WINNING EDGE CLOSES IN ON 50 YEARS OF BUSINESS
Winning Edge USA, LLC
618-533-2393
120 S. Poplar St., Centralia, IL
http://winningedgeusa.com/
Since 1977, the Knolhoff family has served the Centralia community and beyond through their long-running legacy business, Winning Edge.
Originally Centralia Trophies and later Spirit of Shirts under founders Doug and Donna Knolhoff, the couple ultimately combined those business models in the late ‘80s to create Winning Edge, an imprint company specializing in screen-printing, plaques and trophies.
Owned by Doug and Donna’s son, Chad Knolhoff, since 2014, the business continues in its mission to be a community-driven outlet that puts the quality of their products and the satisfaction of their customers first.
“One of my dad’s philosophies that I have carried on is that there are three things about business: You have price, quality and service. Those are the three elements, and he said you can’t do all three of them at once,” Chad said. “So, we have always focused on quality first, then customer service, and then price.”
Price is important, and you do have to be competitive,” he continued. “But I want to be able to walk down the street and pass someone we did a job for and not want to walk to the other side of the street because we didn’t do a good job. There’s a pride factor there. It’s about doing a great job and giving the customers what they need.”
Having been raised in the family business, Chad said he caught the bug for his parents’ business early in life and has always maintained his passion for the job.
“I have grown up in this business and have worked in it all along,” said Chad. “I’ve always had an interest in this work. The variety of it has always intrigued me. Probably the biggest thing that drives me is that uniqueness or the ability to meet a customer’s needs.”
“I am not a factory person doing the same thing over and over,” Chad continued. “Here, even though we screen-print thousands of t-shirts each year, everybody isa little different in how we design it, how we go about the job, or even creating a new process that will make it better or more unique. That’s really what drives me.”
Having worked in the business for decades, Chad said he has seen many significant changes in the screen-printing industry, most of which arose within the last two decades.
“Not much had changed early on, it was pretty stable,” he said. “In the last 15, maybe 20 years, it’s really changed. There is a lot more variety, there’s a lot more we can do as far as products and printing.”
Chad said a majority of Winning Edgel’s sales come from clients within a 45-mile radius, in addition to both regional and national contracts.
Despite the reach, however, Chad and his employees have remained committed to supporting Centralia and continuing Doug and Donna Knolhoff’s legacy of hard work and community spirt.
“I’m proud,” said Chad. “The base to my family all along has been a hard work ethic and doing what’s right. That’s the way my parents ran the business, and that’s the way I run the business.”
