BY SARAH WASSNER
At the young age of 27, Kevin Welch endured what he describes as a mid-life crisis. Grappling with his father's untimely death at age 54, the opportunistic Welch decided it was time to spread his wings and pursue his dream of starting his own company. With only six years of printing industry experience, he did just that in 1985 and established Eagle, a print management firm specializing in forms, labels and systems.
In crisis no more, Welch has brought Orange, Calif.-based Eagle to the forefront of the printing industry. One of the largest printing distributorships in the western United States, Eagle's 50 employees are spread out among six Western sales offices and an East Coast office outside of Baltimore. (Eagle also operates a 13,000-square-foot warehouse in Salem, Ore.) Although the company barely broke even its first year, it now brings in approximately $18 million in annual revenue. But, as Welch readily admits, his company was not an overnight success. It took one merger and nearly 10 years before Eagle truly took flight.
All Together Now
As Welch was getting his feet wet selling forms and labels solely to health care providers, Tim Smith and Jeff Carte were already storied industry veterans. The pair established distributorship Forms Plus in 1971--a whopping 14 years before Eagle entered the scene. But in the early 1990s, as both companies began distancing themselves from traditional forms and gravitating toward commercial printing and promotional products, they also began moving closer to one another. In 1994, Eagle and Forms Plus merged under the name "Eagle," and Smith, Carte and Welch became equal principals. They envisioned creating a company that would provide clients with complete print management and corporate identity solutions for every business need.
In the 10 years since the merger, the trio has remained faithful to that goal. By offering a variety of products and services, including business printing, corporate apparel, online company stores, print management, graphic design, fulfillment and distribution, Eagle has grown an average of 26 percent annually. And while Eagle still serves the health care industry--the niche Welch focused on in the early days--its clients now are scattered across many industries nationwide.
"We don't necessarily target certain clients or industries, but we do look for companies that are in the sales volume of $10 million and up," Smith says. Some of these top-notch clients include Charlotte, N.C.-based Bank of America; Clackamas, Ore.-based USF Reddaway, a trucking company that serves the Northwest and Canada; Eureka, Calif.-based Humboldt Bank; Orange, Calif.-based window-covering franchise Budget Blinds; and Tait &
Associates Inc., an engineering, environmental, architecture andconstruction services company in Santa Ana, Calif. Other clients serve the automotive aftermarket, manufacturing and distribution industries. "We won't settle for just anyone," Welch says. "We want the absolute best."
Responding to a Changing Industry
Perhaps what attracts "the absolute best" to Eagle is the company's ability to stay on top of the ever-changing printing industry. The distributorship constantly adjusts its product and service offerings to meet client needs. Welch, who carries a business card emblazoned with the slogan, "We specialize in what you need," believes Eagle's progressive and flexible attitude is key to its success, especially when it comes to providing value-added solutions. "Value is a mandatory part of the business today," he says. "In order to avoid becoming a chameleon in the industry, we're always ahead of the curve."
Welch cites Eagle's response to client requests for personalized online stores as a prime example of his company's innovation. Approximately five years ago, Welch and his partners realized the importance of providing customized web sites for the distributorship's customers. "They needed it, and it was a great opportunity for us," he says. Eagle responded by building company stores, or "Eagle Mall," for a majority of clients, including Humboldt Bank. Now, Humboldt Bank employees can log on to the bank's online store to peruse (and purchase) hundreds of personalized products, including office supplies, marketing materials and golf accessories. Company stores such as this have provided a "win-win situation" for both Eagle and its customers, Welch says. "Business is more efficient on both sides now."
Humboldt Bank's site is just one example of Eagle's lifelong commitment to injecting value in everything it provides. "We were early innovators in giving our clients one-stop shopping ability, and we're still doing just about everything for the customer," Smith says.
Bunny Business
To meet the demands of clients, Eagle recently has softened its product line--well, at least these days, it's a little more "plush." That's because one of Eagle's biggest orders last year came from a software developer that wanted to send customers plush bunnies wearing sunglasses and riding surfboards.
Smith led the $10,000-plus project. After consulting with representatives from the client to gain insight into what it desired (a bunny that matched an image that ran in its company brochure), he brainstormed with a team from Eagle for creative ideas. After coming up with a variety of possibilities, he brought in Eagle's 3-person graphics department to create prototypes, which then were shown to the client. Once the software developer chose a specific design, Smith ordered custom bunnies from an overseas vendor.
Although they say the bunny project was "interesting," Smith and his partners don't regard providing the items as an above-and-beyond task. "There has to be something that we can do that is better than everyone else, or we're not going to get the sale," says Smith, who also has worked with a major bank to supply stuffed bears to all of its new enrollees. "Our work is easy when we give the client exactly what they want," he said.
Although his company hasn't ordered personalized plush animals "yet," Tait and Associates principal Richard Tait says his company has reaped the benefits of Eagle's flexible and ever-expanding services since 1986. "Eagle has done an extraordinary job in keeping up with the times," says Tait, who initially began working with Eagle to meet his company's printing needs but now takes advantage of the distributorship's full array of services. Tait has had such a successful relationship with Eagle that he considers the company a product consultant and a business partner as well as a printing provider.
Meeting of the Minds
Perhaps as an homage to the merger that allowed Eagle to soar a decade ago, Welch, Smith and Carte meet every June for a "yearly summit." During this 3-day meeting, the principals develop future business strategies that will keep Eagle on the top of its game. At the most recent summit, the trio decided to "raise the bar" when it comes to the company's staffing, networking, and operational and sales standards, Welch says. They plan to do this by keeping Eagle's business model open to constant change. "We are a company based on opportunity rather than control," Welch says.
