Promotional products are an $18 billion industry, but promotional apparel comprises a large chunk of that revenue. In response to a growing need for more reliable imprinting options, Genoa Business Forms, a Sycamore, Illnois-based manufacturer of printed products, decided to grow its promotional products business with an in-house embroidery program.
Read on for a quick technological discussion with Genoa’s sales manager, Rex Young.
PP: Was taking on an embroidery program a logical step for your company?
Young: We find embroidery to be similar to printing. Just like printing, we are taking images provided by our distributors, converting them to an electronic format and then duplicating these images. Whether we reproduce these images on paper or on golf shirts, the basic process applies: provide a quality product at an affordable price with great customer service and reliable deliveries.
PP: What business needs were you trying to satisfy?
Young: Our distributors look to us to provide them with quality products with reliable and prompt customer service. When we evaluated the existing embroidery market, we found these expectations were not always being met by the current suppliers.
PP: What are some of the benefits of doing embroidery digitizing in-house?
Young: This gives us complete control over the most important step in the embroidery process—creating the electronic file that instructs the commercial embroidery machine on how to sew the design. This makes it easy for us to make fine adjustments to our stitch files based on the customer’s feedback.
PP: What technology do you use in the embroidery process?
Young: We use commercial embroidery equipment and digitizing software.
Related story: Building Blocks to Success
- Companies:
- Genoa Business Forms