Gary Finney was working for a hardware store 35 years ago, when the store owner began offering screen printed t-shirts and shoes.

“My dad started selling sneakers out of the back of his car,” said Gary’s son, Andy.

When the hardware store owner offered to sell the screen printing business, Gary and his wife Gerry jumped at the opportunity and opened Finney Sports. Since then, the business has become a family operation, with Andy and his grown son and daughter joining in.

Finney Sports offers embroidery, screen printing and sublimation to provide work and sports uniforms, souvenirs and branded clothing and marketing items. Finney Sports supplies organizations in their hometown of Plattsburgh, New York, and across the country.

The 1,200-square-foot shop relies on three manual presses, two older Lawson™ machines and a press constructed by students from a local vocational school with parts purchased by Finney Sports. At the center of the operation is the Anatol Vulcan gas dryer, which the Finneys added three or four years ago.

The Finneys chose the Vulcan after their ink supplier recommended Anatol. It took about two days to set up, and most of the work was modifying the shop to fit and vent the Vulcan. Once the machine was set up, it was up and running in no time.

The Vulcan has brought many benefits to Finney’s operations, Andy said. First and foremost, the dryer maintains an accurate and consistent temperature. The temperature is displayed clearly on the machine so the Finneys know the products they’re drying will be properly cured. The natural gas dryer also uses less energy, saving Finney Sports money on operating costs.

The Anatol customer experience also has made the Vulcan a standout piece of equipment, Andy added. Anatol support for the Vulcan has been readily available — the one time there was an operating issue, Anatol shipped the part immediately and walked Andy through replacing the worn-out piece.

Andy said he also appreciates the Vulcan’s safety features. If the dryer’s flames don’t ignite properly or if there is too little oxygen in the room, the dryer will shut off automatically and an alarm will sound.

In the end, Andy said the Finney family is pleased with the Vulcan and would recommend it to any screen printer in the market for a new conveyor dryer.

“It saves us a lot of time and money. I would definitely recommend it.”