Case Study

Leading equipment manufacturer
chooses CorelDRAW® Graphics Suite
to customize their products
Overview
Name: John Merucci
Company: Vaughn Hockey
Location: Ontario, Canada
Industry: Sports Equipment Manufacturer
Product: CorelDRAW® Graphics Suite“Being a professional designer by trade, I know what
other programs are out there and they just don't compare
to CorelDRAW. It's the easiest tool to use with the sameprofessional output as other software packages. We
couldn't do our job without it.” – John Merucci“We understand that we're set apart from other manufacturers
because of the overall appearance of our equipment, not just theguts of what they're made of,” comments Merucci. “Each of ourproducts needs to have its own identity, its own feel and its own
structure. You can't keep putting the same thing out year afteryear, or you won't last long.”

Vaughn Hockey is one of the world's top manufacturers ofice hockey goaltending equipment. The company serves
all levels of hockey—from small town leagues toprofessionals around the world—including the best of thebest in the NHL. For decades, Vaughn Hockey has beenrecognized as a pioneer in goalie equipment, building areputation for delivering cutting-edge designs on all its
products.

To ensure that their products are unique, Merucci uses
CorelDRAW Graphics Suite to turn a goalie pad into a customized
work of art. In addition to its yearly seasonal collections, Vaughn
Hockey also offers a retail line of products that enables customers
to submit their own custom designs for their equipment. Upon
receiving images and designs from the customer, Merucci and his
team use CorelDRAW to bring their designs to life in record time.

As the popularity of hockey grows worldwide, so does thedemand for new and unique equipment. To stay ahead of thecurve and attain a competitive advantage, Vaughn Hockey uses
powerful software to aid the design and manufacture of its
equipment. For the past 15 years, the company has relied onCorelDRAW® Graphics Suite to create the stunning graphics andeye-catching looks its products are known for.

“Some of our customers are very creative in what they send us,
with designs that are very intricate,” Merucci states. “Once we get
the design, CorelDRAW makes the process of customizing thehockey pad easy.”“When it comes to goalie equipment, new technologies arealways making it better, but we know the single biggest driver ofsales year-over-year is the introduction of hot new designs,” says
John Merucci, Head Graphic Designer, Vaughn Hockey. “To stayahead of the competition, it's important that we provide ourcustomers the look they want. The graphical aspect of ourequipment appeals to our customers. CorelDRAW Graphics Suiteis key to making this happen!”
Cool as Ice
Great graphics and an undisputable cool factor play a critical rolein the business of selling goalie equipment. To differentiate itself,
Vaughn Hockey realized early on that while a hockey pad or
goalie mask may be a commodity, the shell and overall
appearance is a big factor in driving sales. Each model andproduct needs to be different and unique from the competition.

The Personalization Process
The process of making unique equipment designs starts inCorelDRAW – whether the image was created in the software byMerruci and his team or sent in by a customer.
“CorelDRAW gets the process started. For example, whencustomers send us their designs, we're able to accept almost any

Case Study

file format. With CorelDRAW, I'm able toopen them and start working immediately,”says Merucci.
Merucci says for his work, Corel®
PowerTRACE™ is one of the most valuable
new additions to CorelDRAW Graphics
Suite. With Corel PowerTRACE, his team isable to recreate a customer's graphic twice
as fast as before, lifting the burden of
having to hand draw each image. “If thecustomer sends us a rough sketch, I canuse the software to simply trace or re-draw
the design, getting it ready for the next
step in the process.”
Once the graphics are finalized inCorelDRAW, Merucci outputs to a laser
cutter, creating a cardboard template. The
template is used to easily create thepatterns and cut the material of the design. Then, the teamstitches the design onto the pad.
When working on large scale custom projects like team pants,
CorelDRAW makes it easy for Vaughn Hockey to turn out top
notch products with unique designs in large quantities.

CorelDRAW – Vaughn
Hockey's MVP
In an industry wheresuccess depends ondelivering a customized
and unique product fast,
you have to get the design
right the first time.
CorelDRAW Graphics Suiteis the versatile tool that enables Vaughn
Hockey to put designs on pads and pantsthat otherwise would be virtually impossible to accomplish undersuch tight time lines. For Merucci and his team, the suite's speed,ease of use and flexibility score big points. “I've tried a lot ofdifferent programs, but I've never felt as comfortable with anyother software,” Merucci says.
Since standardizing on CorelDRAW Graphics Suite, Vaughn
Hockey rarely goes a day without using the application. Whether
they are creating their own advertising or stunning equipment
designs, CorelDRAW is an integral part of the business.
To learn more about CorelDRAW Graphics Suite, visit
www.corel.com/coreldraw.
.

“We do a lot of team pants, somewhere between five and six
thousands pair a year. To give them a great look, we embroider
everything,” says Merucci. “CorelDRAW lets us import any image
and quickly make intricate templates out of the design. We canthen cut the material with precision and send it to be sewn.”
Merucci says one big advantage CorelDRAW provides is thepower to quickly create various samples and different looks
before the final image is complete. “CorelDRAW lets us do quick
samples so we can see which design and layout will work best.
We couldn't do our job without it”© 2008 Corel Corporation. All rights reserved 12/09 JB#2494-09

United Kingdom