OUR HISTORY

Downe Computer Services opened with 172 employees and one client. The company focused on developing a new fulfillment system, which was completed in June 1982.

Today, the system is known as the SERV system.

After the demise of LOOK magazine, Downe Computer Services moved into the 112 10th St building downtown Des Moines.

LOOK magazine announced that it had ceased publication, and more than 3,500 employees would lose their jobs. Not to be defeated, 30 employees of LOOK magazine decided to open their own company and market the state-of-the-art fulfillment system (fondly remembered as the Batch system)

In September 1971, McCall Information Service Company (MlSCO) moved its business to Wilton. MISCO handled all aspects of the fulfillment business: mail opening, batching, data entry, printing and Lettershop. In 1975, CDS bought out MISCO. Since that time, the Wilton site has expanded its operation with 202,700 square feet of workspace.

1977 - CHARTER CORPORATION

The Charter Corporation in Jacksonville, Florida, started buying Downe Communication's stock. This led to the buyout of Downe's stock in 1978, and the changing of the company's name to Charter's Data Services (CDS).

The CDS Boone site began in the basement of a home in Stratford, IA with 20 employees processing overflow work from CDS in Des Moines.

1988 - RED OAK, IOWA

The CDS Red Oak site opens on August 29, 1988.

1995 - TIPTON, IOWA

CDS made the decision to break out First-Class billing and Third-Class renewals for future growth. Based on this decision, CDS opened a site in Tipton in May 1995. The decision to expand there was based on the labor supply.

2004 - MARKHAM, ONTARIO

CDS acquired INDAS Limited, a privately owned Canadian subscription and fulfillment company. The facility located in Markham, Ontario (with a second office in Montreal) serviced a variety of business to business and consumer magazine titles.

CDS acquired 100% of the stock in Tower Publishing Services. Tower was England’s leading provider of magazine fulfillment and circulation marketing services. Tower expanded their reach by opening an office in Sydney, Australia.

1998 - BETHLEHEM, PENNSYLVANIA

Bethlehem site opened. It was the first site solely dedicated to item processing. The Item Processing Group (IPG) in Bethlehem serviced transactions not typically processed by the competition. These included change of address, direct promotions, surveys and much more.

1999 - PRESCOTT, ARIZONA

The CDS Prescott site began operating in an 18,300 square ft. building. In its third month of operation, the site processed over 3.7 million pieces of mail.

CDS changes its name to CDS Global and introduces a new company logo.

2011 - COUNCIL BLUFFS, IOWA

CDS Global acquires technology company PayDQ, a leading provider of electronic payment services.

2020 - GLOBAL PANDEMIC

CDS Global employees make considerable sacrifices to keep the business operating successfully and within SLAs during global pandemic.

2022 - 50 YEAR ANNIVERSARY

CDS Global celebrates 50 years of serving clients in grand fashion at a festive affair at the Global Headquarters in Des Moines, with guests who traveled from near and far.

This was a tribute to all of the dedicated employees who have ever worked with the organization.

After 50 years of serving clients in a variety of industries, it was time to revitalize the CDS Global Brand to help take us into our next era of business.

The three updated pillars that we all work to achieve are: 

• Make CDS Global the Best Place to Work
• Become An Irreplaceable Partner to Our Clients
• Deliver Solutions Our Current and Future Clients Need

A new visual identity was created to more accurately represent the vitality of the CDS Global organization; deep connections and lifelong bonds with our clients and their customers, and the history and prestige of our parent company.