Title Wave making a mark.

• Author: Ross, Ian
• Position: News

So long as companies and organizations want items like customized ball caps, t-shirts, sweaters, golf shirts, hockey jerseys, pens, calculators, rulers and golf balls, there will always be work for Greg Neethling.

As owner of Title Wave, a North Bay textile and screen printing operation, Neethling is forecasting a solid year ahead with an estimated tidy profit of $50,000, much of which he intends to reinvest back into his modest two-person North Bay company.

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"The sky's the limit and it all depends on how far we want to take it," says Neethling, 28, a Canadore College graduate of the graphic arts program.

Neethling began working for his brother Ed about four years ago before inheriting the business in 2001.

"I decided to take it on and give it a shot."

Neethling, who has been involved in the craft for seven years, runs a manual press in his shop that contains a showroom of all their printed and embroidered specialty items.

He works hand-in-hand with a sister company, Image Works, which is contracted to do the custom embroidery work.

The commitment to putting out a high-quality, durable product and spending some feverish hours in the shop is starting to pay off.

"We're swamped right now. We're growing and doubling our business from last year."

Business has grown mainly through word of mouth and customer referrals, he says. Neethling has focused his wholesale business on hockey and golf tournaments and community events to build publicity.

Along the way, he has steadily...