Indianapolis based Pratt Corporation was founded in 1946 by Ryland Pratt and three sons – Ryland Jr., Daniel, and Richard - as a printer of made-to-stock promotional signage including generic posters and pennant strings for small businesses such as gas stations and car lots throughout America.

Large 4 foot x 10 foot banners were printed on poly and vinyl with phrases like SALE, Grand Opening, or Open for Business. The company marketed its products through distributors supported by a catalog and direct mail. Often these distributors were litho printers or quick printers who needed an economical and responsive source for large format products, whenever a customer had a need. The company also printed and sold custom banners and pennants through an independent sales representative network to national brand marketers.

The tightly held family-owned company prospered and grew at a conservative pace through three generations of Pratt family members. A fourth generation is now learning the ropes.

Dan Pratt is CEO.
Doc Pratt is Executive Vice President.
Don Curtis is COO.
Tom Pratt is Chief marketing Officer.
Dennis Madden is CFO.
David Pratt is VP Manufacturing.

Don Curtis is the company’s Chief Operating Officer and has been with them for the past three years.

Don, tell us about your background.

I joined Pratt three years ago as Chief Operating Officer. For 10 years, prior to Pratt, I owned a quality management consultancy and helped fast growth, medium-sized commercial printers. I was also Executive Director of a Deming roundtable that provided consulting and training services for a wide variety of national organizations. Previous experience included being Vice President, Total Quality Management of Shepard Poorman Printing in Indianapolis; President of Graphically Speaking (Advertising Agency); and President of Dining Guide Publications, Inc.

Since joining the company, what has the direction been for Pratt going forward?

Three years ago, the company instituted a rigorous strategic planning process that repositioned the company for rapid growth of value-added services. A few key executive positions were filled and a regime of quarterly strategic plan reviews was initiated. The company’s goals include: becoming known for creating unique services in a culture that embraces change and fun; bringing education and business together; becoming one of the best places in America to work; and winning the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award.

Sales growth appears to be rapid in recent years. Tell us about your revenue and key segments.

Pratt now sells turnkey point-of-sale and visual merchandising graphics solutions. 2001 sales will be $45 million up from $16 million in 1997. Several self-directed account teams orchestrate customer solutions that utilize services from various strategic partners and products created by Pratt’s four business units: screen printing, digital printing services, creative services, and fulfillment services.

What investments have you made and what do you attribute the growth to?

We make substantial annual capital investments. In the last two years, we purchased a small–format screen printer, a creative design firm, and two digital printing companies and merged them with our own operations of similar nature. We found a strategic partner and started a fulfillment company that just moved into a state-of-the-art 300,000 square foot facility. We installed a state of the art digital telecommunications system (Interactive Intelligence) and linked all our plants with high-speed data lines. We’re currently 3/4 of the way through an implementation of a new corporate-wide information management system.