There's a great story behind Advantage. It involves getting kicked out of foreign countries, falling in love, and making your way back to your roots, to your hometown, to start a business. It involves raising a family in the business and helping organizations and groups in our area for over 30 years.
So, back in 1982, our founder, Dean Wood, finished a degree in Economics and went into the Peace Corps where he hoped to help a small country develop by creating good jobs for locals. He did just that in the Dominican Republic working in Bonarte, a pottery-making project in Bonao. Unfortunately, after the US invaded the neighboring country of Grenada, Dean was asked to return home after standing in front of the US Embassy in Santo Domingo protesting the invasion.
He returned to California where he went to work for Hewlett Packard, then listed as one of the best managed companies in the world. He hoped to learn more about good management in order to return to a lesser-developed country and focus on growing businesses in order to grow employment. After 5 years with HP, Dean realized that to really learn how to manage a business well, he was going to have to do it on a scale smaller than one of the largest corporations in the world, so he and his new wife, Doreen, moved back to Auburn to start this print business and serve the community of Auburn. Six kids soon followed, so while Dean has never gotten back to a lesser-developed country, he still works on keeping the community of Auburn a thriving town by supporting its businesses, governmental organizations and the non-profits that serve our community.