And Mack, the youngest at 43, watches over production. Stephan, 47, is the creative side of the business, the one who designs the catalogues and sees the's "big picture." David, 46, manages the company's marketing. Today the brothers split up many of the factory's duties, mainly staying in their own territories. Folder Factory is awaiting the SEC's final approval to put 1 million shares of stock on the over-the-counter bulletin board at an offering price of $5 a share. In fact, when they first called the SEC to ask about the offering, "they started giggling," consultant Silvester said. The brothers hope to raise at least $1 million,but they know that direct public offerings aren't always taken seriously. "But they still keep buying folders, because businesses keep marketing."Īnother yet-to-be-cleared hurdle is the direct public offering. "They look at ways to make things less expensive - maybe not-as-fancy decorations, cheaper papers," said Mack, who's in charge of production. If the booming economy goes bust and when companies start hunting for expenses to trim, they may start with their advertising. Shipments at companies that concentrate on screen printing rose to $3.2 billion last year, a 10 percent increase from the $2.9 billion generated in 1996, according to Arlington-based Printing Industries of America Inc. Screeners also have reported strong sales, said Robertson of the Screenprinting and Graphic Imaging Association. The agency predicts average 2.2 percent annual increases over the next five years. Shipments totaled $174 billion last year, up 1.5 percent from 1996, according to the estimates from the Commerce Department. After losing $5,000 in 1995, the company earned $12,000 the following year and $82,000 in 1997.įorecasts for the printing and publishing industry also appear rosy. The company emerged from bankruptcy in 1989 and, in recent years has benefited from a healthy economy that has fattened companies' advertising budgets.įolder Factory's sales have grown 10 percent over the past two years to $2.2 million. They also hired a consultant, James Silvester, to help negotiate with creditors. For four years they tried to reverse their financial situation, by slashing their salaries, closing a small Alexandria office and halting truck deliveries. Reluctantly, the brothers filed for bankruptcy protection in U.S. After the move, in 1982, they thought they would have better luck with the local banking community. They learned it had been purchased by a larger bank that had no interest in doing business with them. "We've had years of agonizing how to stay in business."īefore moving to Edinburg, the Gentiles had approached their local bank in Northern Virginia. "We've been depressed in the past," said Stephan Gentile. But a decade ago they were struggling to prop up a flailing business. The Gentiles, who were joined by brother Mack in 1977, may be smiling now. The goal is to raise $1 million to $5 million, allowing the company to pay off debt and add new printing machines that can handle larger orders. Hoping to expand at a faster rate, they plan to take Folder Factory public. They recently added plastic folios, VCR packaging and CD-ROM holders to their offerings. The brothers plan to further penetrate the market for custom presentation goods. "They're very specific in what they do," said Michael Robertson, executive vice president of the Screenprinting and Graphic Imaging Association International in Fairfax. Some want their logos embossed in gold-colored foil, while others demand screened names in simple black lettering, all of which the Gentiles are eager to provide. While screen printers are a versatile bunch, creating everything from the numbers on automobile speedometers and defroster lines on car rear windows to the letters on perfume bottles, the Gentiles have carved out a small yet successful niche making custom folders emblazoned with the names and logos of companies.Įvery corporation wants to make a statement by offering a vivid, memorable folder at conferences and boardroom meetings. The printing company counts the New York Times Co. Twenty-five years later the brothers have turned their basement operation into Folder Factory Inc., a $2 million company tucked away in the town of Edinburg in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley. Basically, we started with little capital investment - not more than $75." "We had three wood frames, a squeegee and a couple cans of ink. "I can remember just like it was yesterday," David Gentile said. The Gentile brothers - Stephan and David - once ran a squeegee over a couple of silk screens set up in an Arlington County basement and called themselves a business.īack then, the idea of filling out a financial statement would have made these laid-back brothers gag.Their pay bonuses were the $20 each they grabbed from the till so they could chug a few beers in Georgetown on Friday nights.
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