On Thursday, April 2, Chuck Grassley visited Mount Pleasant to tour MackayMitchell Envelope Company and hold a question-and-answer session with employees as part of his 99-county tour of Iowa. The Q&A was held from 2:15 to 3:15 p.m. at the company’s facility on East Mackay Avenue.
During the visit, Grassley toured the production floor with President and Chief Operating Officer David Mitchell. The company, founded by Harvey Mackay, now 93, remains family-led, with Scott Mitchell serving as CEO and his son, David Mitchell, overseeing day-to-day operations.
One highlight of the tour was a look at one of the company’s newest investments — a 628 machine. Purchased in 2023 for approximately $3.5 million, the machine requires just two operators and can produce up to 1,000 envelopes per minute. It can print an envelope with five colors, embossing, varnishing, and a window in a single run. In 2025 alone, the machine produced roughly 250 million envelopes.
Mitchell, who also serves as chairman of the national Envelope Manufacturers Association, was joined by the organization’s president, Marie Clark of Washington, D.C. Clark said her goal is to help federal decision-makers better understand the day-to-day realities on manufacturing floors and how policies made in Washington impact workers and businesses across the country.
An estimated 80 to 100 employees attended the Q&A, raising questions about major issues affecting both their jobs and the industry. Topics included political partisanship, the sustainability of and rising United States Postal Service rates, and increasing fuel costs, among others.
While the discussion was productive, company leaders emphasized ongoing challenges facing production. Rising diesel prices continue to drive up transportation costs, impacting operations in real time as products are shipped nationwide. Tariffs have also affected production. Global tensions, including conflict involving Iran, were cited as concerns, particularly regarding the availability of raw materials used in adhesives and inks that move through the Strait of Hormuz.
At the same time, increasing costs tied to the United States Postal Service are making traditional mail less attractive for MackayMitchell’s customers. Postage rates have risen roughly 30 percent over the past five years, creating what Mitchell described as a “death by a thousand cuts” — gradually shrinking the company’s competitive position in the marketplace.
Grassley addressed those concerns by emphasizing that the Postal Service remains a bipartisan priority in Washington. He noted that lawmakers on both sides of the aisle recognize it as a critical piece of the nation’s infrastructure, particularly for rural communities that rely on consistent and reliable delivery.
When asked about the future of the company, Mitchell said he anticipates a return to balance and equilibrium as market pressures stabilize. He also pointed to the long-standing trust Americans place in the mail system — built over more than 250 years — especially at a time when scams and AI-driven impersonations are on the rise, emphasizing that reliability and security continue to make traditional mail an essential form of communication
Mitchell says in an era of scams and AI impersonation, the U.S. mail and paper-based communication still delivers something rare—trust—and remains vital to rural America; a sentiment Senator Grassley shared during his comments.