Racing leads to business idea

• No Limit Graphics

Brian Korthals/Daily Globe Jeremy Van Ede stands in the production area of his No Limit Graphics business in rural Adrian.

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ADRIAN — Jeremy Van Ede drives hobby stock cars.

And he’s pretty good at what he does.

“My dad used to race when I was younger,” Van Ede said. “After I graduated high school, I went into the Air Force for six years and I came back and started racing again.”

Through his racing, he came up with the idea for No Limit Graphics, his newest business venture.

“I can do anything with vinyl lettering,” Van Ede said. “I can wrap race cars. I race, so that’s kind of how I started getting into it. Last April I got the machines and wrapped my race car a week after I got them. Since then, I’ve started to wrap anything else.”

Van Ede, who races in Worthington and Slayton on a weekly basis and goes to other tracks for special races, is in the hobby stock class. A year ago, with his newly-wrapped car, he won the points championship in Worthington and was second in Slayton — by one point.

He can do any graphics from business signs to big banners to golf carts and semi trucks.

Van Ede can print as big as 60 inches wide, allowing him to take on projects of any size.

“If you wanted a full wrap on a car, you wouldn’t have any seams anywhere except the normal seams,” he said.

Van Ede was working with his dad in Bigelow, but decided to branch out from the family business.

“I wanted to try my own thing,” he said. “I didn’t know if I was going to start a business or anything. Initially, I just got the machines and then if I could do it, I was going to do it. If I couldn’t, I was going to go to school for it. It’s worked out so far.”

After he bought his equipment and wrapped his own car, family members became his first customers.

“It was good practice for me,” he said. “I did a trailer for my brother-in-law and yard signs for my brother and sister-in-law. I did one more race car last year during the season and this year I have nine lined up to wrap before the season.

“I was actually pretty amazed with it with the first one I did — my car. Everybody liked it.”

Van Ede has been learning as he goes, but has picked it up very quickly.

“The hardest part is trying to figure out new things that you haven’t seen before,” he said. “That takes time doing that. Using the equipment has been fairly easy.”

One of the best parts for Van Ede has been his interactions with the customers.

“The best part would be after the work is done and the customer sees it and they haven’t seen it before,” he said. “It’s new to them and it’s theirs. It’s one of a kind for them.”

When a customer brings Van Ede a vehicle or idea, he first takes a picture of the area where the graphics would go.

“When they stop by, I take some ideas from them and then I’ll take a picture of whatever they want it on,” he explained. “I give them three or four different options on the computer and give a picture to them and they decide from that. Once we decide what we’re going with, within a day I can usually do graphics.”

No Limit Graphics can be reached at (507)-483-2224.

Readers can reach Community Content Coordinator Aaron Hagen at 376-7323.

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