CEO of World’s Largest Patch Producer Shares His Secrets to Success

Who hasn’t purchased or displayed a meaningful embroidered patch at one point in their life? Perhaps it was for a scouting merit badge, a military rank, a favorite band, or product. Maybe it was for a job you worked at or to assert support for a cause, agency, or political candidate. Or perhaps it was just to add flair to an otherwise boring piece of clothing. No matter what reason people have for displaying a personalized patch, they are always meaningful, and they rarely go out of style.

The impetus for this story occurred when I recently received a limited edition patch for a gift. As I admired the design, I wondered, “Who makes these, where and how are they made, and who are they making them for?” To answer my questions, I had the pleasure of being introduced to Randy Carr, President & CEO of World Emblem, a family-owned business in operation for 30 years that has grown to become a leading global supplier of embroidered patches.

Starting as an apprentice to his father, Randy has been World Emblem’s CEO for more than 20 years, and throughout his tenure, he has overseen the implementation of new technologies and methodologies that have led to World Emblem becoming the largest supplier of embroidered emblems in the world.

According to Randy, the South Florida-based company produces close to 250 million products per year – 50 percent of which are made and shipped the same day – including embroidered patches and emblems for sports headwear, footwear, sports garments, uniforms, and other apparel. Their markets include work uniforms, headwear, sports uniforms, apparel, footwear and promotional items.

To get a sense of the company’s size, World Emblem has 4,250 individual embroidery stations—the machinery that contains all the needles required to produce one patch at a time—and 1 million square feet of manufacturing and office space in Mexico, Canada, Europe, and across the U.S. With more than 1,000 employees worldwide, including a dedicated R&D team, World Emblem utilizes the latest equipment and state-of-the-art technology to manufacture and deliver large-scale projects to clients such as New Era, Aramark, Cintas, Perry Ellis, Levi’s, and the NFL.

“Local manufacturing from our plants enables us to offer our customers faster production and delivery times than overseas companies. For example, our facility in Mexico currently produces and ships approximately 60 percent of World Emblem’s orders annually, and expedited service allows emblems to be delivered to customers in as little as 24 hours,” Randy said.

The company holds 15 product patents and has a dedicated research and development team led by Manuel Figueroa, who started out at the company as an artist and graphic designer before managing the R&D team and co-developing some of the company’s most popular products and services.

“In the 30 years we’ve been in business, we have evolved beyond just patch creation. Today we offer decoration services where we can affix our patches to customer supplied apparel and perform direct embroidery on apparel items we’re provided or have in stock,” Randy said.

And with regards to advice for CEOs in the making, Randy concludes by saying, “Make your vision for the company as clear as possible to your employees and use it as the baseline for making all decisions. It’s important to spend time with your team to give them confidence in your strategy, so they have a clear path to success. At the end of the day, a business needs to be profitable, and that profit gives both employment and purpose to the team.”