On Time Screen Printing & Embroidery at 155 New Haven Ave. started construction on a 6,000-square-foot storage building this week.
It’s an important investment in Derby for the company, which makes custom apparel, T‑shirts, decals and just about anything else you can slap a logo on.
In addition to screen printing and embroidery, the company has a successful online picture frame business.
FrameItEasy.com allows users to create custom-sized frames online.
The frames are assembled and shipped from Derby. The online business is triggering the expansion taking place in the back of On Time’s 3‑acre property, which was formerly a car dealership.
“The new building is really to support that business. We needed a warehouse to store the supplies we use in custom framing,” said Michael Klein, a co-owner.
On Time, which also has a showroom in Milford, moved to Derby about seven years ago.
They employed three people. Today they employ 30 people.
While they do a ton of work for local customers, most of their business is done online, from customers who live outside Connecticut.
“The Internet has allowed us to reach customers anywhere. I’d say 20 percent of our customers are on the west coast, and they’re able to purchase items made in the U.S.A. and assembled right here in Derby,” Klein said.
He said Derby city government has been a good partner.
Klein said Sheila O’Malley, the city’s former economic development director, connected the business to a number of state tax breaks that were available to merchants looking to set up shop in Derby.
It allowed On Time to move to a property they knew they could grow into.
“For those first five or so years we were receiving significant tax breaks so that we were able to move to Derby and employ people from the Valley,” said Klein, who lives in Orange.
Carmen DiCenso, the president of the Derby Board of Aldermen, said it’s important to note when a small business expands in Derby.
“There’s property taxes, real estate taxes, plus he’s hiring more people. That’s good for Derby. It’s good to see something positive happening,” DiCenso said.
Frank Pepe, of Pepe Construction in Derby, is one of the contractors handling the job. He said the pre-engineered steel building should be ready for business within 30 days or so.
Click here to go to On Time’s Facebook page.
The phone number is (203) 874‑4581.
