PRINTING United Alliance is grateful to serve its members who make such significant impacts on the printing industry. Through our Member Spotlights, we continue to recognize our members, and help our community get to know their peers better, both professionally and personally. The following is a Q&A and video interview with Jen Miazga, national sales manager of Howard Industries.
Please provide a brief history of your company and its core mission.
Howard Industries just celebrated 97 years! We are located in Erie, Pennsylvania and occupy a 50,000 square foot facility where we manufacture (for wholesales companies) ADA compliant interior and extruded aluminum exterior signage. Our 50+ person staff consists of our sales, IT, marketing, illustration, manufacturing and shipping departments. As a wholesale signage manufacturer, we have sales inquiries that range from one sign to hundreds. Our sales staff will get a quote back to you the same day and once manufacturing begins, signs will ship out in 10 working days or less. Our NEXT DAY ADA interior product line ships in 24 hours!
Are there any markets or industries outside of your traditional offerings you are looking to add (or have added)? If so, what?
As we are known in the wholesales signage industry for our exterior product line (quality, warrantee, and fast turnaround time), we are just as efficient on our interior product line. The industry that we are just tapping into are the “printing” companies. Everyone wants a one-stop-shop, and we know they are getting asked about interior signs. We feel that we can get them confident in selling interior ADA signs.
What would you consider some of the most significant achievements of your company to date?
Celebrating 97 years! We have expanded our interior manufacturing department to encompass two shifts to keep up with production. Introducing our NEXT DAY ADA product line has created a demand for ADA compliant signs in 24 hours.
What are some future goals for Howard Industries? Are there any upcoming features or developments that your clients can look forward to?
We are always looking to improve our products, manufacturing and customer interactions. Through lean manufacturing, new materials, technology and/or machinery, we are able to improve our processes and quality of product lines. One of our goals is to incorporate the use of AI into our marketing and HR departments to collaborate on training videos both internal and external, then to see where else AI can take us. Another goal we are working towards is becoming more sustainable by utilizing tablets instead of paper throughout our building, which enables our team to communicate more effectively and efficiently.
Why did you decide to join the Alliance? What resources do you plan to or have already utilized through your membership?
The Alliance is another avenue we are pursuing to reach out to vendors utilizing the print industry and educate them on how they can achieve more business for themselves through signage. We are that manufacturer that they can team up with to give their customers the one-stop-shop they yearn for.
Is there anything else you’d like to share?
We are a company that will help the customer choose the best product for their sales request. We are here to fill in the gaps that they have when dealing with their customers signage needs.
For more information on Howard Industries, visit their website at https://www.howardindustries.com/.
Jen Miazga, national sales manager of Howard Industries, elaborates on the 97-year-old company and what has fueled their success over the years, offers advice to those just starting out in the industry, and discusses how Howard Industries supports print service providers (PSPs) expanding into signage, offering them a reliable manufacturing partner in the growing “one-stop-shop” model.