Best of Business: Multimedia experts
The Westborough headquarters of Curry Printing.
Best Commercial Printer
Curry Printing*
Westborough & Worcester, CurryPrinting.com
Top executive: President Peter Gardner
Founded: 1978
Employees: 35
In the early days of Curry Printing nearly four decades ago, the business was a retail copy shop, where people would stop in with photos of what they were looking to have printed out.
Times have changed. And for its survival, so has Curry Printing.
Fewer businesses or individuals are looking to print items these days as more presentations, listings and brochures go online. Because of that, Curry focuses heavily on direct mail for commercial clients and has begun making trade-show displays and other items to adjust.
“What’s changed is, everything has,” said Peter Gardner, Curry Printing’s president who joined the company two years after his brothers bought it in 1981. “We do have to diversify. There’s certainly less print now.”
The company, which once had four retail shops, eventually outgrew its Worcester operations and moved to a new headquarters in Westborough in 2006. It rarely has customers show up at the door of its Westborough offices or a satellite sales office in Worcester, but instead has a sales staff go out to businesses, including helping customers design their brochures or posters. The company can mail fliers on its own or deliver them to businesses itself.
Curry works with a lot of the area’s medical device companies, nonprofits and colleges, and manages the print shop for Assumption College in Worcester.
Curry serves a roughly 50 mile radius from its office and has 35 employees, many of which have been with the company since the start. Gardner attributes Curry’s longevity to those longtime employees, the adjustments the company has made and a commitment to growing the business.
“We’ve always reinvested back into the company,” Gardner said.
As for Curry’s future, the company has more potential to expand, Gardner said. It is hoping to attract enough additional sales to add a third printing shift at its headquarters. The company has a goal of extending its presence beyond Worcester and the I-495 corridor to include the I-128 belt, which includes a denser cluster of medical device and other large companies.
“We have a lot of room to grow,” Gardner said.
Best Web Design Firm
Applied Interactive*
Worcester, appliedinteractive.com
Top executive: President & CEO Joshua Rothschild
Founded: 2008
Employees: 7
Applied combines web design with marketing principles to help clients achieve goals in the most cost-conscious way. The IT firm creates high-quality content for a technical audience and has begun offering services to support client pain points like talent acquisition and training courses.
Notable runners-up: Pagano Media, PENTA Communications
Best IT Services
Cinch IT, Inc.*
Worcester, www.cinchIT.com
Top executive: President Richard Porter
Founded: 2004
Employees: 28
Cinch has designed its company structure around creating long-term relationships with its clients, including offering technology road maps and proactive support. In 2018, the company opened Cinch University, offering training for clients and employees.
Notable runners-up: ClearCom IT, Machado Consulting
Best Video Production
Pagano Media*
Worcester, paganomedia.com
Top executive: President Joe Pagano
Founded: 1981
Employees: 10
With more than 35 years of experience, Pagano understands how to enhance storytelling with the latest digital tools, in order to create engaging results. This latest technology includes augmented reality, virtual reality and digital application development.
Notable runners-up: Davideo, Applied Interactive
Best Awards & Promotional Products
Guertin Graphics and Awards
Worcester, www.guertingraphics.com
Top executive: President John Guertin
Founded: 1987
Employees: 14
Guertin focuses on its dedication and involvement in the Worcester community and uses state-of-the-art equipment to deliver what customers are looking for. The company has added a new sign, more styles of laser-engraved corporate awards and upgrades to its T-shirt and embroidery departments.
Notable runner-up: Engraveables
Best Internet Service Provider
Spectrum Enterprise*
Worcester, enterprise.spectrum.com
Top executive: President & CEO Tom Rutledge
Founded: 1993
Employees: 92,000
Spectrum is part of Fortune 100 company Charter Communications and specializes in serving the needs of large organizations. Spectrum connects business to opportunity by driving growth, maximizing productivity and delivering exceptional experiences.
Notable runner-up: Verizon
Best Sign Company
Sunshine Sign Co., Inc.*
North Grafton, www.sunshinesign.com
Top executive: President & CEO David Glispin
Founded: 1986
Employees: 55
On Sept. 1, Sunshine merged with New England Sign Group to enhance its manufacturing and service capacities.
The culture at the company remains unchanged, as employees work early mornings, evenings and weekends to provide exacting craftsmanship and on-demand customer service.
Notable runners-up: Serrato Signs, Fast Sign
*Repeat winner
Read about the rest of the 2019 Best of Business Award winners:
WBJ Web Partners
Most Recent
Most Recent
0 Comments