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Low-profile, high-volume graphics business growing in Fortville April 8, 2014
Andrea Muirragui Davis (/authors/25-andrea-muirragui-davis) 1 Comment (https://www.ibj.com/articles/47056-low-profile-high-volume-graphics-business-growing-in-fortville#disqus_thread) KEYWORDS Expansion (/topics/322-expansion) / Economic Development Incentives (/topics/490-economic-development-incentives) / Job Creation (/topics/499-job-creation) / Hancock County (/topics/255-hancock-county) / Regional News (/topics/34-regional-news) / Economic Development (/topics/138-economic-development) / Manufacturing (/topics/150-manufacturing) A homegrown business with a global reach plans to invest as much as $3 million to grow its Fortville operations, building and equipping a 42,000-square-foot facility and nearly doubling its staff by the end of 2018. Established in 1999 in founder Kyle Sherman’s garage, PlaqueMaker.com sells laser-engraved products online, employing 33 workers who handle graphic design, production and customer service. At any time, PlaqueMaker has about 1,000 orders in the works, Sherman said. Sales topped $5 million last year, he said, and annual growth has averaged about 25 percent. PlaqueMaker moved into leased space in Castleton in 2002, and then relocated to Fortville Business Park in 2006 after expanding its product mix to include personalized gifts and memorial plaques. Adding industrial signage fueled more growth. Now it’s running out of room in that 18,000-square-foot building, and Sherman expects business to boom with the spring launch of a redesigned website and additional products. By this time next year, he hopes to have about 5,000 products available, up from 500 now. Construction is set to begin on the first 6,000 square feet of new space, which will accommodate the company’s growing office staff. Plans call for adding production and warehouse space as it’s needed. A ground-breaking ceremony is scheduled for Tuesday afternoon. Fortville and Hancock County offered a 10-year property tax abatement for the project, potentially saving PlaqueMaker almost $270,000. The state chipped in a $50,000 training grant. story continues below
(https://oascentral.ibj.com/RealMedia/ads/click_lx.ads/ibj/home/L8/768541505/Middle2/IBJ/4694-Career-Dev-Professionals-February-2018/17127970x250.gif/75622f6c6246714d2b46634142336261?x) “It’s great to see an entrepreneur like Kyle be successful,” said Skip Kuker, executive director of the Hancock County Economic Development Council. Sherman, 43, is a graduate of North Central High School and Indiana University who was working as a graphic designer when he started the Web-based business as a sideline. His boss at the time wasn’t interested in an online enterprise. Technology is the key to keeping the high-volume operation running smoothly. Customers place orders online and get electronic proofs within 24 hours. Crews fire up the 14 lasers once payment is made, and orders are shipped in less than two days. Since the customer service work can be done anywhere, Sherman considered adding less-expensive employees overseas. The financial incentives, arranged with the assistance of Fishers-based FairWinds Advisors, help offset the costs of staying local. “The more money we can invest in people and products, the better,” Sherman told IBJ. “It helps us grow more quickly.” The company plans to use the training grant to get employees up to speed on the new website, which will integrate the customer-focused e-commerce function with PlaqueMaker’s cloud-based accounting and logistics systems. Sherman lives in the Geist area with his wife and their two children. (http://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https://www.ibj.com/articles/47056-low-profile-high-volume-graphics-business-growing-in-fortville) (https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https://www.ibj.com/articles/47056-low-profile-high-volume-graphics-business-growing-in-fortville) (https://www.linkedin.com/cws/share?url=https://www.ibj.com/articles/47056-low-profile-high-volume-graphics-business-growing-in-fortville) (https://plus.google.com/share?url=https://www.ibj.com/articles/47056-low-profile-high-volume-graphics-business-growing-in-fortville) (/articles/print/47056-low-profile-high-volume-graphics-business-growing-in-fortville) ADVERTISEMENT
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North Editor North of 96th (Carmel, Fishers, Noblesville, Westfield, Zionsville), philanthropy
Davis joined IBJ as a reporter in August 2001, moving to Indianapolis from Jacksonville, Fla., where she worked for three years as an editor at The Florida Times-Union —and coordinated coverage of the historic 2000 presidential election. One hurricane (Floyd) and one political firestorm (see above) were enough to drive her back to her native Indiana. A graduate of Ball State University, Davis spent six years at The News-Sentinel in Fort Wayne before fleeing for warmer climes. At IBJ , she has covered philanthropy, education, tourism and media. She rejoined the editing ranks in 2004, most recently serving as online editor. Davis also is one of IBJ ’s restaurant reviewers. Outside of work, she is past president of Storytelling Arts of Indiana’s board of directors. In her free time, she enjoys playing poker, cheering on hopeless sports teams and spending time with family and friends. Davis lives in Fishers with her husband and their two cats. Phone: (317) 472-5369 Twitter: @Northof96th (http://twitter.com/northof96th) @IBJphilanthropy (http://twitter.com/ibjphilanthropy)
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Reynolds: John Deere dealer will stay in Fishers (https://www.ibj.com/blogs/11-north-of-96th/post/51464-reynoldsjohn-deere-dealer-will-stay-in-fishers) // 1 Comment
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Join the discussion… Charles Sherman • 4 years ago
With my assistance and hard work i am so proud of the enduring persistent i will be always available in the future!
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