- For other uses, see Dunder Mifflin (disambiguation)
Dunder Mifflin Paper Company, Inc. (Stock Symbol DMI) is a fictional paper company in the television series The Office. The Scranton, Pennsylvania Branch of Dunder Mifflin serves as the main setting for the series.
The company was founded by Robert Dunder and Robert Mifflin in 1949, where they supplied metal brackets. Eventually, the company started selling paper and opened several branches across the Northeastern United States.
In 2009, the company went bankrupt, and was bought by printer company Sabre. In 2012, Sabre was dissolved and the company became Dunder Mifflin once again.
As of "Finale", the CEO is David Wallace.
About[]
As stated by the founder Robert Dunder in "Dunder Mifflin Infinity", the company was founded in 1949, and it was a supplier of metal brackets for construction.
According to the former Dunder Mifflin official website: "Dunder Mifflin Inc. (stock symbol DMI) is a mid-cap regional paper and office supply distributor with an emphasis on servicing small-business clients. With a corporate office in New York City, Dunder Mifflin has branches in Akron, Ohio; Nashua, New Hampshire; Rochester, New York; Scranton, Pennsylvania; Syracuse, New York; and Utica, New York
For years, Dunder Mifflin was a paper company that was unable to compete with modern chains such as Staples and Office Depot. The company still used calls rather than the Internet, causing most customers to leave for the nation-wide chains, and is unable to adapt to an increasingly paperless world. Ryan Howard, a new employee of the Scranton branch, predicts the company will be obsolete by 2017. In 2007, Ryan Howard became Vice President of Sales and begins a massive restructuring of the entire company, including a new website that would help make sales more efficient. However, his website was a failure (due to an ill-advised social networking feature) and he is later arrested for fraud when it is discovered that he is double-counting sales transactions into the website that were already made by salesmen over the phone.
Competitors[]
- Staples ("Branch Closing", "The Return")
- Office Depot ("Take Your Daughter to Work Day", "Casino Night"*, "Dunder Mifflin Infinity")
- PPC ("Job Fair")
- Pendelton ("Job Fair")
- Catalyst Paper ("Business Trip")
- Prince Paper ("Prince Family Paper")
- The Michael Scott Paper Company ("Michael Scott Paper Company")
- Big Red Paper Company ("Turf War")
- Osprey Paper ("The Sting")
Dunder Mifflin Scranton[]
The Scranton office of Dunder Mifflin is located in the Scranton Business Park, occupying the same building as Vance Refrigeration. Sales, Accounting, Human Resources, and Customer Service all occupy the same office space, and Warehousing and shipping space is apparently located in a different part of the same building. Managerial Structure is set up with a Regional Manager in charge of all operations within the same building, with an Assistant Manager directly below him (although this does not seem to be the case in all branches). A warehouse manager runs all shipping and warehousing operations in a warehouse.
Branches of Dunder Mifflin[]
Branch | Status | Opened | Closed | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Scranton, Pennsylvania | Active | Prior to Pilot | - | The setting of much of the series. |
Akron, Ohio | Active | Sometime between Weight Loss and Company Picnic | - | Mentioned by Michael to be "haunted" in a deleted scene in Branch Wars, but is absent in Weight Loss. |
Albany, New York | Active | Prior to The Fight | - | Managed by Jeff, previously managed by Craig. It was listed in the weight loss board in Weight Loss. |
Binghamton, New York | Closed | Sometime between Company Picnic and Turf War | Turf War | Closed by a drunken, despondent Robert California in Turf War, a few days before the liquidation of Sabre. The Scranton and Syracuse salespeople then fight over Binghamton's clients. |
Buffalo, New York | Closed | Prior to Valentine's Day | Company Picnic | Managed by Dan Gore. Closed off-screen between Season 5 and Season 6. In Company Picnic, Holly and Michael accidentally reveal that the branch will close due to the economy. |
Camden, New Jersey | Closed | Prior to Valentine's Day | Between Weight Loss and Company Picnic | Mentioned by Ben Nugent as having a poor reputation, and by Michael to be located in a basement. It was listed in the weight loss board in Weight Loss. Noted by Holly as having recently closed in Company Picnic due to the economy. |
Nashua, New Hampshire | Active | Prior to Local Ad | - | Holly is transferred to Nashua after her relationship with Michael comes to light. Michael and Pam visit the branch in Lecture Circuit. |
New York City (Corporate HQ) | Active | Prior to Pilot | - | In The Job, several Scranton employees interviewed for a promotion to a corporate position in New York; ultimately Ryan was hired as Jan's replacement. |
Northeast branch | Planned, Never opened | N/A | N/A | The proposed renaming of the Stamford branch after the board originally voted to close the Scranton branch and merge the two. This branch never came to fruition as Scranton ultimately absorbed Stamford. |
Pittsfield, Massachusetts | Closed | - | Prior to Boys and Girls | In Boys and Girls Jan mentions that the branch closed after attempts at unionization. |
Rochester, New York | Active | Sometime between Weight Loss and Lecture Circuit | - | Michael and Pam skip going to Rochester to visit Nashua. |
Stamford, Connecticut | Closed | Prior to Pilot | Branch Closing | It was supposed to absorb the Scranton branch, but after manager Josh Porter took a job with Staples, the Stamford branch closed instead. Some of its employees were absorbed by the Scranton branch. |
Syracuse, New York | Active | Sometime between Company Picnic and Turf War | - | Close enough from Scranton to dispute clients after the Binghamton branch was closed. |
Utica, New York | Active | Prior to Branch Wars | - | Managed by Karen Filippelli, mentioned by Michael to be "snoozeville." Michael and Pam visit the branch in Lecture Circuit. |
Yonkers, New York | Closed | Prior to Weight Loss | Between Weight Loss and Company Picnic | Mentioned by Michael to have two attractive employees. It was listed in the weight loss board in Weight Loss Noted by Holly as having recently closed in Company Picnic due to the economy. |
Mission statement[]
Dunder Mifflin's mission statement is posted on the door to the kitchen closet (which later became Ryan's office):
DUNDER MIFFLIN, Inc. is committed to providing its customers quality office and information technology products, furniture, printing values and the experience required for making informed buyer decisions. |
We provide our Customers with the highest standard of integrity and quality, to enable them to develop long-term professional relationships with our employees and staff. |
We crusade to create a stable working environment and corporate spirit and to give unlimited opportunity to women, and to afford ordinary folk the chance to buy the same things as rich people. We are also committed to nurturing and promulgating wholesome American values. |
We strive to become the company most known for changing the worldwide poor–quality image of Chinese products. |
Recurring jokes[]
Dunder Mifflin is not a well-known company.
- In the episode "The Return", Dwight tells his co-worker Paris that he worked at Dunder Mifflin, one of Staples' top competitors. "I never heard of 'em," she replies.
- In the episode "Money", Michael tells his boss at the telemarketing company that he is the Regional Manager of Dunder Mifflin. "Never heard of it," he responds.
- In the episode "Local Ad", Jim tells the camera crew that his friends believe Dunder Mifflin sells "mufflers or mittens" (which sound more interesting than paper).
Dunder Mifflin is behind the major competitors.
- In the episode "Dunder Mifflin Infinity", Jim reveals that until the DMI website, the Dunder Mifflin website was "under construction" since 2002 (the episode takes place in 2007).
- In a number of episodes, Michael and other staff acknowledge that Dunder Mifflin is not competitive on price, but say it offers unrivalled personal service. This is usually (but not always) met with an underwhelmed expression from a potential client - apparently unexcited by the idea of paying more to have a personal relationship with their paper supplier.
Behind the scenes[]
The Pennsylvania Paper & Supply Company's tower is the first image in the title sequence. It is near the northeast end of Mifflin Avenue. To coincide with the Season 3 premiere, an Office edition of Scranton's entertainment paper contained an interview with the real paper company's president, who said "[Dunder Mifflin is] more of a printing-paper company while we're a personal-service paper company — paper towels, packaging, toilet tissue. ... We have very little resemblance to the Dunder Mifflin paper company."