In 1960, our founder, Orville Bauman, set the foundation for the business by using his New Hermes pantograph engraver part-time to produce quality nametags and signage to local industries and businesses in the U.P. of Michigan and northern Wisconsin. He firmly believed in the ultimate satisfaction of the customer by fulfilling their orders in a personalized, timely, and courteous manner - all at a fair price. His son, Dean Bauman, began working part-time alongside Orville in 1981 by adding his years of industrial management expertise to his dad's engraving business (which was growing fast by word-of-mouth advertising).

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In 1991 Dean took over ownership and operation of the business. Due to Bauman Engraving's rapid growth in the late 1990's, Tom Dudek was a welcome addition with his technical and business background to manage our national accounts and online presence, as well as adding additional support staff and equipment to help process customer orders. Fast forward many years, today Tom is the sole owner and President of Bauman Engraving & Signs, Inc. and takes customer and employee satisfaction as well as production capabilities very seriously, as it is the lifeblood of small business. Having worked in corporate, industrial, and retail capacities in his past endeavors with interaction with many "mentors", Tom's background taught him that the "why" you are in business is the most important aspect of all. And if the entire team knows about the "why", it translates into a productive and profitable workplace. Investing in people and infrastructure helps facilitate growth and makes our business healthy and able to continue to service our customers years later when they need experience and competency in completing their projects.  We've been doing this for over 20 years, and we have learned a thing or two.

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In 2016 a major two-story addition to our facility was completed, expanding our production area that we desperately needed in addition to a training and conference room and additional offices and storage space. We currently have six full-time employees, and two part-time, each with an eye for detail and great work ethic. It is truly an honor to work with such a great combination of people that exceed our customer's expectations.

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Interesting aspects of our area include having the Ford Motor Company operate a very large (even by today's standards) assembly plant here from the early 1920's until the early 50's, and Kingsford Charcoal originated here (a byproduct of the wood used in Ford's production of "woodie" vehicles and WWII CA4G gliders). Recently the stars of the History Channel television show The Curse of Oak Island, brothers Rick and Marty Lagina, grew up here (Rick still lives here in the winter months, while Marty now resides in Traverse City running a winery and also owns a company specializing in wind energy).  In addition, former NFL football coach Steve Mariucci and Michigan State basketball coach Tom Izzo are also from the area.