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This is Fred Ball for Zions Bank, speaking on business.
One Salt Lake City company has been putting its mark on Utah for more than forty years. Winmark Stamp & Sign, Inc. makes the signs, stamps, tags and badges used to label and identify just about anything you can think of. More than likely you've already come across many of the company's products without realizing it, especially if you've visited Zions Bank recently. Winmark Stamp & Sign made many of the signs and nametags used by Zions Bank and other local businesses. I have a self-inking Winmark return address stamp on my desk that I use everyday.
Wendy Lauer and her sister Tracy Szwedko currently own Winmark after their father retired in 1989. Over the years, the marking company burdened its fair share of economic difficulties, but the hard times have only added to the company's experience. The trick to surviving, Wendy tells me, was finding a niche in the market untapped by competitors.
Winmark Stamp & Sign's niche is in metal photo labeling. No other labeling company in Utah possesses the technology to photographically etch pictures onto aluminum tags. Unlike simply painting or silk-screening a label onto metal, Winmark's technology uses photosensitive aluminum to essentially develop pictures and wording onto the metal. The labels can't be scratched or rubbed off, so many government agencies and high-tech companies use the labels, including Alliantech, which does work for NASA. Wendy says it's likely some of their labels have even traveled to space.
While thumbing through the Winmark Stamp & Sign catalogue I couldn't help but notice the extensive collection of rubber stamps, decals, seals, stencils and signs the company offers. And since the company does custom work, Winmark can literally make any sort of sign or stamp you can think of.
With only nine employees, Winmark Stamp & Sign certainly isn't what you'd call a large corporation; however, the small company has definitely stamped quite an impression on Utah businesses.
For Zions Bank, I'm Fred Ball. I'm speaking on business.
