Concrete Details

When Josh Daniels, owner of D&D Laser Screed, needed some wraps for his fleet of pickup trucks, he turned to some friends from the world of auto racing.

“We’ve been buddies with him for a while,” says Scot Demmer, owner and general manager of the Premiere Motorsports Group (www.premieremotorsportsgroup.com). “One thing led to another, and he asked us to come down and start bidding on some of his trucks and equipment.”

D&D Laser Screed is a provider of concrete-slab installation services, with customers such as “big box” stores and shopping centers, and the company’s fleet of 20 to 30 pickup trucks support the business. The truck contract was one of the first jobs Premiere ran on two new Mutoh printers purchased in late 2012: a ValueJet 1624 and a ValueJet 1608HS hybrid. Since winning the bid, Premiere has put half-wraps on the front of most of D&D’s trucks, with more to come.

The wraps start at the front of the truck with a black background with D&D’s logo on it, and continue across the front doors, again including the logo. In addition to the wraps, the trucks carry die-cut lettering and shapes on the sides and rear, depending on the truck configuration .

Premiere designed the artwork for the trucks, too. “We have two full-time graphic artists that maintain and run our print operation,” says Demmer. Installation on each truck takes about four hours – the wraps comprise four to six printed pieces, and then there are the die cuts on the back. Premiere contracts out the installation rather than trying to do that themselves. “You’ve got to use a reputable installer,” says Demmer.

Premiere Motorsports Group first began doing vehicle wraps as a way to save money on their own vehicles. After buying a couple of race cars in 2007, Demmer and his partner gradually assembled a team of four vehicles, and because of the wear and tear and body contact involved in racing, they had to bring two entire bodies to each race. “We were spending in the neighborhood of $200,000,” says Demmer. Other friends with connections in the printing industry showed them how they could make their own wraps. “So we bought a printer and began doing it ourselves. And then through all of our motor-sports contacts, we started getting referrals after referrals after referrals.”

When it comes to vehicle wraps, says Demmer, “probably the biggest deal is making sure the customers understand the process and the color and how the art’s laid out. Besides that, make sure to have a clear understanding of what your customer’s expectations are.”

PREMIERE MOTORSPORTS GROUP
www.premiermotorsportsgroup.com