In the Middle of Nowhere. At the Center of Business!
"Colorado Printing," nestled in the heart of
America's (Wild) West and surrounded by an almost endless
expanse of nature, has developed into a modern print shop despite,
or perhaps because of, its challenging geographical location. At
any rate, customers are rather difficult to find in the
establishment's sparsely populated surroundings. This is reason
enough to go on location to find out the secret of Colorado
Printing's success - on the spot.
The sky is pitch-black and only occasional powerful bolts of lighting bring any relief to the darkness. A tornado sweeping over Colorado tosses the plane around in the sky on this scheduled flight from Denver to Grand Junction. Judging by the view from the window, you might imagine yourself to be in a submarine since the driving rain obscures the view entirely, and you slowly start to comprehend the need for the tornado shelters at Denver airport...
However, no one in Grand Junction, the destination of flight UE 995, is particularly bothered by the torrential rain. After all, it rains extremely rarely here - the last time was nine months ago. The undulating landscape around Grand Junction is sprinkled with mountains and canyons, as if moving to an internal rhythm, causing the air to flow over the country in waves. Precisely this natural phenomenon results in the turbulence which can make flying a true adventure even in good weather, explains Dan Thurlow calmly, illustrating his comments with carefully chosen gestures. With his businesslike tone and simple language, he gets to the point quickly and easily, an approach doubtless appreciated by his customers, too. Colorado Printing's managing director knows what he is talking about; after all, his tally of over 1,700 flying hours attest to his extensive experience as a pilot. And, as many of his customers are based far away from Grand Junction, he likes to fly them there in person in his Mooney. Ultimately - just between us - it is better to meet clients in person, says Dan. He is always happy when his customers accept an invitation to see his company headquarters in Grand Junction.
Grand Junction what? With less than 100,000 inhabitants, Grand Junction is not particularly high on the notoriety stakes, although it does have several attractions, the stunning, XXL western film backdrop deserving special mention. Grand Junction is located in the US state of Colorado, around four hours by car from Denver in the direction of Salt Lake City on the interstate 70. The city's most famous landmark is the "National Monument," where visitors can marvel at 1.7 billion years of geology. In the previous hundred million years, the area around Grand Junction, along the Colorado River, has fluctuated between the geological states of ocean, forest, savannah and desert, and, has, from time to time, been a giant lake. The land masses were raised up, worn down, raised up again and rinsed away by rain as a result of these changes. The harder, more persistent stone formations, which now stand as monuments to a bygone era, and the canyons, remained. Dinosaurs left their traces here too: The remains of a 21 yard (20 meter) long diplodocus were discovered on Dinosaur Hill at the edge of the city. This vantage point offers visitors an impressive view of the plain and the National Monument. A neighboring museum provides a detailed, in situ overview of the dinosaur heritage, while proof of native American Indians is preserved only in the form
of several petroglyphs.
Nowadays, Grand Junction entices visitors with a range of extreme sports, such as mountain bike tours, boat journeys and wild water rafting on the Colorado River and challenging climbing and hiking tours, all of which take place amidst breathtaking scenery. And the Arches National Park, famed for its bizarre rock formations, Bryce Canyon, the Great Sand Dunes, the Black Canyon or even the legendary Grand Canyon are all only a day trip away. But there is no real need to travel that far. Secretly, you expect John Wayne or a group of Indians to pop up from behind the next rock along the six-mile (ten kilometer) long loop road through Grand Junction's National Park. There is no denying that clichés from US westerns make their mark. And yet it is precisely this "central location in the middle of nowhere" which is responsible for the success of Colorado Printing and Dan Thurlow. Mysterious? Sure thing! So let's unveil the secret of the print shop's success.
You can download the complete article on the top right-hand side.
The sky is pitch-black and only occasional powerful bolts of lighting bring any relief to the darkness. A tornado sweeping over Colorado tosses the plane around in the sky on this scheduled flight from Denver to Grand Junction. Judging by the view from the window, you might imagine yourself to be in a submarine since the driving rain obscures the view entirely, and you slowly start to comprehend the need for the tornado shelters at Denver airport...
However, no one in Grand Junction, the destination of flight UE 995, is particularly bothered by the torrential rain. After all, it rains extremely rarely here - the last time was nine months ago. The undulating landscape around Grand Junction is sprinkled with mountains and canyons, as if moving to an internal rhythm, causing the air to flow over the country in waves. Precisely this natural phenomenon results in the turbulence which can make flying a true adventure even in good weather, explains Dan Thurlow calmly, illustrating his comments with carefully chosen gestures. With his businesslike tone and simple language, he gets to the point quickly and easily, an approach doubtless appreciated by his customers, too. Colorado Printing's managing director knows what he is talking about; after all, his tally of over 1,700 flying hours attest to his extensive experience as a pilot. And, as many of his customers are based far away from Grand Junction, he likes to fly them there in person in his Mooney. Ultimately - just between us - it is better to meet clients in person, says Dan. He is always happy when his customers accept an invitation to see his company headquarters in Grand Junction.
Grand Junction what? With less than 100,000 inhabitants, Grand Junction is not particularly high on the notoriety stakes, although it does have several attractions, the stunning, XXL western film backdrop deserving special mention. Grand Junction is located in the US state of Colorado, around four hours by car from Denver in the direction of Salt Lake City on the interstate 70. The city's most famous landmark is the "National Monument," where visitors can marvel at 1.7 billion years of geology. In the previous hundred million years, the area around Grand Junction, along the Colorado River, has fluctuated between the geological states of ocean, forest, savannah and desert, and, has, from time to time, been a giant lake. The land masses were raised up, worn down, raised up again and rinsed away by rain as a result of these changes. The harder, more persistent stone formations, which now stand as monuments to a bygone era, and the canyons, remained. Dinosaurs left their traces here too: The remains of a 21 yard (20 meter) long diplodocus were discovered on Dinosaur Hill at the edge of the city. This vantage point offers visitors an impressive view of the plain and the National Monument. A neighboring museum provides a detailed, in situ overview of the dinosaur heritage, while proof of native American Indians is preserved only in the form
of several petroglyphs.
Nowadays, Grand Junction entices visitors with a range of extreme sports, such as mountain bike tours, boat journeys and wild water rafting on the Colorado River and challenging climbing and hiking tours, all of which take place amidst breathtaking scenery. And the Arches National Park, famed for its bizarre rock formations, Bryce Canyon, the Great Sand Dunes, the Black Canyon or even the legendary Grand Canyon are all only a day trip away. But there is no real need to travel that far. Secretly, you expect John Wayne or a group of Indians to pop up from behind the next rock along the six-mile (ten kilometer) long loop road through Grand Junction's National Park. There is no denying that clichés from US westerns make their mark. And yet it is precisely this "central location in the middle of nowhere" which is responsible for the success of Colorado Printing and Dan Thurlow. Mysterious? Sure thing! So let's unveil the secret of the print shop's success.
You can download the complete article on the top right-hand side.
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