Casino City Press Business Profile: Sunkist Graphics
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Erik Black is the President of Sunkist Graphics. He got his start with the business as a youngster. The company has become an industry leader in design and print production for slot ma/chines, casino signs and lighting solutions.
Erik Black is the President of Sunkist Graphics. He got his start with the business as a youngster. The company has become a leader in design and print production for slot ma/chines, casino signs and lighting solutions. It survived a devastating fire three years ago, a worldwide pandemic and a casino industry that shuttered.
Sunkist Graphics was founded in 1983. It designs and prints special suited products for the gaming industry. Its current product line includes OEM and custom glass, reel strips, LED edge lit panels, casino signage, Slot Suits and video content design.
How have you managed to survive over three decades working in an industry that has seen drastic ups and downs and technological advancements during that time? Tenacity, hard work and a great team of people. In the early years, slot glass and large printed signage were plentiful. For the first 20 years the company was updating printing techniques and technologies to produce the finest products possible.
The Palms Casino in Las Vegas wanted to laminate all of the IGT Red Game King cabinets. They asked the company that was wrapping vehicles to do the same for slot machines. The company has done 900 cabinets at The Palm's and 44,000 games nationwide.
Sunkist has an exclusive deal with IGT. He has been a long-standing vendor to I GT. Igt produces legacy printed products for numerous cabinet styles. Old games in the field are too expensive to support. Sunkists has the same arrangement for Bally’s and WMS products.
Sunkist Graphics started as Sunkists Printing in Anaheim, California. Steve Black bought the business in Las Vegas in 1983. In 1990, Steve moved to Las Angeles and worked in the Production and Art department for three months. He was then promoted to Sales Director and in 2000 he became President of Sunksist.
In April 2018, a laser caught fire in the back half of the business. The team managed to save the production and clean the building. They relocated to Pilot Road in Las Vegas and hired a public adjuster to deal with the insurance issues. The business was relaunched a year later. It is closer to the clients. There is more collaboration and meetings at the new location. In the previous location, the weekly shipping totals dropped below 20%. It was closer than in this location to most of their customers. Now, they never missed a payroll. Their clients like the proximity of this facility. it is much higher than the old location and the collaboration is higher.
