Our Roots: Company History

Humble Beginnings
Perry Office Plus began as American Printing in January 1920 by A.D. Baggett and R.E.Miller, who went their separate ways during the 1930s. Miller started his own printing company while Baggett remained with American Printing. At that time, the company was already pretty diversified, carrying items such as office supplies, machinery and even textbooks, aside from the printing business.

Perry's Purchase
In 1962, Miller Printing was struggling and an ad was placed in the Dallas newspaper for its sale. J.W. Perry happened to glance at that ad and purchased the small printing company. Upon arriving to his new found venture, he discovered there was only one employee, Harrison Legan, and absolutely NO printing jobs in house. Perry and his wife Ruth got busy and built the business up, carrying predominantly printing along with some office products. After a few successful years, in November 1966, Perry closed Miller Printing and purchased American Printing from Baggett.

Printing Expands
In 1976, American Printing expanded by opening an office on Central Street in Belton, called Belton Office Products. In 1980, the business was incorporated as American Printing and Office Products, Inc. and in 1983, Perry divided the printing and office products businesses. The Belton store was named Perry Office Products. In Temple, American Printing moved to South 4th Street and Perry Office Products to South 2nd. The company expanded further when, in 1985, it opened a Perry Office Products in Killeen at #10, 1805 Florence Road, which later merged with the previous Office World store located on Gray Street. American Printing was sold in 1988 to Jody Donaldson.

From 1992 to 1998, J.W. Perry served as Mayor of Temple.

Keeping It Local
In May 1994, J.W. sold Perry Office Products to Harry and Debbie Macey. Perry said, "We couldn’t have picked a better couple to have sold our business to."  In 2005, the company consolidated the Temple headquarters and distribution center to the former Coca-Cola bottling plant on North 3rd, which Macey had purchased and renovated.

Killeen's Local Legend
Until Perry Office Plus relocated to W.S. Young drive, there had been a printing/office supply company continuously operating in downtown Killeen in the 400 block of North Gray for almost 100 years! In the early 1900s, Carter Printing printed a local newspaper and operated a printing company. After locating in the 400 block of Gray, this company became the main printing and office supply source for the Killeen area. Carter was one of the most active businesses in the community and for many years was operated by Bill Carter and Clyde Robinson.

In the early 1970s Myron Johnson, a Killeen typewriter repairman, helped expand Carter Printing’s operation into machine sales and repair. Killeen grew and so did Carter Printing. Myron Johnson purchased the company and operated first as Myron’s Carter Printing and later as Myron’s Office World, with a growing emphasis on office supplies, furniture and equipment.

In 1987, Brad Baine, an employee since 1978, became the new owner. The business name was shortened to Office World in 1997, and the company was purchased by the Perry Office Plus in 1999. In 2009, the store was relocated to 2501 South W.S. Young Drive in Killeen.

Waco Location
Curry Office Supply was founded in 1939 by Ted and Roberta Curry who then moved to downtown Waco in 1947. The location on Washington Avenue survived the Waco tornado (the roof was torn off) and two fires (both arson). Curry was purchased by Perry Office Plus and operated at the Washington Avenue location for many years. In 2006, the Perry Office Plus retail store was converted to an office furniture showroom and moved to Austin Avenue, and later relocated in 2009 to the Crossroads West shopping center at Hwy 84 and Hewitt Drive in Woodway.

Looking Toward the Future
With the hard work of dedicated employees, Perry Office Plus has become the largest independent office products and furniture dealer in Central Texas. Ever mindful of the opportunities around us, Perry Office Plus continues to look forward to the future while focusing on serving our customers beyond expectation.