Since Fernando Ullauri moved to the United States from Ecuador in 1985, he has been cultivating a career in screen printing. After working for several companies in the Northeast, Ullauri decided to start his own company in 1987.
Seco Silk Screen had operations based in Brooklyn for more than 30 years before Ullauri was given the opportunity and moved the company into The Accelerator location in New Windsor in January. While the move was a significant one for the company, Ullauri is excited about the new opportunities in store for the business that performs its printing by hand in an industry that is now mostly automated.
“We were located in Brooklyn for the past 30 plus years and last year I had the opportunity to meet people from The Accelerator and they offered me a place, so I took the opportunity to move to New Windsor,” Ullauri says. “It’s a new opportunity – it’s a very, very new opportunity – it’s nice to see how far we can get and to see that we start to build little connections as we promote the business in this area.”
Staying competitive
Seco Silk Screen prints on textiles as well as paper products, plastics and other materials. Currently, the business serves a number of local clients providing everything from logo printing on hotel umbrellas, to labels on glass bottles for perfume samples. Ullauri’s extensive experience with screen printing gives him the expertise necessary to provide comprehensive screen printing services to his customers. Seco Silk Screen prides itself on its ability to print on virtually any material. The company’s ability to produce unique products using innovative techniques is part of what gives it a competitive edge in the market.
“We’re doing printing on different kinds of materials like paper, cardboard, glass or plexiglass. We do anything. Any material that you ask us to do printing on, we will do it,” says Ullauri. “We’re also trying to create different techniques and effects…in order to do something different than everybody else.”
A family business
Since it was established, Seco Silk Screen has been a family business. Ullauri works with his son, Christopher, and his wife, Lina, who help keep the business running. Christopher focuses on product design, artwork and printing while Lina handles paperwork and customer service. Together, the family has built the business over the last several decades and continued to cultivate a customer base that includes musicians, designers, luxury hotels, conservatories, television networks and more. Ullauri’s friend, Jorge Mejia, also works in the business, handling most of the printing production.
As the business settles into its new home at The Accelerator, the team is hopeful that it will be able to cultivate a strong local customer base. With help from The Accelerator with business aspects such as planning, marketing and social media, Seco Silk Screen is on track to make a name for itself in a new market.
