specializedprinting.com Blog

Small businessman who took a chance getting started is honored for his efforts in promoting his clients’ businesses.
 
By Robert Rodriguez / The Fresno Bee

Pete Estrada doesn’t want to be known as the gadget guy, but he is.

Estrada’s company, Specialized Printing & Promotions Inc. in Clovis, can print a company’s name or logo on just about anything — from Frisbees to flashlights.

“Sometimes I feel like I should wear a coat with all this stuff inside of it,” Estrada said with a laugh. “But you have to understand what your customers want and what is going on in the market.”

What’s going on is the growing demand for promotional products, an $18 billion-a-year industry that Estrada’s company has seized on. His clients include Vendo, ChevronTexaco and the California Department of Transportation’s “Don’t Trash California” campaign.

And after nearly a decade in business, the former Vietnam War veteran also is earning some recognition. He was recently named the Central California Hispanic Chamber of Commerce’s Businessman of the Year and the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Central California Minority Small Business Person of the Year.

“He has a unique company, and he is very community minded,” said Ron Truly, deputy district director of Fresno’s SBA office. “To be successful is one thing, but Pete believes in giving back. That is very important to him.”

Estrada is humbled by the honors and thankful for his success. But he also isn’t about to rest on his laurels.

Working in a highly competitive industry, which has more than 200 printing companies doing the same trade in the central San Joaquin Valley alone, Estrada hits the trade shows, talks up new clients and has learned to be nimble and responsive to customers.

“I called them up with a request, and they had graphics out to me the next day,” said Ron Millar, owner of QA Line, a testing equipment supplier in Fresno. “It was so fast.”

Estrada’s business skills are honed from his life experiences as well as his career working in the tire and printing industries.

He recalls with pride selling lightbulbs door-to-door to raise money for Boy Scout camp, delivering The Fresno Bee and hawking cooking spices to his neighbors.

“I have always wanted to work,” he said. “It has been in me from the beginning.”

As an adult, Estrada became a manager at Moore Business Forms in Fresno. But when the company’s inside sales division was relocating from Fresno to Colorado Springs, Estrada didn’t go along.

He and his family liked their life in Clovis, so the natural-born salesman began working for himself, out of his garage.

He knew it was a risk, but he didn’t want to pass up a chance to work for himself. He remembered the missed opportunities his father, a chef, had to run his own restaurant.

“I told myself that I couldn’t be afraid, that I had to take this chance and make the best of it,” Estrada said. “And that’s what I have done.”

Estrada became adept at creating business forms and delivering them to customers faster than his competitors. He eventually moved out of his garage and into an office on Clovis Avenue, where he works alongside his wife, Eileen, and six other employees.

Although the bulk of his business involves printing forms and other specialized items, the promotional printing has taken off.

“It used to be a small part of what we did, but now it is almost half of our business,” Estrada said. “Companies have really jumped on this.”

Anne Lardner, spokeswoman for the Promotional Products Association International in Irving, Texas, said advertising specialties and marketing promotions have continued to grow over the past six years. The organization has more than 7,500 global members.

“This is an $18 billion-a-year industry, and a lot of people are realizing that,” she said.

“When we talk about promotional products, we are talking about anything you can imprint on — that is thousands of products. The only limit is creativity.”

Estrada has handled thousands of clients’ imprinting requests, including grandfather clocks, watches, stadium chairs, pocket knives, flash drives and even a portable ash tray.

“It is a great form of advertising,” said Deena Klein, a sales manager at Specialized Printing. “If you put something in people’s faces long enough, they are going to remember it.”

The company’s slogan says a lot about its mission: “We print on everything but air and water … and we are working on that.”

To Whom It May Concern:

Specialized Printing and Promotions has been a preferred supplier of The Vendo Company since 1997. We started purchasing specialty ad items (forms, t-shirts, etc.) and have since added manuals and labels. Specialized Printing and Promotions has become The Vendo Company’s soul source for purchases of this nature.

Due to the nature of manufacturing, we have had to ask Specialized Printing to react and perform under some very short lead times. They have always gone the extra step and made sure that our needs were met. Sometimes this included personally picking up and delivering materials on off hours and weekends to meet our schedules.

Specialized Printing and Promotions also continually looks for cost reductions. In manufacturing, this is a necessity of every supplier. We have been able to lower our costs by at least 30% and up to 50% on some items.

I can say with confidence that when I am told that something is taken care of, I know that it is. Specialized Printing has done an outstanding job of supporting The Vendo Company’s needs with enthusiasm, professionalism, and a “can do” attitude. I would absolutely recommend Specialized Printing and Promotions without hesitation.

To Whom It May Concern:

We at Mission Foods Sales Department, depend on Specialized Printing and Promotions for most all of our printing and paper supply needs. We have found them to be very reliable, cost competitive and willing to “Think Outside the Box” to satisfy our requests.
 
Many times we have had special orders that require very short reaction time. Specialized Printing and Promotions has not failed us.

The staff at Specialized Printing and Promotions is always willing to do on-site visits to make sure that order are correct, to do inventory of items that we order on a repetitive basis and just see how things are going.

I would highly recommend Specialized Printing and Promotions as your primary supplier for all your printing and promotional needs.

Dear Rachel,

I’m writing this letter with regard to our partnership with Specialized Printing & Promotions.

I’ve had the pleasure of working with you for the last couple of years now, and I have to say, it’s been a great experience. Our BuddyCheck 24, Concerts in the Park, and other special programs could not thrive without your print and promotional product support.
 
I was happy to learn about the wide range of services available at your open house, and am looking forward to not only continuing our partnership with you, but also expanding.

You and your entire staff have been professional, courteous, and responsive to our needs. Our requests are dealt with in a timely manner and the work has been commendable.

I have and will continue to recommend your services to my colleagues and special events contacts.

Keep up the good work!

Please accept my appreciation for your participation in the 2nd annual salute to Small Business awards program in Fresno County.

We were recently featured in Print Solutions Magazine, January of 2004. The article focused on how we have helped our clients improve their workplace safety with our promotional products.

“During the safety program’s first year, Mission Food’s productivity increased 10 percent, while workers’ compensation claims decreased 5 percent.”

We can also help you develop a safety program or other incentive program to help improve your profitability and employee contribution.

To read the full article please go to Print Solutions Magazine.