Spector & Co. has announced the opening of its brand-new, state-of-the-art factory and merchandising studio located minutes from the Vegas strip. 

• With this expansion, the company effectively doubles its capacity to support distributor growth while jointly improving services to both American and Canadian customers. 
• “US expansion has been an objective of ours for some time now and with the recent hiring of new team members in the areas of IT, logistics, production, and fulfillment, we feel very good about taking this strategic step to better support our distributors,” says Rob Spector, CEO of Spector & Co.
• With this Las Vegas location, Spector & Co. will be able to offer improved logistics and reduced shipping times throughout more of the US, especially for distributors in the Midwest and western states. This also means a reduction in carbon emissions directly linked to transportation.

AAA Innovations announced that Cristi Meyer has been hired as its new national account director, managing many of the industry’s largest national accounts such as Staples Promotional Products, Proforma and Geiger.

• Meyer brings more than 25 years of experience in the promotional products industry. Most recently, she served as a national accounts manager with Sweda/Snugs and was previously an account executive at Corporate Express (Staples Promotional Products) for many years.

• “It is my great pleasure to introduce and welcome Cristi Meyer to our team,” says Jeffrey Nanus, CEO of AAA Innovations. “Cristi has been successful wherever she’s been and I could not be more excited to have her join our team! It is a very exciting time at AAA Innovations as we have put together our strongest product assortment ever and have added all the necessary resources behind it to continue to move forward.”

Evans Manufacturing has been awarded a Top Workplaces 2022 honor by the Orange County Register Top Workplaces.

• The list is based solely on employee feedback gathered through a third-party survey administered by employee engagement technology partner Energage LLC. The confidential survey uniquely measures 15 culture drivers that are critical to the success of any organization, including alignment, execution, and connection.
• "It truly is a privilege to be considered for this award and it's even a greater honor to actually win. Our culture is both employee centric and customer centric, which explains why Evans has won multiple Best Places to Work awards," says Ron Williams, Evans chief marketing officer.

Peter Cohen has joined the Outdoor Cap Company  executive team as the new head of product.

• Cohen has worked with many of the world’s leading companies and brands (e.g., LinkedIn and Levi’s), license-holders (e.g., Harry Potter and Marvel), retailers and supermarkets (e.g., Marks & Spencer & Sports Direct), franchises (e.g., Church’s Chicken & Hardee’s) and Amazon sellers.
• Cohen will lead the company’s product roadmap and global sourcing strategy.
• “Peter’s vast background in sourcing and product leadership will bring a high-level focus to crafting our strategic approach moving forward. He will be leveling up that approach, and our leadership team is excited to partner with him on continuous improvement of our people, customer, partner, and product experience,” says Outdoor Cap CEO Jeanelle Harris.

St Regis Group (PPAI 230188, S6) has acquired fellow Canadian-based supplier Clearmount Plastics Limited (PPAI 174351, S5), strengthening its position as a leader in the awards, recognition and corporate giftware space.

Clearmount, which also produces premier customized awards and recognition products, will move its staff and operations from Scarborough to St Regis’ Canadian manufacturing facility in Markham, about 20 minutes away.

“We’re really excited about the acquisition by St Regis,” says Kate Plummer, vice president of sales at marketing at Clearmount. “It allows us to grow even more. We’re able to expand our award capsules like our Arbre designs and build out our custom acrylic capabilities even more. St Regis is well established in the award space and our technical capabilities and skilled staff will bring even more to their offerings.

Plummer adds, “Clearmount will be a brand under St Regis and still offer the creative work and great customer service that we’re known for.”

Founded in 1999 with operations also based in Illinois, St Regis has expanded its footprint with mergers and acquisitions in recent years, including a 2016 merger with New York-based supplier K&R New York and the 2020 acquisition of The Book Company’s journal division, a Florida-based supplier of published books and journals.

A prominent longtime executive in the promotional products market is retiring from HALO Branded Solutions (asi/356000) – an announcement the industry’s largest distributorship made as it also revealed three key sales leadership promotions.

The Sterling, IL-headquartered firm with global operations shared that Dale Limes, senior vice president of sales, will be retiring in 2023.

Limes has been with HALO for nearly 19 years. He previously held leadership roles with other industry firms, including Top 40 distributor The Vernon Company (asi/351700). Limes has also served in volunteer roles, including leadership advisory council chair at trade group Promotional Products Association International (PPAI).

Paul Bellantone, Tommy Lewis, Dustin Wicks, HALO Branded Solutions

Meanwhile, HALO revealed that Paul Bellantone has been promoted to president of sales of the HBS division, while Tommy Lewis is rising to senior vice president of sales and business development. Dustin Wicks will now serve as vice president of recruitment and development.

“Our new structure will allow us to create breakthrough results for our current account executives by providing additional support for their selling efforts,” said Jim Stutz, HALO’s executive vice president of sales. “In addition, our growth tools and resources provide a compelling value proposition for industry selling professionals considering joining the HALO selling team.”

Bellantone, who was most recently senior vice president of customer experience, will report to Stutz. Bellantone previously spent about 20 years as CEO and president of PPAI.

Lewis has been with HALO for almost seven years, serving as national vice president of enterprise and program sales prior to his promotion. Reporting to Bellantone, Lewis will now oversee the HBS division’s regional sales management leadership and business development efforts.

Wicks has been with HALO for nearly four years, with his previous titles being director of business technology and sales systems product manager. Wicks, who will work closely with Limes before the veteran executive retires next year, was also previously a director of business development at Vernon and a national account manager at Top 40 supplier Koozie Group (asi/40480) when it was known as BIC Graphic North America.

“We have developed a deep bench,” said HALO CEO Marc Simon, a member of Counselor’s Power 50 list of promo’s most influential people. “These promotions showcase the internal talent we have at every level at HALO and the opportunities that we create to utilize the experience and expertise within the organization as we continue our unprecedented growth.”

Based on reported 2021 North American promotional product revenue of $822 million, HALO Branded Solutions ranked first on Counselor’s most recent list of the largest distributors in the industry.

Liqui-Mark will be the exclusive supplier of Zebra brand products and officially start selling the Zebra line of products starting January 1, 2023. This exclusive distribution agreement is only for promotional products.

• Liqui-Mark will be taking over all re-orders from the distributor network previously supplied by Gemline.
• At the initial launch, Liqui-Mark will be carrying select Zebra items, including its most popular stainless steel ballpoint pens, gel pens and mechanical pencils, along with its Z-Grip, Mildliner and Sarasa series of gel pens, including the X20 and Sarasa Grand.
• Zebra has decades of experience manufacturing high-quality writing instruments. Its design of stainless-steel products is recognized for high quality, value and performance.

American Solutions for Business held their third annual virtual award ceremony, recognizing all winners in one evening of celebration.

• This year, 26 award categories were featured across the board, honoring hundreds of recipients. ASB introduced three new awards: The ACES Ambassador Award for Sales Associates (Leigh Strong), and the Strategic Partner (Mel Bettua, HPG) and Top Importer (BamBams) awards for suppliers.
• Some additional categories were Top Vendors, The Horizon Award for Vendors, American Eagle and GPO Excellence Award.
• The Top Vendors: SanMar, Ennis, alphabroder / Prime Line, Essendant, ICS Corporation, Hit Promotional Products, KDM Products, S & S Activewear LLC, Dubow Textile Inc., Navitor, PCNA, Automotive Service Products, Abbott Label Inc., Lippmann Printing, Sterling Business Forms, Wise, Diversified Labeling Solutions, Wardkraft, Spectra Print Corporation, American Print and Digital, Gemline, Highland Computer Forms Inc., Sweda, Central States Business Forms, 4over Inc., Cap America, Royal Business Forms, ID Images Inc., Love Envelopes, Showdown Displays, Koozie Group

The Promotional Products Education Foundation (PPEF) is now accepting scholarship applications for the 2023-24 school year with a deadline of March 15, 2023.

PPEF's scholarship recipients are announced in early June each year. Since 1989, PPEF has awarded over $3 million in college scholarships to 1,618 promotional products industry employees and their children.

For the 2022-23 school year, $299,000 in total scholarship money was awarded to 162 students (130 new recipients and 32 renewal recipients). For 2023-24, $320,500 will be distributed among 170 students (138 new recipients and 32 renewal recipients).

Sixty-four available merit scholarships will pay $1,250 each; 102 available needs scholarships will pay $2,250 each; and four available chairman’s scholarships will pay $2,750 each.

Earlier this year, the PPEF Board of Trustees voted to eliminate the use of ACT/SAT scores from the scholarship evaluation process for a two-year trial period.

To apply online and for more information about the application process, visit PPEF.us/college-scholarships.

Staples Promotional Products is raising the bar for sustainability transparency in the promotional products industry.

The Kansas-headquartered distributor, a subsidiary of the office retail giant Staples, has announced the creation of what is thought to be the market’s first sustainable procurement platform, in conjunction with EcoVadis, a leading sustainability ratings provider for enterprises.

The promise is that SPP will be able to offer full sustainability transparency to every link in its supply chain.

“At a time when third-party suppliers account for 90% of total environmental impact, SPP is proud to be first in the industry to establish an unbiased sustainable procurement platform,” says Staples Promotional Products President Daron Hines. “We’re the first and only distributor that can offer stakeholders sustainability transparency for 100% of the value chain.”

The Deal

EcoVadis, which provides holistic sustainability ratings for companies, covers its clients' impacts in a broad range of measures, including environmental, labor and human rights, ethics and sustainable procurement.

Through the deal, SPP and its suppliers will be annually assessed and scored by EcoVadis. SPP had leaned on suppliers to cooperate with EcoVadis assessments in order to do business with the company, one of the industry’s largest distributors.

• SPP is currently the only brand merchandiser that uses EcoVadis to assess, score and report supply chain sustainability performance.

• EcoVadis also awarded SPP a Silver medal for sustainability after assessing its decoration and distribution operations.

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• Some industry companies have reported that their assessments have been tabled by EcoVadis for more than a year.

• Having already established a head start, Staples signals that it intends to push even further.

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• The announcement comes 11 months after Hines was named president of Staples Promotional Products, following stints at companies such as Morton Salt and General Mills.

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David McClintock, marketing director at EcoVadis, says, “By launching this sustainable supply chain initiative, Staples Promotional Products is directing their ambition to the point of greatest leverage to bolster their long-term growth and accelerate towards improved sustainability impact.

What It Means

Staples is not the only promotional products company that has engaged EcoVadis for ratings. Companies such as Gemline (PPAI 113948, S11) and Geiger (PPAI 105182, D12) have turned to EcoVadis for assessments of their own sustainability practices.

However, as the importance for sustainability assessments has grown, EcoVadis and organizations like it have developed extensive waiting lists for their services.

“While this is a significant first for the industry, it’s only a first step for SPP,” Hines says. “By 2025, our goal is to reach Platinum recognition level in our operations and have EcoVadis metrics that objectively demonstrate the most sustainable supply chain in the industry.”

“Having been rated themselves sets a strong example for their suppliers.”