“If the economic upswing wasn’t enough, personalization and decoration have seen an uptick in 2015 and look to be strong into the beginning of next year. Add the addition of new jobs that always bring more B-to-B uniform and workwear sales, and I think decorators arewell-positioned for 2015.”

Erich Campbell, Black Duck Embroidery and Screen Printing (asi/700415)

“There are several reasons [for an uptick] including: first, a clear trend supporting decorated apparel usage across fashion, sports, corporate and ad specialty areas; second, in America, the trend to bring back smaller-run production from overseas; and that technology is leading improvements in productivity and application flexibility in many areas of processing, justifying investment and expansion.”

Paul Gallagher, Hirsch International (asi/14982)

“The industry has been on a positive run for the last year, and there’s nothing at this point that indicates a downturn.”

Kent Haffner, LIDS Sports Group

“Slow economic growth will be the biggest challenge for 2015. As a manufacturer of embroidery equipment, I still don’t see a lot of confidence from consumers, especially smaller mom-and-pop shops. Too many times, smaller businesses and startups get hung up on price instead of value for their money spent.”

Bob Stone, Barudan America Inc.

“Online adaptability, as leveraging current digital platforms for promotion and customer service is the defined difference between companies that fly or flop.”

Jamie Chalmers, Mr. X Stitch

“Value is always the biggest and I think that ties in directly to margins. The markets are very bloody with competition and decorators have to find a way to differentiate and create new markets and value for their customers for margins to improve.”

Ryan Moor, Ryonet Corp.

“All of these items will have an impact on business, but Web-based programs provide the final vehicle of placing orders efficiently and seamlessly.”

Rick Cesere, Edwards Garment Co. (asi/51752)

“We’ve mapped out a strategic plan for what we believe will be the most exciting transformation for the decoration industry. The biggest challenges include finding the right talent with the right skills for this industry, as well as training new talent to understand the intricacies of decoration processes and the complexity of the decoration business.”

Martin Kristiaman, DecoNetwork Pty. Ltd.