Company History | Andrews to Gallas

Who was Andrews?

In the 1930s, Henry Gallas was an auto mechanic with a passion for precision machinery and technology. His uncle introduced him to printing, which led to a position in a large printing company. There, he settled in his chosen profession that would span the rest of his life. Henry was ready for more—his own print shop. In 1937, he married, and five years later, Henry founded Gateway Printing with a $500 loan from his father-in-law.

Meanwhile, Henry kept his job at the large printing company and worked into the night with his wife in their enterprise. The couple operated the company out of their basement in Chicago—and it flourished. During World War II, Gateway Printing acquired a U.S. government contract to produce labels for shell casing containers.

Henry’s expertise grew. Chemists at Henry’s employer were trying to develop an ink that would adhere to plastic, a new substrate that was becoming more common. Henry solved the problem and gained recognition.
Over the years, Henry’s ingenuity, along with Gateway Printing’s production speed, attracted companies interested in expansion. One of those organizations was Andrews Decal, which had been founded by two partners, Nick Eberhardt and John Dibela in 1947. They leased space at 1225 West Cortland Street in Chicago. While the owners kept their other jobs, they hired Lee Andrews as their salesperson and gave him two shares of stock, worth about $100, for the use of his name so they could maintain their anonymity. Although Andrews left the company in the early years, just like Andrews’ labels, the name stuck.

As Andrews Decal grew, so did the need for space. In 1954, the company purchased property at 4436 West Fullerton Avenue in Chicago and built a printing facility. Andrews Decal’s need for industry expertise grew as well. The owners of Andrews Decal were drawn to Henry’s knowledge—so they acquired Gateway Printing in 1955. Henry Gallas became Vice President. He was pleased to remain with the company and became integral to its future. He was the first Gallas leader to have owned and managed the company. This Gallas leadership was just the beginning.

In 1978, Henry’s son Gary left his healthcare practice to join the family business transitioning from patient care to customer care. He gained prepress, pressroom and estimating skills while carefully nurturing client relationships. By 1983, expansion called for more space and the corporation purchased property at 6559 North Avondale Avenue in Chicago and built a custom label manufacturing plant. In 2005, Gary’s son, Mark left a corporate retail operations position at a Fortune 500 company for his passion for business development and growth. Here, he integrates and updates ever-changing technologies while pursuing Lean and ISO 9001:2015 standards.

Sixty-five years since Andrews was founded, in November 2012, Andrews Decal changed its name to Gallas Label and Decal—a decision that was not made lightly. The change reflects the ongoing leadership and commitment to excellence that helped the company prosper for decades.
Before the name change clients asked, “Who is Andrews?” Today, our name and leadership makes perfect sense.