November 2001

Graph Tex Expands in Cortland

Graph Tex has completed its move into 30,000 square feet of beautifully renovated space on Elm Street in the City of Cortland. The new space consolidates sales, marketing, manufacturing, graphic design, warehousing and shipping under one roof.

Graph Tex Inc. is Central New York's premier apparel manufacturer specializing in multicolor screen printing, embroidery and creative design for quality sportswear. Since its modest inception in 1984 in a 300 square foot room above a sporting goods store in the City of Cortland, the firm has continued to expand through the vision and energy of its management team, the Riley Brothers -- Brent, Shawn and Chad.

The current expansion, funded in part by the SBA and Alliance Bank, was necessitated by increased work volume from customers that include sporting goods giants BRINE and REEBOK. It serves high schools around the country, and regional customers include Cornell and Syracuse Universities, SUNY Cortland and other area colleges, and local corporations such as Suit-Kote, Marietta and Pall Trinity.

Graph Tex's reputation has been built on its ability to supply its customers with quality imprinted apparel including contract printing, graphic design and new product development. Specialty product development has included designing T-shirts for the National Hockey League's 75th Anniversary, creating the uniforms for the new Harlem Globe Trotters, Reebok basketball team and even sweatshirts for the David Letterman late night television show. Last year the company received top honors from Runners World magazine for its "Marathon Cross Country Invitational Race" T-shirt design.

President Brent Riley credits success to decisions made early in the company's formation. "We made correct decisions at the beginning that have paid tremendous dividends as we grew," says Brent. "Setting up this business in our home town gave us opportunities and support that we wouldn't have had if we started somewhere else. The imprint business is large and diverse so focusing on apparel was critical." This philosophy has been the company's foundation and contributed to the extensive repeat business the firm enjoys.

Brent is also quick to give credit to Ken Homer from the SBDC in Binghamton for his extensive assistance helping get the company ready for financing. "He kept us focused," says Brent. The SBA/Alliance Bank loan partnership provided the funding to make the necessary facility renovations. "The BDC/IDA was very instrumental in mapping out what we needed to do and introducing us to all the right people to make it happen," according to Riley. Those contacts helped to secure additional funding from COMCO, a regional revolving loan program that serves Cortland, Onondaga, Madison and Cayuga Counties. COMCO provided half of the funding for the new press, oven, compressor and installation costs with the other half coming from the BDC/IDA's revolving loan fund.

Graph Tex currently employs 27 full time and 3 part time staff. The expansion and new equipment purchases will allow the firm to expand into the future without having to worry about additional space. Warehousing is now centralized, increasing shipping effectiveness and allowing the firm to provide even more fulfillment services to its national and regional customers.

It's clear that those early decisions laid the foundation for a business that now reaches across the nation and enjoys partnerships with some of the world's foremost sporting goods and apparel companies. Its success has not gone unnoticed in its hometown. In 1999, Graph Tex received the "Entrepreneur of the Year" award from the Cortland County Chamber of Commerce.