Todd Carl of The Graphics Factory views Carson City as his primary market, but ambition doesn’t stop there for the firm that moved here from Dayton six weeks ago.
The three-year-old company, a family firm boasting 60-plus years of business lineage, added retail sales to what had basically been wholesaling of team uniforms, embroidered clothing, screen-printing items and the like. The firm moved to 1442 E. William St. into space formerly housing Blockbuster and Sierra Nevada Wine & Spirits.
“Our long-term goals are to grow into the largest custom apparel manufacturer in Northern Nevada,” said Carl, though he now claims Carson City as his current target market. “We are growing at a very progressive rate.”
He declined to put a specific percentage growth-rate figure with that comment.
Carl’s grandfather, Donald, started Bay Swiss Manufacturing Co. in 1952 and his dad, Bruce, later took it over. Todd joined the family business in 1994 and took over daily operations in 2006. Now Todd’s son, Ian, works part time at the business that has a total of seven full- or part-time employees.
Ian’s father spoke with pride of the four generations involved in the businesses. The machining business was sold to a Las Vegas company just recently even as The Graphics Factory was establishing itself in Carson City.
A transition began in 2008 as the recession took a toll on machining work and Todd persuaded his father, a staunch Republican who had been buying political signs, to buy vinyl decal-cutting equipment to make them. Todd said people began asking where Bruce got the decals, and the graphics-oriented business was formed.
“Decals,” said Todd, “soon turned into screen-printed apparel, embroidery and custom rhinestones” to put messages or logos on clothing. With success and growth, the machining part of the firm could be disposed of this month.
“No more machining,” said Todd. “We did 62 years of machining. I did it 20 years. It was time for something new.”
Customers include Carson City High School, Bucket of Blood Saloon in Virginia City, Carson Pop Warner football, Dayton Youth Football and others, among them area businesses needing marketing or employees’ attire. The Graphics Factory’s main operator said not all his business involves sports, though that accounts for a good share of it now.
During an interview, customers and prospects came into the retail part of the store, among them Tom Porada, vice president of the Nevada State Prison Preservation Society. He was considering hats with some type of logo on the crown. He said Alcatraz in California sells such a hat for $16, and he wanted something under $10 to do that.
Carl said that would be possible with purchases in quantity and told him how the business operates with retail up front, production for larger wholesale lots in the rear.
“Everything we do, we do here in house,” said the business owner/operator.