SOUTH BEND (Feb. 10, 2011)
More than 600 people gathered at the Layoffs. Pay cuts. Reductions in benefits. Not unlike other businesses, these are ways Valley Screen Process coped with extremely difficult business conditions in 2008 and again in 2009.
Its primary source of business, until that time, had been the RV and marine industries.
“We became more and more dependent on the RV industry as it got better and better,” said Karen Barnett, president of Valley Screen Process. “Even though (the economic downturn) was horrible, in hindsight it was the best thing to happen.”
The recession forced the company to think more creatively and to diversify.
Instead of traditional layoffs, the
And employees looked at new products the company could produce, but never had the time to explore. Through those efforts, Valley Screen Process entered the fleet industry and architectural graphics market, despite there being no extra budget.
“They had a can-do attitude,” Barnett said, noting how employees also came up with the idea of selling custom graphics for kid’s spaces through an online store.
Today, the company is looking at expanding its work force of 48 in the art and production departments.
By 2015, Barnett anticipates half their business will still come from the RV industry, but the other half will be derived from the markets Valley Screen Process entered during tough times.
“We could have rolled up in a little ball and kind of hoped it would pass over, but we didn’t want to do that because we knew it would be giving up,” Barnett said. “Now we’ll be less dependent on one segment of the economy."
"We have so many friends and colleagues that were willing to give us a try when we didn't know anything about wrapping a car or doing a wall graphic,” says Karen Barnett of Valley Screen Process Company, “We had a lot of people who were willing to let us work with them and really practice and that made all of the difference in the world.”
