The Giegel family has acquired Greentree Printing and Sign and moved their Minuteman Press franchise operations from the South Hills area in Dormont, Pennsylvania to 2351 Noblestown Road in the Green Tree suburb of Pittsburgh. They have owned and operated Minuteman Press since 2004 and are now serving Greentree Printing and Sign customers. Greentree was an independent print shop serving local clients since 1982.
With fresh Minuteman Press branding outfitting their new location so they are easily recognized, Jarrett Giegel and his team are excited to support local businesses and provide products and services that everyone needs especially during these times. “We have been doing a great deal of mailing services over the spring, summer, and fall to support local business during the COVID-19 pandemic, so Every Door Direct Mail (EDDM) is a service in high demand. Of course, there is still need for printed items like brochures, catalogs and stationery, but also promotional products are growing in demand,” said Jarrett.
Also, as many businesses have moved into digital workspaces and are doing business online through email, websites and social media, Jarrett and his father, Tim, are confident that revitalizing the local economy includes multi-channel marketing. “We take care of design for print and online brand representation, too. We can provide everything,” said Jarrett. “Different types of customers require different types of attention and we can address it all during personal consultations through phone, email or safely, in person.
“The great thing about our franchise is that we often do one thing for a customer and they find success with it and come back for more. Then, we get to tell them we can do many additional things to support their goals.”
Minuteman Press in Green Tree is now established and ready with a special promotion: “We are printing 500 free envelopes for you if you buy 500,” says Tim. “Our customers, both new and long-term, are making the phones ring off the hook for this one. I see reason to be very hopeful about the future as everyone wants to get back to normal life and a good economy.”
How did Minuteman Press fare during the stifling shutdowns that affected local business? Tim says, “April and May were slower for us, naturally, but in spite of that we remained open. All businesses in Pennsylvania were told to close unless they were essential. We were deemed essential immediately as a resource for local health and safety signage for hospitals and emergency services. We were printing things to make sure proper protocol was understood clearly. Retail stores needed floor graphics and signage so customers had current information and direction. Business started to pick up by July and certainly today it is picking up again.”
Meet the Giegel Family
As one of the owners of his Minuteman Press family business, Tim Giegel also maintained an entirely separate career until he retired six years ago.
“Buying a franchise together was something my wife Susan and I wanted to do,” he said. “We were inspired to work with our son Jarrett so he could choose to take over. It was a great decision that satisfied the urge to begin something new, plus it fulfilled the need we had as a family to develop a business that truly served the community.”
The printing franchise they bought in 2004 served the community well even through an international health challenge. Today, they are emerging on the other side of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic with momentum. They bought an independent print shop and converted it to a Minuteman Press center with greater capabilities than ever before.
The decision to buy their first Minuteman Press franchise allowed the Giegel family professional flexibility to balance business growth with a high-quality family life. “When we began in 2004, in Dormont, Pennsylvania, I was still a CFO with a private manufacturing company and Susan worked at the University of Pittsburgh for 20 years while raising our five children, retiring in 2012. Our son Jarrett ran the daily operations and I handled the bookkeeping and other odd jobs small businesses always need to have done,” Tim explained.
It was years ago that the family first considered becoming multi-unit franchise owners as their reputation deepened within the community. They had foresight about what would be ideal to accelerate their goals. “We worked hard to grow, but we wanted to do even more,” he said. “We knew we needed to acquire another printing business so we began talking to our local competitors.”
Acquisition and Relocation to Green Tree
Selling an independent print shop is not always easy so the discussion was welcomed by those competitors looking to sell and the process was supported by Regional Vice President Bob Heimbuch.
“We selected a print shop in Green Tree that had been in operation for 38 years and run by a couple that told us they wanted to sell in 2020,” said Tim. “We kept in touch and when the time came, in the middle of the pandemic, they still wanted to sell their business and Bob was a lot of help. He was an important sounding board for us and pointed out encouraging facts. Printing didn’t dry up during quarantine; it survived because it is essential.”
Tim and his family management team have spent years proudly promoting all of what their Minuteman Press center can do. As a result, people think of their center when it comes to marketing, including signage.
“We enjoyed the reaction of a new company for whom we just printed signage and helped to make sure the new signs were correctly installed. They were very pleased, so we are doing several more outdoor signs for their building right now,” said Tim. “Greentree Printing and Sign had an active wide format sign business so we are expanding upon this for the benefit of all our customers.”
Tim assures everyone that we they are going to return to “normal” eventually. “As we do, there is greater demand for our products and services as people continue to become comfortable,” he said. “Next year will likely be a big year for all of us, as we are in the community doing this revitalization together.”
For more information on Minuteman Press in Green Tree, visit https://www.mmpsouthhills.com.
