Ace Hardware-Insourcing Aces

"In any operation there are always peaks and valleys," Krammer observes. "What better way to maximize those valleys than to subsidize your company's printing by taking on commercial work?"

Insourcing revenue has helped Ace Hardware's 92-employee in-plant to offset equipment costs and speed up the return on the investment. But these aren't the only benefits it has provided. Because of the variety of commercial work the in-plant takes in, in-plant employees' skills have grown tremendously, notes Rick Salinas, production manager at Ace Hardware.