Church of Scientology Opens New In-plant

By purchasing its own presses and starting a brand new in-plant, the Church of Scientology is now free of the restrictions (and extra costs) imposed on it by commercial printers.

WITH CELEBRITY practitioners like Tom Cruise and John Travolta among its members, Scientology has gotten its share of media attention over the years. The growing church, founded by L. Ron Hubbard in 1954, boasts more than 9,000 churches, missions and affiliated groups worldwide.

To keep its millions of members informed and fulfill its social improvement goals, the church generates a tremendous amount of printed materials—millions of magazines, brochures, direct mail pieces and educational materials each month.

For many years those publications were printed by commercial printers. That all stopped in August, though, when the church opened a massive, 185,000-square-foot in-plant in Commerce, Calif., 15 minutes from downtown Los Angeles. Called the Church of Scientology International Dissemination and Distribution Center, the new 60-employee in-plant features large web and sheetfed presses, bindery and mail capabilities and even a garment manufacturing operation. It is staffed entirely by church members working two 10-hour shifts.

"It was really a must to set up such a facility that could cater to the scope of the church's activities," remarks Jamie McClintock, senior project manager. "No commercial printer had the scope or the range to do all these different products efficiently and cost effectively."

A Shipshape Shop

Inside the impressively clean and orderly in-plant, employees clad in gray uniforms maneuver skillfully around the large equipment. Around them, the walls are decorated with banners depicting the magazine titles they print, along with artwork showing the different churches around the world.

McClintock says wearing uniforms fosters a team environment, while presenting a more professional look. And the extreme cleanliness of the plant is a direct reflection of church teachings, he says—as well as a productivity enhancer.

"The better organized one is, the more one is capable of producing," McClintock notes. "The cleaner the shop, the easier it is to produce more and move product through the workflow."

Time is set aside each morning for the study of church scriptures. It's time well spent, McClintock maintains.

"I think it has a positive effect, considering that a lot of the success in establishing the new facility comes from implementing an organizational methodology established by the church's founder, L. Ron Hubbard," he observes. "So in many regards the study [of scriptures] directly relates to increasing efficiency and proficiency of the staff to perform their assigned duties."

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