PRINTING United Alliance is grateful to serve its members who make such significant impacts on the printing industry. Through our membership spotlights, we continue to recognize our members, and help our community get to know their peers professionally and personally. The following is a Q&A with Chris Wallace, owner and CEO of Performance Print Services in Durham, North Carolina.
Can you share Performance Print Services' story (its background, mission, etc.)?
After 15 years working as a sales/customer service team in the printing industry, [co-owner Mitchell Bratton and I] opened the doors to Performance Print Services in 2017. Our mission is to push ourselves to learn more about what is possible in our industry and be the best at what we do every day. We currently have 13 employees, which is up more than double from this time last year. We are primarily a digital and wide-format shop, although we manage offset work through our vendor partners. We are also ASI Members and provide promotional product services.
Are there markets/industries outside of your traditional offerings you are looking into adding (or have added)? If so, what?
We’re always seeking ways to expand the markets and industries that we serve. We brought wide-format printing in-house last year. After four years of continued growth while outsourcing that work, we knew it was the right time to take that leap. We are not limited to our own backyard when it comes to the work we do. We have customers all over the United States and in Europe. Our own backyard does provide amazing opportunities though, and we are constantly working to grow our footprint in the industries that call the Triangle home.
What would you say have been your company’s biggest accomplishments and challenges?
The biggest accomplishment was opening our doors! We started the company with two laptops and a borrowed conference room table, sharing space and a printer with one of our vendors. Today we are in a brand new space more than triple the size of where we started and have some of the most talented people in the industry on our team. We have grown our volume every year, including during COVID, and I attribute that growth to our people, our culture, and our mission to be better each day.
What are your future goals for your operation?
Our immediate goal is to add to our sales team. We have the right amount of people and equipment in the production side of the business, so now we are focused on sales growth. Future goals will likely include expanding our facility to accommodate further business and personnel growth.
Why did you decide to join PRINTING United Alliance? What resources do you plan to utilize?
I think that it’s extremely important to be a part of printing trade organizations, and PRINTING United Alliance is one of them. The membership alone offers an infinite amount of experience and resources that can only help our industry to flourish. We attended the [Expo in Las Vegas] last October with the goal of choosing two particular pieces of equipment to add to our shop. We bought one of them immediately following the show and will be signing the lease on the second one this year.
What activities or hobbies do you enjoy in your free time?
I enjoy time with my family, fishing, tennis, The Ohio State Buckeyes football (O-H!), and spending time at the beach when I can.
Interested in having your company spotlighted and/or learning more about Alliance benefits? Contact membership@printing.org.