City's Growth Attracts Printing Franchise

(Friday, November 02, 2007) - The owner of a new printing company in Carmel said the area's growing number of businesses is what lured him.

Michael Kile celebrated the grand opening Thursday of AlphaGraphics, a printing company with 227 franchises nationwide and revenues that reached $273 million in 2006.
Kile's store is the company's first Indianapolis-area location.
Services offered include large format and digital printing and inline finishing. The company also specializes in short-to-medium runs of marketing materials and corporate identity stationery.
Kile and his wife, Rhonda, moved to Carmel from South Bend and bought the business in January. They converted the former Graphics Center shop at 12955 Old Meridian St. into AlphaGraphics in April.
"It's exciting for Michael because he's always wanted to do this," said Rhonda Kile.
After nearly 30 years working for printing companies, two of which underwent ownership changes, Kile decided it was time to branch out on his own.
"It was time to set my own set of rules," he said.
Kile has six full-time and part-time employees that include himself and his wife. Rhonda Kile does the bookkeeping and serves as office manager.
"Part of what I like about a small business like this is that we get to work directly with the makers and the people who are using the materials," said Michael Kile, adding that the larger printing corporations create a web of bureaucracy that makes it hard to deal directly with customers.
For franchise owners, Utah-based AlphaGraphics requires a minimum investment of $226,000 with a minimum $60,000 cash requirement, according to the company's Web site. In addition, prospective franchisees are required to have a year's worth of working capital.
So far, Kile says he has "several hundred clients."
Owning his own business is the ultimate dream, he said.
"It feels great," he said. "I think stress is working for someone else. At least here, you know it's up to you to make it or break it."

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