Tony Heinl, vice president of Tipp City, Ohio-based Repacorp, found his way into the printing business with a little help from his brother.
"Repacorp's account executive in Columbus, Ohio quit about the time I graduated from Ohio State," Heinl explained. "My brother, Rick Heinl, owned Repacorp and offered me the sales position in Columbus."
And the rest is printing history. Here, Heinl talks more about his background, his business style and the industry.
Print Professional (PP): Tell us about your background—Where did you grow up and what school did you attend, your degree?
Tony Heinl (TH): I grew up in Wapakoneta, Ohio, attended Ohio State and earned a bachelor's degree in economics.
PP: Describe your business style.
TH: My business style is to immediately take care of problems when they arrive and to be completely honest—especially when problems arise. You need to tell the customer the good news and the bad news and address the problem head-on.
PP: What is the best business advice you ever received?
TH: My brother Rick, president of Repacorp, gave me this advice: "You will sell product by solving your customers' problems. Go above and beyond for the customer and always be honest."
PP: What is your greatest business accomplishment and disappointment?
TH: My greatest business accomplishment was landing an U.S. Postal Service contract worth millions of dollars. My greatest disappointment was losing that contract.
PP: What is the secret to your success?
TH: I believe the secret to my success has been my ability to listen to everyone's point of view. I also treat everyone the way I would want to be treated.
PP: What do you think is the most exciting, cutting-edge thing your company is doing right now? Why?
TH: There are two things that we are involved with that are very exciting and cutting-edge technology—RFID and digital. In regard to RFID, we built equipment that can do more custom applications than our competitors. [As for] digital, what makes us different is that our equipment has allowed us to be more competitive in the market with a lower cost structure.
PP: What do you think will be the printing industry's biggest challenge in the next few years?
TH: As digital technology develops, bringing wider formats and faster press speeds, it will put pressure on the flexo market to compete. As digital technology gets faster, it will no longer be just for short runs; it will be competing against long runs of flexo printing.
PP: What is the best part of your business day? Please explain.
TH: 5:00 p.m. [quitting time].
PP: What would people be surprised to learn about you—hobbies, special interests, etc.?
TH: I like golfing, snow skiing and working out to stay in shape.
- Companies:
- Repacorp
- People:
- Rick Heinl