![]() Reluctantly, the brothers filed for bankruptcy protection in U.S. After the move, in 1982, they thought they would have better luck with the local banking community. They learned it had been purchased by a larger bank that had no interest in doing business with them. "We've had years of agonizing how to stay in business."īefore moving to Edinburg, the Gentiles had approached their local bank in Northern Virginia. "We've been depressed in the past," said Stephan Gentile. But a decade ago they were struggling to prop up a flailing business. The Gentiles, who were joined by brother Mack in 1977, may be smiling now. The goal is to raise $1 million to $5 million, allowing the company to pay off debt and add new printing machines that can handle larger orders. ![]() Hoping to expand at a faster rate, they plan to take Folder Factory public. They recently added plastic folios, VCR packaging and CD-ROM holders to their offerings. The brothers plan to further penetrate the market for custom presentation goods. "They're very specific in what they do," said Michael Robertson, executive vice president of the Screenprinting and Graphic Imaging Association International in Fairfax. Some want their logos embossed in gold-colored foil, while others demand screened names in simple black lettering, all of which the Gentiles are eager to provide. ![]() While screen printers are a versatile bunch, creating everything from the numbers on automobile speedometers and defroster lines on car rear windows to the letters on perfume bottles, the Gentiles have carved out a small yet successful niche making custom folders emblazoned with the names and logos of companies.Įvery corporation wants to make a statement by offering a vivid, memorable folder at conferences and boardroom meetings. The printing company counts the New York Times Co. Twenty-five years later the brothers have turned their basement operation into Folder Factory Inc., a $2 million company tucked away in the town of Edinburg in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley. Basically, we started with little capital investment - not more than $75." "We had three wood frames, a squeegee and a couple cans of ink. "I can remember just like it was yesterday," David Gentile said. The Gentile brothers - Stephan and David - once ran a squeegee over a couple of silk screens set up in an Arlington County basement and called themselves a business.īack then, the idea of filling out a financial statement would have made these laid-back brothers gag.Their pay bonuses were the $20 each they grabbed from the till so they could chug a few beers in Georgetown on Friday nights.
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