PPB August 2018

About Shepenco How many different types of pencils/writing instruments do you produce on site? We have the ability to produce 2,558 different types of pencils and pens in our facility. What are your top three items among promotional clients? Pencils, pens and pencils. Founding date: 1933 Principals: Dan Townes, president; Jim Foldy, VP production; Daniel Townes, COO; Alex Moltz, director of sales and marketing Size of production facility: 36,000 square feet Number of employees: 36 Notable accomplishments: A or A+ rated supplier in SAGE; five star-rated supplier in ASI; ASI Distributor Choice winner in our product category 14 out of 16 years; founding member of Promotional Products Association of the Mid-South (PPAMS); founding member/donor PPCEF; 38-year sponsor/donor for a local child development center Do your employees require any specialized training or certification to operate machinery or manufacture/finish products in your facility? Employees who operate tow motors are required by law to be certified. Air compressors must be certified with a boiler certification. The most specialized training our employees have really requires no training. The specialized skill, which is innate to them, is that they give a damn. They care about their work, the people they work with and about doing a great job. I do not believe one is able to teach this specialized skill. Individuals possess it or they don’t. Read on to learn how pencils are customized, from order placement to packing for shipment. 1 When an order is received from a distributor, a quick quality check is performed and artwork is submitted. When the artwork is completed, an electronic proof is sent to the distributor. Once the artwork is approved, it is archived with a copy of the original purchase order, and a screen or screens are made for printing. 2 The screen is placed with the production ticket for the order, and both are moved to a staging area where they wait to be assigned to a machine. 3 The production manager assigns the orders to the appropriate printing machine. An expediter pulls the stock for use on the order, which is then taken to the machine for printing. When the order is set up, the operator shows a printed item to the operator at the adjacent machine who will sign off that the order is correct. 4 The operator sets up the screen or screens to the machine and prints the order. Upon completion of the printing, the order is picked up by an expediter. The expediter reviews the order and a sample of the job. If they are correct, then the order is taken to the shipping room. 5 In the shipping room, the paperwork is reviewed, the proper shipping method is verified, and a random sample from the order is pulled and compared to the layout attached. This is the final step in checking for errors before the order leaves the facility. Jen Alexander is associate editor of PPB. | AUGUST 2018 | 75 CONNECT