Born in a Garage, The RoArk Group Turns 40

There are numerous examples of successful businesses that started out of a garage.

One of them is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year in Rogers.

The RoArk Group Inc., a commercial printing company, was started in 1974 by Dean Garman and his two sons, Ron Garman and Don Garman.

Dean Garman owned a successful print shop in Wichita, Kansas, but retired to Northwest Arkansas, partly because of the lure of fishing on Beaver Lake.

He wasn’t in Rogers long before noticing the area was lacking in the niche of printing service providers, and Ro-Ark Printing Inc. was born. Garman ran the business from his garage for one year.

Today, Tyler Garman is the third generation of the family to run the company, housed in a 100,000-SF warehouse in the Rogers Industrial Park. Dean’s grandson and Ron’s son spent summers as a teenager working in the company’s warehouse, and was named president of the firm in 2006, when he was 28 years old.

Tyler Garman said the firm still prides itself on fostering a family atmosphere among its nearly 65 full-time employees. It is the largest printing and graphics firm in Northwest Arkansas (see list on page 10 of the print edition of the Northwest Arkansas Business Journal) and one of the largest in the region.

“That [atmosphere] is pretty important to us when we’re hiring folks,” he said. “We look for people that fit well and I think it’s helped us attract and retain some of the people we have.”

Garman and his mother, Sharon Garman, are still involved in the company’s day-to-day operations. His father, uncle and aunt remain “interested shareholders.”

Without disclosing specifics on revenue, Garman said TRG handles about 300 print jobs each month and handled hundreds of events in 2013.

The company re-branded to its current name in 2002 when it diversified into the special projects and trade show/events furnishings business. With expanded product and service offerings, the firm also moved into its new location that same year.

The mixture of retailers, suppliers and the agencies that support them has been a key driver of growth, Garman said.

“We’ve weathered some storms over the years, but I’m proud of our team and what we have been able to accomplish, specifically over the last 10 years,” he said. “We’re looking forward to 40 more good [years].”