GJS, the sign, display and textile industries supplier founded in 1978 by returning Vietnam veteran Graham John Stone, this month celebrates 40 years in business.
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| The team at GJS in Sydney. |
Stone established GJS after returning to Sydney from active service in the Vietnam, where, during his deployment, he utilised his printing skills for the creation and dissemination of strategic allied communications as well as aerial photography.
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| GJS founder Graham Stone |
He started out reconditioning and selling used screen printing equipment but was soon manufacturing his own screen printing equipment to keep up with demand. Production continued at a rapid pace and by 1987 GJS was manufacturing some of the world’s largest screen printing machinery, including the AUSJET 5000 jumbo dryer.
After two decades of dominance in the screen printing space, GJS went online in 1999 with the Australian print industry’s first website and e-commerce platform and has continued to lead the way in digital and social innovation, becoming a leading provider of solutions and services for the textile, promotional products, custom photo gift, sign and display industries.
“Digital is in our DNA and always will be,” says Greg Stone, who took over from his father as managing director of GJS in 2012. “Very early in its introduction to the market, we identified digital decoration and customisation as the way forward and have strived to bring the best innovations and technologies to market for our customers.
“From identifying dye sublimation as an emerging trend and growing to become the country’s largest supplier of the technology, to helping Brother Australia bring to market its first direct-to-garment printer, GJS has always had a measure of what the next big thing will be in digital decoration.”
GJS has developed a business model that fuses together modern technology and solutions with a focus on old-school customer service and support. In 2015, it launched its first national series of Roadshow events, steering away from the traditional trade-show model with the goal of getting closer to its customers and adding value to their businesses.
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| GJS MD Greg Stone |
GJS this year launched its own knowledge base and ‘Creator Community’ to bring together digital decorators and share best practice. Now featuring more than 800 articles, how-to guides and instructional videos, the GJS knowledge base and Creator Community has become a go-to place for digital decorators Australia-wide.
In the last five years, GJS has doubled its headcount with the appointment of additional staff in New South Wales and new teams in Queensland and Victoria. It plans to double its headcount again in the next three to five years.
“There’s no other organisation better placed to lead the digital decoration and customisation revolution than GJS,” says Stone.
GJS supports an extensive range of print solutions including: heat transfer, dye sublimation, direct to garment, digital solvent and screen printing.
Headquartered in Revesby, NSW, with branches in Victoria and Queensland, GJS serves customers throughout Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands.
