U.S. Rep. Jim Himes visited Prime Line, Bridgeport, Conn., on June 27, and offered to help the company relocate to a new facility that will allow it to continue to grow and expand. Himes, who is serving this third term representing Connecticut’s fourth district in the United States House of Representatives, met with Prime Line president Jeff Lederer, CEO Rick Brenner and vice president of operations Jerry Russo before engaging in a Q&A session with employees and touring the facility.
Prime’s explosive growth in 2014 has been fueled by the line acquisitions of Points of Light, Source Abroad/R.O.I. Line and Get It Global. “Building a bigger facility that is tailored to our needs will make it easier for us to sustain the high level of service our distributors have become accustomed to,” said Lederer. “Jim Hines is going to be our advocate as we go through the process of securing a site for our new building. He offered to help us any way he can.”
Russo has been working closely with the city of Bridgeport and Connecticut’s Department of Economic and Community Development, exploring various options for Prime Line’s expansion.
Prime Line has been a mainstay in Bridgeport since 1989, and is one of the largest manufacturing companies in the region employing close to 500 employees, many of whom have been with the company more than 20 years. “Having such long-standing employees at Prime gives us consistency for our distributors that is unparalleled in the industry,” explained Lederer.
The company has long been an industry advocate for regulatory compliance and product safety. Brenner, the 2015 chair-elect for PPAI’s board of directors, is part of a delegation of industry leaders that meets with lawmakers to discuss pending legislation relating to the promotional products industry. “It’s important that education goes both ways. We need to maintain close relations with government regulatory staff to educate them about our industry so they can apply their rules in meaningful way,” said Brenner. “In turn, we need an ongoing dialog with government officials so that we can understand what’s going on in their world as it relates to ports, customs, etc.,” he added.
For more information, visit www.primeline.com.
