PPAI officially concluded the 2023 Women's Leadership Conference in Eagan, Minnesota on Tuesday evening, but the experience didn't end there for many attendees. With the event conveniently located near the headquarters of many key suppliers and distributors, a significant number of the women traveling for the conference were able to pay a visit to key business partners.

The supplier hosting the most visitors was Showdown Displays (PPAI 254687, S11), which on Wednesday morning threw open the doors at its Ramsey, Minnesota production facility and nearby Brooklyn Center corporate headquarters for roughly two dozen industry professionals, including PPAI staff, to tour and ask questions.

Visitors saw the company's unique processes and printing capabilities, and got to ask questions to leaders including CEO John Bruellman and president and PPAI board chair Kevin Walsh, CAS. Later, the team even had the opportunity to pose for photos with "Dash," Showdown's ninja mascot.

Walsh explained that the company chose a ninja because it seeks to be a "a silent partner" to its clients, moving swiftly and quietly to fulfill their needs. Showdown's operation in many ways is focused on making the complex looks easy. Consider:

  • Roughly half of the orders Showdown fulfills are for quantities of one.
  • The company is able to create displays in every color across the spectrum rather than being limited to dozens or even hundreds.
  • Ninety-nine percent of orders are shipped on-time, beating the PPAI 100 supplier average, and less than 2% are flagged with printing errors.


Showdown is the No. 14 supplier on the recently-released PPAI 100 list of industry leaders. It brought in $103 million in 2022 and has seen its business grow 13% since 2019, owing those results in part to the industry's faith in the company to deliver on its promises, for which it earned PPAI 100 high marks. Showdown has an A+ SAGE rating.

Walsh said Showdown's success is not by accident, emphasizing the key processes and metrics that have created success in every aspect of the business.

"Keep the welders welding," he says of the philosophy that each job function, whether on the factory floor or in customer service, is clearly defined so that team members can focus on their expertise and deliver for clients through standard operating procedures. The culture has been engineered to incentivize customer satisfaction by rewarding employees, following a formula Walsh calls EX=CX2 which relates employee experience to magnified customer experience. 

"Our team truly is the difference," Walsh says.