Q&A with Wendy Miles Robbins, whose Miles Printing installed the All-Star court at the airport

Visitors flying into Indianapolis for WNBA All-Star Weekend (as well as those flying in and out for other reasons) are being greeted by a full-size basketball court designed and installed by a woman-owned, Indianapolis-based business.

The installation by Miles Printing, owned by Wendy Miles Robbins, is in good company with the firm’s previous projects. A century-old Indianapolis company, Miles Printing last year crafted decor for the NBA All-Star festivities, the U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials, and Taylor Swift’s three-night run in Lucas Oil Stadium last November.

Robbins—who initially planned a career in sports medicine—told IBJ that the company’s foray into sports work began in earnest when it printed thousands of Indianapolis maps for the 2012 Super Bowl. It has grown from there. This spring, staff from Miles Printing went out to Richmond, Virginia, to outfit the airport for the Atlantic 10’s 2025 Women’s Basketball Championship.

Miles Printing has 33 employees who work within 13 verticals—signage and display being just one of them. And Robbins said the staff is constantly working to innovate and be “a company of firsts.” Part of that work involves partnerships with other businesses, she said.

Those partners include logistics company Acción Performance and event planning firm MBSA Events, which Miles Printing has worked with for projects with The Children’s Museum, the Alzheimer’s Association and Dallara.

In addition to special event work, Miles Printing works with regular clients including Indiana University Indianapolis, Eli Lilly and Co., Roche and Elanco Animal Health.

IBJ talked to Robbins about the company and the additional spotlight from WNBA All-Star Weekend. The following conversation has been edited for brevity and clarity.

Tell me a bit about Miles Printing.

Miles Printing was started in 1920 by my great-grandfather. They developed a precision die-cutting technique for Western Electric, an old company that used to be here in town, and then that grew, and they morphed into a printing company.

One of their claims to fame is that they were a company of firsts. They were very entrepreneurial. They were the first printer in Indiana to use soy-based ink. We were one of the first to put UV technology into our offset process. We were one of the first printing companies to use 100% green energy.

So we continue to go down the path of being entrepreneurial and risk takers. We do a lot of difficult projects, just like the one that we did for the NBA All-Star [festivities].

When did you become an owner? How did that come to be?

I’m president and owner, and we became a state-certified Women’s Business Enterprise in 2006. In 2007, we became 100% woman owned.

So the funny thing is, I went to Purdue University and got my degree in sports medicine. I did not have any aspirations to work in printing. But between getting my degree and then going for a master’s degree, my father reached out to me and asked if I had any friends who wanted to be in sales.

And so I thought, “Well, maybe this could be a summer job.” So I said, “How about me?” He said, “OK, well, come in for an interview.”

And I did. I walked in with my suit and my resume and the whole thing, and he kind of looked at me funny. We talked, and he said, ‘Well, I’ll give you two weeks of training. I’m not going to give you any accounts because I don’t want there to be any nepotism. And in six months, if you don’t make it, I’ll have to let you go.”

I really enjoyed it because I really enjoyed working with people. I really enjoy solving problems, and that’s what it became for me.

And so fast forward to now: I’ve been doing it for over 23 years.

You were interested in sports medicine, and now, tangentially through the work you’re doing with sports clients, you’re kind of working in sports. Did you always have an interest in sports?

I had an interest in the behind-the-scenes kind of things regarding sports, like being an athletic trainer, how hard they work to reach a goal and the team building. That’s where my interest is.

How hard athletes work to achieve what they achieve has always been interesting to me and just fascinating. That kind of discipline can really apply to anything. I marvel at all the work that they put in to get where they are.

And then, when Allison Melangton, who was president of the Super Bowl Host Committee here in Indianapolis, [helped bring] the Super Bowl here—that really just blew my mind. She did an amazing job, and for Miles, that was our first toe in the water with sports as far as printing or supporting something like that.

We ended up printing thousands and thousands of fold-up maps for visitors who were coming to watch the Super Bowl. That was kind of our first taste. And then from there, the rest is history that leads us to where we are today, with the airport and all things we’ve been doing for the NBA, WNBA and the Olympic Swim Trials. We also worked with the airport on that stuff. So it’s just been a really cool journey.

What does it take to execute a big project like the WNBA court at the Indianapolis airport?

Well, it takes months and months of planning. To give you an idea for the NBA All-Star, which the game was in February 2024, we were talking to them in the summer of 2023. There’s a lot of strategic planning, a lot of details that have to be taken care of and a lot of collaboration and long, long hours.

My team has to be ready to go to the airport at 1 a.m. for installation. We also visited the basketball floor every so many days to ensure it was clear and the decals were still sticking. It’s a long and arduous process, but it is so well worth it, and it gives us a sense of pride that it was recognized the way it was.

You said that the printing industry is pretty male dominated. What is the importance of being part of something like the WNBA All-Star Game, which puts a focus on women?

It’s an incredible opportunity, and it also speaks to what we can do and what we’re capable of. I think women tend to be a little more self-aware. They’re really good problem solvers, they’re empathetic, and I think all of those things come together to create a unique company that can answer to our customers’ needs.

Being a part of a moment with the WNBA, when it is getting a lot of attention and its star is rising, is just a blessing. It’s awesome.

Do you have any ties to women’s basketball—or basketball more generally?

No, we don’t have any ties otherwise. But one interesting thing that came out of the NBA All-Star work we did last February was that it got so much press that the Richmond International Airport in Virginia called us to actually do their floor and their airport for the Atlantic 10 2025 Women’s Basketball Championship.

We flew out and looked at the space and ended up doing the install of the whole thing, which was really cool.

What has it been like to be on the receiving end of the attention that comes from these big projects?

It’s really exciting. We do what we can to get visibility out there, not only in Indiana but nationwide. But this just catapulted that and that effort, and it’s exciting to get phone calls like this, to get interviewed or get the Richmond, Virginia opportunity. Sometimes we’ll get a call out of the blue from a company here in Indiana that needs some help, and they just heard that this is the type of work that we do.•

­—Taylor Wooten