Sheetz Takes Control

Drive down any highway in western Pennsylvania and you’ll eventually spot a Sheetz convenience store. Based in Altoona, Pennsylvania, midway between Harrisburg and Pittsburgh, Sheetz has long been a welcome sight for travelers, with more than 750 stores and gas stations throughout Pennsylvania and neighboring states.

For all of its 73-year history, the 25,000-employee family-owned business has purchased the printing of its signage and product labels from area commercial printers. That all changed in March when Sheetz officially opened a brand-new 17-employee in-plant and started moving all its printing in-house.

Sheetz will now print its labels on its new Durst Tau RSC E label printer, being run here by Noah Stewart.

“It was really all about autonomy for us — the ability to really strategically get ourselves in the right spot [so] that we could make better decisions for our business,” explains Print Operations Manager Lauren Gearhart, who was a key motivating force behind the creation of the new print operation. Whether those decisions are about cost, program service level agreements (SLAs), lead times, or priorities, she says, “We could just better do that if we have control of it.”

With that as its goal, Sheetz went all in, building a new 150,000-sq.-ft. logistics center in Claysburg, about 20 minutes south of Altoona, with 35,000 sq. ft. set aside for the climate-controlled print facility and warehouse. Over the past few months, Sheetz has filled that space with some of the latest printing and finishing equipment available, including a grand-format Durst P5 350 HS D4 hybrid roll/flatbed printer, providing 120"-wide prints; two Kongsberg automated cutters; a Durst Tau RSC E label printer paired with a Grafotronic DCL2 350 laser cutter; and Ricoh Pro C9500 and Pro C7500 digital printers, the latter with a fifth color unit (see sidebar).

Help From the Experts

The in-plant joined PRINTING United Alliance early on, and it tapped the Alliance’s resources repeatedly as it brought the print operation to life.

“We’re out here in the middle of Central PA, and it was awfully hard to find somebody’s ear to talk about printing,” Gearhart says. “So that was the first place I [went]. That’s where the experts are. So we got our membership.”

In-plant team members gather around one of the in-plant’s two new Kongsberg automated cutters.

Almost right away she used the Alliance to find a consultant.

“They sort of helped us narrow the universe of consultants down,” she says.

Sheetz’s large in-plant facility covers 35,000 sq. ft., leaving ample room for expansion.

When it came time to look for equipment, she thought, “I know the perfect resource. So we started going through the directory … and started pulling different vendors for different types of things.”

With high ceilings and ample space between machines, the in-plant facility was designed for optimum product flow and with an eye toward future expansion. An upstairs area has been set aside for pick-and-pack operations, where the team will assemble periodically to fill boxes with store and gas pump signage, as well as other needed materials. Each box gets items tailored to an individual store.

The in-plant has ample warehouse space.

Print Services will print both large point-of-purchase signage and smaller-format signs. Overall, Gearhart says, Sheetz has more than 600 sign products for the in-plant to run, and they get changed out frequently in stores. Installation of permanent signage is handled by Sheetz’s store support team, and temporary signage is installed by store operations teams.

Another major printed product the shop will produce is wallpaper for retail stores. It will be printed on 60"-wide media using the Durst P5 350 HS D4 and coated on a Tec Lighting Megacoat MC XL63 coater, before being slit on the Fotoba XLD 170.

The in-plant will also print and cut about 7 million linear feet of labels in the first year on its Durst Tau RSC E and Grafotronic DCL2 350. These will go on the sandwiches, salads, cookies, parfaits, and other food products made in the Sheetz Brothers Kitchen and sold in stores.

Sheetz has more than 600 sign products for the in-plant to run, mostly on its grand-format Durst P5 350 HS D4 hybrid roll/flatbed printer.

A Culture of Innovation

Opening an in-plant has been a long-time dream of Gearhart’s, and she feels fortunate that Sheetz was willing to take the chance on it.

Nathan Replogle and Devan Cicero cut labels on the Grafotronic DCL2-350 laser cutter.

“We’re big on innovation — really pushing the forefront, pushing the edge,” she praises. “I think it’s just one of those things that sets us apart from a lot of our competitors … we’re willing to make mistakes and figure it out.”

Being able to print internally and provide fast turnaround also plays into Sheetz’s expansion plans.

“We have a very, very strong growth plan,” Gearhart says of the company. “We’re growing very quickly, which can be a little difficult for vendors to invest and keep up [with].”

Nathan Replogle and Devan Cicero run the Ricoh digital presses.

The in-plant will be able to make strategic decisions quickly and pivot easily when necessary to better serve the company, she says.

“The good thing is, we’ll be able to [print] the things that we want faster,” she notes.

Gearhart also feels the in-plant, staffed by Sheetz employees, is in a better position now to ensure brand integrity.

Ella Gable runs the Tec Lighting Megacoat MC 63XL, which will coat wallpaper for retail stores.

“We’re obviously a little closer to the brand expectations and understanding what the intent is and how the colors read, and we’ll hopefully have a lot more … eyes on it and be closer to those expectations,” she says.

At first, Gearhart explains, the in-plant’s goal will be to match the SLAs its previous vendors were meeting.

“Once we get our feet under us and we really feel confident that we’re producing products that are quality comparable and meeting all the other expectations, then we’ll really take a hard look at … our capacity,” she says. At that point, she and her team will decide what additional work to take on.

Hiring From Within

To produce all its printing and finishing, Sheetz recruited its own employees. Most of the in-plant’s 17 team members already worked for Sheetz in other roles. This, Gearhart feels, was essential because those employees already understood the Sheetz culture and were focused on maintaining it.

This strategy, however, required a significant amount of training. Some of it was provided by the vendors that sold them equipment, but Sheetz also took great advantage of the iLEARNING+ courses provided by PRINTING United Alliance. She sat her staff in a conference room for a couple of weeks and they watched course after course.

Noah Stewart runs the Durst Tau RSC-E label printer.

“I really liked all the basic ones, obviously, especially for our folks that don’t have a lot of printing background, if any,” Gearhart says. “Those courses were really, really helpful just to get them some foundational knowledge of what we were going to do.”

Now trained, the team is excited to start using the equipment. They feel a strong bond with Sheetz, she says, and are eager to play a part in the company’s success. Sheetz has returned the favor by providing great perks, like on-site doctors, nutritionists, day care, and a gym. This year, the company again made it onto Forbes’ list of America’s Best Large Employers.

“I think our brand is unique, and a lot of people like that,” says Gearhart. “They share a lot of the same values that our brand does. They really, truly live and breathe being Sheetz.”

Watch IPI's video tour of the Sheetz in-plant.