Sign of the times
EAST BUTLER — When you walk into a Starbucks or a Wal-Mart, the signs and advertisements that greet you could be made and designed right here in Butler.
IDL Worldwide began as a print shop making hand-painted designs and ads for grocery stores and now prints signs and store fixtures for retailers all over the world.
The company does business with large brand names such as Toys R Us, Best Buy and GNC.
When Microsoft launched its Vista program in early 2007, it was one of the largest retail launches in history, and IDL President David Ball said the company managed it all. It also handles all professional basketball LeBron James in-store merchandising with Nike.
While the company has grown to serve international clients, it continues to work closely with them.
Its motto is:"We provide an exceptional experience for our clients and their customers: on every project, every day.""If you think about it, we wouldn't do work with Nike on the West Coast if we didn't have someone out there," Ball said. "We have someone on the Nike campus every day."Every item the company produces is made in East Butler, but there are sales offices in Portland, Pittsburgh, Chicago, New York and Shanghai, as well as other parts of the United States. However, Ball is proud of having his headquarters in Butler where it all began and not in a large city.The process of designing what the customer sees to making what the customer wants at IDL goes from design to prototype to production. Often, buyers will send a representative to Butler to see their prototype before it's launched.Through Fed Ex and UPS, IDL it usually ships directly to the retail chain.IDL focuses on custom-made products, even for large companies.
For example, each BP service station might not have the same number of gas pumps, so when IDL ships signs that go above the pumps, it has to ship different amounts to each location. The company has a database storing all of this information."We're kind of a 24/7 mentality here," Ball said. "The process is the same, but the product is different every day, and you can connect with it."In addition to databases, technology also has come into play in the company as the retail industry changes."Our focus shifts based on what retail needs are," Ball said. "Ten years ago, it was more home needs, now we're into more software, technology and fashion."He credits the technological influence and the "flattening of the world" for these recent changes in the retail industry.Ball also said advertising now emphasizes focusing on what buyers see when they walk into a store."You have to think about yourself as a shopper," he said. "In some way, everybody's a retail shopper."Another feature IDL has upgraded is its green energy initiative.
For example, the heat given off from the company's printing presses goes back into the heating system so less energy is used.Also, a lot more of the company is paperless, and it has a recycling program.IDL also has two new printing presses from Germany that use 40 percent less electricity than its former presses."Our green initiative is two-pronged,"Ball said. "How can we be a better corporate citizen in the stuff we do, and how can we help customers be more green?"The company is on the Nike green council and makes a green window banner for its customer.IDLeven has a green logo with a leaf over the "I" instead of a dot.In 1943, the Murray family began the sign business in East Butler, and four years ago, the business joined Matthews International, its corporate parent, becoming a public, full-scale retail merchandising company.The company moved into the former TruServe distribution center three years ago when it needed a large building to consolidated to accommodate the volume of work and size and structure of the company."I'd hope we brought quite a few jobs with us," Ball said, "and I'd hope we'd brought not only supply but a sense of pride with all the things we do."It's very important to us to be viewed as a good part of the community."
