Growing Strong
Rob Esmond
Presstige Printing
Bob Weidenmiller has been the owner of Presstige Printing Inc. for all but two of the past 27 years. After reacquiring the business in 2001, he decided it was time to move it from Naples to Bonita Springs.
"I knew we couldn't attract Lee County employees to Naples, and we couldn't get qualified press operators, pre-press people, and other workers without being closer to Cape Coral," Weidenmiller says.
From its location in a 14,500-square-foot building behind the Naples Fort Myers Greyhound Track, the business is a drive of about 45 minutes from either Cape Coral or the outskirts of Golden Gate. "This allows employees who work in the $14 to $20 per hour salary range to afford to drive to Bonita, and they're glad to have the jobs," he says.
Presstige Printing, with 22 employees, has its own digital press, a graphics department that handles designing and printing, and mailing services. This has allowed Presstige to hold its own against such national competitors as Office Max and Kinko's, which have moved into the area.
"We're the biggest printer in the immediate Bonita area," Weidenmiller says, "and customers would much rather have our pickup and delivery services, so the competition hasn't really affected us too much."
He acknowledges a loss of business from the recent downturn in the real estate market, and believes it's going to be a "take-a-deep-breath" year. However, the company's sales have grown an average of 15 percent in the past three years, and he recently hired a sales person to cover Cape Coral.
"We may grow less rapidly, but we will expand our customer base," he says. "We see the opportunity."
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