Screen Printing - December 2019/January 2020 - 20

ment training program). The program is
designed to be a 10-year plan; working
in every department, learning every
facet of the business. I've worked in
accounting, design for manufacturing,
and sales. Currently, I run our start-up,
Badlime, as VP of Operations and
Master Scheduler. I also sit as a
co-chair on Printing United's Next
Generation advisory council. I've
positioned myself to soak up everything I can, from both my co-workers
and active industry participants outside
of VMS. I have a great network of
resources that continues to help drive
VMS to be the industry-leading manufacturer we are today.

ERIC KAHLE
VP of Operations, Employer | Badlime Promo and Apparel, Visual Marking
Systems | badlime.com, vmsinc.com | Twinsburg, Ohio | Age: 28
HOW DID YOU GET INVOLVED IN THE
INDUSTRY AT SUCH A YOUNG AGE?
Visual Marking Systems (VMS) was
founded by my grandfather more than
35 years ago. Today, I work side-by-side
with my father, who is also my partner
in our new venture, Badlime Promo
and Apparel. However, it took me a lot
of long hours and hard work to get to
where I am in the organization today. It
all started at a young age of 14. I wanted
to work. I started by scrubbing the
floors after school as a teenager. From
there, I wanted more. I was determined
to learn more about production and,
ultimately, about the business. Today,
I can honestly say I've ran more than
90 percent of the equipment in manufacturing. My responsibilities are ever
evolving. My next step was learning to
install our products. Installs became a
passion of mine, and our fleet division
was growing like crazy. A few of us
moved on to get our PDAA Master Certification, vetting ourselves as a reputable
installation company. I had the opportu20

SCREENPRINTING

nity to travel, meet, and learn from the
most experienced installers in the nation
and really focus on my craft. However, I
didn't want to stop there. I decided it was
time to finish my college education.
I graduated with an associate degree
in business administration, bachelor's
degree in management, a minor in
finance, and a general immersion in economics. I joined Future Business Leaders
of America and was elected to the New
York State Treasurer position. After graduating from RIT, I left the industry. I'm not
one to accept the silver spoon, so I set
off to create my own career. I worked in
manufacturing facilities, hospitality, and
logistics. I had fantastic opportunities
but felt drawn back to printing. At that
point, my wife had a work opportunity
back home, so we moved to the Cleveland area. When my father caught wind
of our move and me applying for jobs, he
quickly snatched up the human capital.
Just like that, I was back in printing.
I started as a management trainee
(and technically still am in my manage-

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO BECOME
TRAINED AND CERTIFIED?
The PDAA master certification is not
an easy one to pass. It takes patience
and is humbling. Let's face it, I was just
a 19-year-old kid trying to be a quality
installer - not easy. The work is hard,
the hours are long, and it requires a
lot of travel. There were a plethora of
installers that could literally wrap circles
around me. This became a challenge for
me, and it was ever rewarding when I
passed my test. It was a career milestone. I just wanted to keep growing.
I knew that this was the step VMS
needed to take to differentiate ourselves as the top graphics installation
provider in Northeast Ohio. Today, it
has grown to so much more than that.
We have multiple installers on staff,
but what is ever more significant is the
network of installers we take advantage of. We use over 250 installation
crews around the nation to service our
largest fleet customers. We've added
a full-time installation coordinator
to our staff to accommodate for the
project management required. If VMS
had never made a push to understand
and incorporate PDAA into our vetting process, we would not be able to
service the scale of fleet accounts we
have today.
http://www.badlime.com http://www.vmsinc.com
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