For the Business of Apparel Decorating
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BUSINESS WATCH 8 || P R I N T W E A R J U N E 2 0 1 6 GSG Partners with Industry Veterans DALLAS—In an effort to build a broader support team of experienced individuals, GSG has partnered with two decorated apparel industry veterans. Mark Suhadolnik joins the GSG team as a textile application special- ist. Suhadolnik brings 25 years of experience in the screen printing in- dustry to this role. As textile application specialist, Suhadolnik will serve both as a key resource externally for GSG's client base in the field and internally for GSG team members. In addition to Suhadolnik, GSG names Lon Winters as the company's newest consultant. An award-winning veteran of the screen printing industry and frequent columnist for Printwear, Winters is also the owner of Graphic Elephants, a screen printing, design, and embroidery studio based in Elizabeth, Colo. While Winters plans on continuing his own business, he notes that part of his partnership with GSG will include traveling to shops in the field to provide business owners with expert advice on how to streamline their operations. "It's been a great relationship for the past 10 years," notes Winters, explaining that GSG has rendered his consulting and technical services multiple times in previous years, and that the partnership agreement stemmed from this existing relationship. In addition to field consultations, Winters says he and GSG will collaborate in the coming year on a schedule for educational classes and training seminars. Coastal Forms Professional Solutions Department MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo.—Coastal Business Supplies has formed a professional solutions department, designed to assist decorators in wide-format dye sublimation and eco-solvent printing. The group serves as a resource for information concerning the process, equipment, and applications. The company reports that the department was created in response to an increase in the use of wide-format printing in both the apparel decorating and signage industries. Staff in- cludes four specialists with a combined total of more than 60 years of printing and customer service ex- perience, including work in digital and wide-format applications. They can be contacted by calling 800-562-7760 on weekdays from 8 a.m.– 7 p.m. CST, or by emailing info@coastalbusiness.com. Next Level Plans Alabama Distribution Center GARDENA, Calif.—Next Lev- el Apparel announces plans for a new distribution center in Ashford, Ala. Initially announced by local outlets in April, the opening is pro- jected to add 100 jobs to the area workforce. The company aims to begin shipping products out of the facility this year and projects being fully operational at the location by 2017. "We're excited because this moves Next Level product east of the Mis- sissippi within a much closer ship- ping radius to our distributor part- ners," says Mark Seymour, CSO at Next Level. Seymour adds that the enthusiasm and effort put forth by community members in Ashford also made the city a top choice, as the center will be an economic boost for the region. With multiple distribution part- ners in surrounding states like Georgia, South Carolina, and Florida, Seymour notes that the new location will also help reduce shipping costs and times for these areas, and help meet rising demand faster. Staffing for the new building will be a combination of the local com- munity and a handful of personnel from Next Level's west coast team. For initial operations, a 60,000 sq. ft. expansion is planned on the existing building. An additional 60,000 sq. ft. is expected to be added as well to meet shipping and inventory demands as the project develops. Winters