Meet Carli Baldo of Special T Unlimited

Today we’d like to introduce you to Carli Baldo.

As with any success story, there is a humble beginning. Special T Unlimited got it start back in 1975 after “T-shirt guy” Lou Baldo emerged from the garage of his Broadview home office, then moving to a small storefront in the town. Shortly after, Lou began operations at the current storefront on 4835 West Butterfield Road in Hillside as Special T Unlimited. Not long after moving to Hillside, Lou’s brother Carmen joined the team. Today it is one of the premier screen printing, embroidery and promotional products companies in the Chicagoland area. After 43 years, Special T Unlimited is still owned and operated by the Baldo brothers, along with Carmen’s daughter Carli.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Being in business for 43 years is obviously fantastic, but it also inevitably means that you will outlast some of your clients. Some clients will come and go, so it is always difficult when a change of purchasing or management is made. It reminds you not to depend too much on any one said client. We learned early on that by doing so, you would be running a business based off of fear. Big corporate accounts are great, but you still always need to have a new revolving client base of all different sizes in order to maintain a healthy company. Luckily, we have been very fortunate to have longtime employees with us. Some even being with the company for thirty-seven or more years.

Business isn’t what it used to be. Now with the ever-evolving internet and the global marketplace at everyone’s fingertips, consumers want things fast and economical. These are things that are very difficult to provide when in the custom business, while yet still wanting to deliver a high-quality product and service.

I write these obstacles based off of what my uncle and father tell me. Not only do they verbalize these obstacles, but I can see how they encounter them in everyday business. Because at the end of the day, one person can only do so much. Yet, they both and all of those at Special T Unlimited endlessly try to do it all. And it defiantly has worked all of these 43 years, I am not doubting that.

But I can say that they are never ahead of the cart. And rightfully so, as it is almost impossible to be in today’s industry. Today people want a single t-shirt done in an hour. Or expect to pay $2 a shirt, because they heard they can get them this inexpensively from China. These are probably the biggest obstacles we have all had to overcome.

As my father says, “there is always going to be someone who will do it for less”. He is undoubtedly correct, but as he also says “and that’s okay”.

Special T Unlimited isn’t always going to the least expensive option. But you pay to know things will get done right or on time or to have something completely customized. Those are the things that people take for granted.

You see a lot of large corporations or villages with formal bids fall short in this department. When you complete a bid, knowing that you may not be the least expensive option, but also knowing that anyone who is significantly less isn’t going to provide a good product: it’s nothing more than frustrating. Because in today’s industry the least expensive is most likely the winner. But sometimes they mistake who is winning.

They are investing all this time and effort to find the least expensive provider and having to work with a company that has poor customer service or falls short on everything they promised. So did they really find the least expensive route? That’s why Special T Unlimited isn’t always the least expensive, but it is why we are still successful after 43 years.

We provide quality, in every department. And as my dad would say, “plus, you don’t want every single job if you’re not earning a profit off of them”.

Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Special T Unlimited – what should we know?
Special T Unlimited’s mission is, and always has been, to maintain excellent customer service along with providing a high-quality product. Special T Unlimited is well known to many clients, not only as an establishment that pays close attention to detail, but as a place which maintains a family like people to people atmosphere. We believe this is what keeps our clients coming back year after year.

Today, Special T Unlimited does the large majority of all of our screen printing and embroidery in-house. We also apply custom rhinestone, metallic foil, glitter, reflective, and digital transfers in-house. Within the past year, our screen printing department upgraded to a new automatic press, which can produce up to 500 shirts within an hour. In addition to our new automatic machine, our screen printing department is loaded with two 6 head 6 color manual presses and two 4 head 4 color manual presses.

We have also upgraded our embroidery department this past year. We have added a new top of the line 8 head embroidery machine to our already stacked machinery line of five 12 head embroidery machines and three single head embroidery machines. It is safe to say that Special T Unlimited is more than willing and able to handle any and all of your promotional printing needs.

Special T Unlimited not only has created a family-like atmosphere for our clients, but the same is true for our employees. Many of our employees have been with the company over 37 years and their loyalty reflects the caring and dedicated nature and pride of ownership of my family. Special T Unlimited has proudly been “Covering Your Company to a “T” for over 43 years and we plan to keep pleasing clients for many more years to come!

Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
In order to be successful in the promotional printing industry, you must be creative, organized and personable. Number one rule of selling is that people have to like and trust you in order to buy. Otherwise, even if you are the most inexpensive provider you probably won’t get the job if clients don’t think you will deliver. One must be creative, because this profession involves having an eye of what colors would look good on a t-shirt or what items are in line with the brand the client is trying to create. Being organized will help in any career, just like ours where you need to help clients meet deadlines for events and outings.

But what I think really helps make Special T Unlimited different is the way we treat others like how we would like to be treated. We work for you. Essentially my families name is the door, so we all take pride in what we do and the services that we provide. I feel personally responsible for all of my successes and for all of my defeats, and luckily my defeats are small and we tend to always make lemonade out of the lemons. But nonetheless, I believe that is what makes us a great company to do business with. When you need your order, you will have it. When you call us, we return the call.

Dependability, honesty and professionalism is what we provide with every order: and with all of that comes a lot of hard work, another one of our specialties. And really, who doesn’t want someone who will work hard for them?

Pricing:

• 150 ‘Carnival’ pens with 1 color logo in 1 location at $58.50, plus applicable shipping and taxes.
• 250 ‘Basix’ pens with 1 color logo in 1 location at $77.50, plus applicable shipping and taxes.
• 24 Gildan ¾ Sleeve Baseball T-Shirts with 1 color imprint in 1 location at $11.00 each (S-XL) with a $35 screen charge if creating a new design, plus applicable shipping and taxes.
• 48 Baseball Hats with an embroidered flat logo up to 10,000 stitches in 1 location at $6.20 each with no set up charge, plus applicable shipping and taxes.
• 24 Baseball Hats with an embroidered flat logo up to 10,000 stitches in 1 location at $7.20 each with a $50.00 set up charge, plus applicable shipping and taxes.
• 24 ‘Antigua’ Polo Shirts with an embroidered flat logo up to 10,000 stitches in 1 location at $28.00 each (S-XL) with no set up charge, plus applicable shipping and taxes.

Contact Info:

• Address: 4835 West Butterfield Road
  Hillside, IL 60162
• Website: www.specialtunlimited.com
• Phone: 708-449-5550
• Email: carlibaldo@stusales.com

 

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