Consolidation is happening across the promo industry, and one of the latest notable transactions is Counselor Top 40 supplier NC Custom’s (asi/44900) acquisition of CPS/Keystone (asi/43051).
“Any time we do a transaction, it starts with the people, and [CPS/Keystone] has a great group of manufacturing and sales executives with whom we can do great things,” said Lance Stier, managing partner and CEO of NC Custom and a member of the Counselor Power 50 list of most influential people in promo. “I’ve been in this role for a while, and there are other transactions we’ve walked away from because we didn’t feel that right connection, but with this group we have, and we’re really excited.”
In this episode of Promo Insiders, Stier sits down with Counselor Digital News Editor Tara Lerman to discuss the capabilities CPS/Keystone will bring to NC Custom’s product offering and what his team is focusing on going into 2027.
Podcast Chapters
0:52: Behind the acquisition
2:32: The people and capabilities at CPS/Keystone
3:30: Doubling down on domestic manufacturing
6:30: Checking in on the Confection 360 integration
8:20: What’s next for NC Custom
