffman family to lead the global company.

Avent has been dedicated not only to the continuing success of her company, but also her community. She has served on the boards of Minnesota Historical Society, Regina Healthcare, Shattuck-St. Mary’s School where she was recently named Trustee Emeritus, and she is President of the Hastings Public Schools Foundation. She has been honored with many awards for her public service including the “Building Bridges, Building Futures Award” from the Hastings Public Schools and the “Spirit of Hastings Award” from the Hastings Chamber of Commerce. Most recently, Smead was the lead donor in the Capital Campaign Drive that succeeded in building a YMCA in Hastings.

Services

Top Tab Folders

Top tab file folders are at the top of the list for most filing solutions. The most popular way to keep documents organized, top tab products work well on the desktop, file drawer or on the go.

Hanging File Folders

If it’s worth hanging on to, it deserves a Smead hanging file. Hanging folders are the most popular way to keep papers neat in desk drawers, file cabinets and rolling file carts.

Presentation Products

Present and protect reports, presentations and proposals with Smead’s selection of presentation products, which includes report covers, pad folios and pocket folders.

Shelving

Gain control of your filing system with shelf filing, papers are better organized and easier to access. You can organize and retrieve records with ease, saving time and increasing productivity.

Labeling and Labeling Software

Lick your labeling problems with Smead’s wide selection of self-adhesive labeling products. These handy labels will help you create an efficient labeling system in record time.

End Tab Folders

Smead® End Tab file folders allow you to gain control of your filing system – with shelf filing, papers are better organized and easier to access. You can organize and retrieve records with ease, saving time and increasing productivity.

Expanding Files

Expand your organizing options! Expanding files with multiple pockets are ideal for organizing, storing and transporting large amounts of paperwork.
Make your files work for you!

Filing Accessories

Customize your folders with our wide selection of accessories, including self-adhesive pockets, pre-printed project lists and folder dividers.

Custom Products

Need something special or unique for your business? Smead can help! Our Custom Product Division can create a unique solution suited to your individual needs.

50 Years of Woman Leadership

The extraordinary story of how Ebba Hoffman and daughter Sharon Avent guided Smead into a global office products powerhouse unfolds in this 50th anniversary booklet titled “50 Years of Woman Leadership — A celebration of style and grace in management.”