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Trinity Graphic – Robert Smithson

feature-template-robert-smithson-trinity-graphic [1]

Trinity Graphic – Robert Smithson

By Kacey C Krznaric

Photography by Giovanni Lunardi

Born in the town of Hull, Yorkshire England, northeast of London, Robert Smithson was being groomed for the business world. He was beginning to discover his own personal formula for success at the tender age of 14 when he began working in his father’s graphics factory. His drive lead him up the ladder and through the ranks at the company, all while instilling in him a strong work ethic, teaching him the importance of persistence, and giving him the confidence he needed to later become the successful businessman he is today.

robert-shop-floor [2]1987 was an important year for Smithson, as his life was on the brink of taking an entirely new direction; the start of a chapter that would pave the way for him to use his many talents and skills that have been refined over the years and open doors, giving him the opportunity to take himself and his business one step ahead of the competition. Smithson’s father was interested in expanding their business and opening a facility in the United States, appointing his son as the leading man on the new venture. While Smithson had a tremendous amount of confidence in himself, he was hesitant to take on such a vital role in the future of the company. Rather uneasy about the trip, he packed up and headed out to Clearwater, Florida; a city that housed one of the company’s biggest accounts. While visiting the area he was told by a local businessman to take a look at Sarasota; that it was a beautiful town and well worth taking the time to see. From the moment Smithson’s feet touched the white talcum powder sand of Siesta Key, he had subconsciously already made the decision that Sarasota was going to be the birth place of Trinity Graphic’s first US facility. While the location was an easy decision, this business venture would not be without obstacles for Smithson and the company. 

mask-room [3]In order to start up the business, Smithson needed a loan. The English banks wouldn’t lend him the money because the facility being opened was outside of the country and the American banks wouldn’t lend him the money because he had no established credit. So, reaching deep inside for that persistence that Robert knew would be instrumental in growing a successful business, he took a risk and used the money he had to purchase some equipment to get the US facility up and running. From here, he hired and trained some American workers and began the journey of putting all of his blood, sweat, and tears into making Trinity Graphic a well-known name, himself a well-respected businessman, and the company an undying and growing success.

At the newly opened facility, they began making Flexographic printing plates for labels, cartons, plastic bags and anything that had to do with packaging. Whilst in England Robert and his father Keith, created a technology that enabled the printer to emboss labels with polymers, as opposed to metals, saving them approximately 70% of their costs. Becoming experts at utilizing this new technology, Gallo Winery became their largest account. As they continued to grow, they were able to purchase two 10 foot wide UV inkjet digital printing machines, and a large digital die cutting device. These advanced machines allow Trinity to print on glass, metallics, and basically any raw material you can bring to the table, they also produce custom banners, posters and signage. Trinity is working on a new product with local renowned decorative Artist Lisa Sparling, to create custom wall coverings, cut precisely to the shape of the image. With only 8 of these digital imaging machines in the entire country, Trinity Graphic finally had the edge they needed in the industry and put their company on the map.

armagnet [4]One of the most notable products that Trinity Graphic has put out in recent years is the ARMagnet; a large, customized magnet in the shape of a muscular arm that applies to the door of a car, blending in flawlessly with the body of the person driving. The idea came from Michael Gruttaduaria, a former NFL football player for the St. Louis Rams. He shared the idea with Smithson after he was inspired by seeing a woman with her arm hanging out of the window, holding a cigar. This struck Gruttaduaria, and he quickly snapped a picture with his camera and shared it with Smithson. Trinity Graphic brought the very creative idea to fruition with their highly technical and state-of-the-art equipment and amply artistic team of staff, putting out made-to-order personalized arms for anyone, holding just about anything they’d like. This new product grew in popularity and was adopted by local high schools and major sports leagues, turning the ARMagnet into booming fundraisers for sports teams and other extracurricular activities. They began customizing ARMagnets for students and their parents, holding anything from a football to baseball glove to an instrument, complete with the student’s name and applicable sporting number. Along with this, Trinity Graphic and Gruttadauria also designed custom ARMagnets for Outback Steakhouse. Staying true to the company’s Australian roots, Trinity Graphic constructed ARMagnets for the restaurant chain, each arm holding a boomerang.

tervis-tumbler [5]As time marched on, Smithson’s name and reputation became more prevalent among Sarasota residents as a young, up and coming professional with fresh ideas and an instinctive knack for marketing and merchandising. Soon, Smithson was meeting with the CEO of Tervis Tumbler Laura Spencer, along with a marketing representative to work on improving their products and taking Tervis Tumbler to the next level. With Smithson’s experience and creative approach he brings to his projects, plus his unique to the area digital printing and die cutting equipment, Trinity Graphic was able to print a 4 color image, and then a layer of white, and then 4 color again in perfect registration, creating customized insulated tumblers. These allowed an image on the outside and an image on the inside to appear thus creating a jaw dropping new look to the product. From here, they began making custom Tumblers for sporting events, weddings, golf outings, and 2 well known brands- Disney and the NFL.

Smithson keeps himself very busy with a career that is constantly evolving and is not just focused on his company Trinity Graphic USA. One of his other interesting roles is business manager for Jonathan and Andy Hillstand; captains of the crab fishing boat “Time Bandit” as seen on DSC channel’s The Deadliest Catch. He’s developed several products with the Hillstand brothers such as a Bloody Mary mix, Vodka and Tequila products plus 2 types of Rum, with the Time Bandit captains as the face of the brand. They also rely on Smithson to check the business proposals they receive and advise them as to the direction to go.

Furthermore, Smithson is very involved with the Sarasota Film Festival- one of the largest film festivals in the United States, sitting on the executive board member panel and co-designing with Gary Bibler, Trinity Design President, and Vince Fraser from the UK, (vincefraser.com), the image you see behind him on this month’s cover of REAL Magazine. Smithson describes the event as “a great joy” and says, “It’s exciting to be around so many fantastic and talented people.” The Sarasota Film Festival will be held again in 2011, beginning on April 8th and running to the 17th.

Robert Smithson has not lost sight of those who helped him get to where he is today and accredits the support and encouragement of his family, friends, and those positive influences around him, particularly a man named Bill Ceperich who he sees as a father figure, “He’s helped me structure myself both personally and in business,” and also helped his long time friend and Trinity president Mark Barnard. Robert also states that his business skills have been greatly developed by being a member of TEC/Vistage, a worldwide group of business owners and CEO’s. His membership has allowed him to better decide on difficult business decisions, and his team of local businessmen acts like an additional board of directors.

cooking [6]Smithson met his beautiful wife Angela in Boston in 1998. What started as a blind date, Robert knew right away after meeting her that she was the woman he wanted to be with for the rest of his life. They dated only a short period of time before Robert surprised her with a proposal, immediately followed by marrying her on the stairs of a family member’s house on Siesta Key. Robert had schemed and told Angela they were going to the house that evening with the plan of attending a 40th wedding anniversary of his brother Simon’s mother and father in law. However, this was just a ruse to enable Robert to pop the question. When the couple got out of the car, the garage doors opened and inside were friends and family members that Robert had flown in from Boston and overseas, along with family and friends that lived locally. He got down on one knee, proposed, and she graciously accepted. The pair immediately went up the staircase of the house, where a beautiful wedding location was set up and they held the ceremony right there on the property. He prides himself on pulling off a surprise wedding, and was happy that his trusted friends never let the cat out of the bag, Angela never got wind of anything and even wore a black dress and took some Italian eggplant as a dish for the hosts. The two have added to their beautiful family with 2 boys, Robbie (11 years old) and Keith (10 years old) and 2 dogs, a black lab named Jess and a Jack Russell Terrier named Jackie.

Smithson’s personal life is just as creative and imaginative as the work he does in the printing facility. His wife is very much into Halloween and, drawing Robert in, the couple now holds a huge annual Halloween party at their home in Sarasota. (Photo gallery below, visit http://bit.ly/a8B3Ys [7] on YouTube) They begin the elaborate decoration of the interior of their home about 3 months before the holiday and spend approximately 2 weeks leading up the holiday preparing the outside of their home. The event can be expected to entertain 120-150 guests, complete with ghosts flying tree to tree, a life-like “spinning head” from the Carrie movies, and a smoky haunted maze for the children.

Smithson, an avid architectural salvage piece and antiquities collector- including possessions such as weathered gargoyles, antique glass windows, and a dinosaur fossil of a Psittacosaurus that is 300 million years old from Mongolia- he also has a love for cooking. His home is complete with a large kitchen that has an Italian wood burning pizza oven. Robert doesn’t discriminate on cooking style, preparing foods from all different ethnic backgrounds. However, reigning from England, Robert loves cooking English food and would consider it one of his specialties. “Many people think that English food is bland,” says Smithson “but I make food that is far from bland.” The joy he takes in cooking is expanding outside of his personal kitchen and he will be competing in the “Men Who Cook” competition in April of 2011, a cook-off for local businessmen in the area.

From literally scrounging up pocket change to purchase machinery for Trinity Graphic’s first US facility to turning the company into an established, successful, and flourishing business several years later, Smithson remains humble and rooted. In his up and coming years, Robert suffered a tremendous tragedy as a young man when he was in a car accident that claimed the life of his then girlfriend and put him into coma. This experience impacted Robert greatly and gave him a new perspective on life. “You must love each and every day, have good and strong ethics as an individual and in business, and enjoy life to the fullest extent” says Robert. He admits that he wouldn’t be where he is today if it weren’t for the family and friends that supported him and believed in him with all their hearts, as well as his unbelievable Trinity Graphic employees. While he acknowledges that he’s had “some luck in life,” he accredits his success and life’s happiness to those he surrounds himself with. Smithson’s life journey is truly testament to where determination (and a little bit of faith) can take you if you keep your nose to the grindstone, head to the sky, and find the ability to press on, as life will inevitably throw obstacles in your path as you rise to the top.

Trinity Graphic
885 Tallevast Road
Suite D
Sarasota, FL 34243
P (941) 355.2636
F (941) 351.9621
www.trinitygraphic.com [8]
www.armagnet.com [9]
www.tervis.com [10]
rjstrinity@aol.com [11]

tervis-tumbler [5]“Tervis and Trinity Graphic teamed up to develop a high-end printing process that allows Tervis to layer a double-sided image between the two walls of their insulated tumbler. The result is an eye-catching image that can be viewed on both the outside and inside of the tumbler. In addition, Trinity’s order lead times, coupled with their close proximity to Tervis’ manufacturing facility, has been essential in meeting customer’s needs.”

Wayne Varnadore- Vice President Operations, Tervis Tumbler

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Copyright © 2010 REAL Magazine

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Photography used under license from Giovanni Lunardi Photography [12]

Photography Copyright © 2010 Giovanni Lunardi

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