Company address: 1619 S. 101st Street, Milwaukee
Company Web site: www.egx1.com
Industry: Commercial printing and ancillary services
Number of employees: 51
Education: MBA, Marquette University; and bachelor of accountancy, University of Illinois
Family: Liz, wife of 27 years, and 5 children: Matt (21), Nate (19), Neal (16), Marie (15) and Mark (13)
What was the smartest thing your company did in the past year?
"Enhanced our ‘Targeted Mail’ product by adding list acquisition and design to dovetail our print and mail capabilities."
What’s new at your company?
"Much is new – so much that we decided to change our name after 30 years in this market. We have four distinct and specialized areas of expertise: design, digital print, targeted mail and document services. Each is teamed with experts to help achieve dramatic business results."
Do you plan to hire any additional staff or make any significant capital investments in your company in the next year?
"We never stop looking for people that can improve our organization. As far as expansion, we are prepared to add capacity wherever our customer shows a need for us to expand."
What will be your company’s main challenges in the next year?
"Increasing awareness and acceptance of our EGX Document Services division. We’re one of a handful of companies that has searchable text-OCR ( the ability to provide searchable electronic files from hard copy documents ) capabilities in the region, but the technology is new enough that many firms just haven’t pulled the trigger. The more we ‘show-n-tell’ it, the better our chances of getting this service successfully accepted in the market."
What’s the hottest trend in your industry?
"Data mining transferred to a deliverable printed product. Targeted mail is hot. There was a time when everyone thought that e-mail would kill this end of the print business. But, with no-call legislation, anti-Spam filtering and improvements in list acquisition, businesses are finding out that targeted mail is a great solution. What’s more, it’s one of the few ad vehicles that are truly quantifiable."
Do you have a business mantra?
"Open communication and taking decision-making to as many people in the company as possible. Sam Walton said it best, ‘I’ll take a company of owners against a company of employees any day.’"
From a business standpoint, who do you look up to?
"Steve Jobs of Apple."
What was the best advice you ever received?
"Understanding lean manufacturing and that communication is key in any organization."
What’s the funniest thing that ever happened to you in your career?
"I’m not sure it’s funny, but it put a smile on my face. My first job assignment out of college was to audit a winery in Southern California, and then the client gave me tickets to the Superbowl in Pasadena."
What do you like to do in your free time?
"Coach grade school basketball and play golf."
March 18, 2005, Small Business Times, Milwaukee, WI
