Bob Stoltz, president of Sanford Business-to-Business, based in Jamesville, Wis. today announced the acquisition of the Providence, R.I. Quill Company, Inc., a major supplier of writing instruments since 1945. Aram Tessier, the founder of Quill, originally T&T Manufacturing, developed and patented the signature, high-quality twist action pen mechanism that remains in production today.
When asked how the Quill line fits into Sanford’s current product offerings, Stoltz responded, “Quill is a nice spot between the very high end where we have Parker and Waterman, and the everyday writing category of Paper Mate. So it’s a perfect fit.”
Quill will turn over all equipment and intellectual property when the deal officially closes on January 31, 2007. Then the entirety of Quill’s production equipment will be relocated to Sanford’s base of operations. “We have time for a smooth transition and to make sure we take care of our customers,” Stoltz explained. “We’ll have communications going out to customers that outlines the transition plan during the month of January.” Stoltz feels that the transition will be complete by March 1, 2008.
Further, the Quill line will integrate with the present Sanford national direct sales force and management. Stoltz does not foresee any interruption or disruption of services to current customers. In fact he adds, “We’ll have much greater exposure with distributors.”
“We’re just very happy,” said Stoltz “We’ve got a great range of products under our belt and they’ve got a great reputation of quality and service. We look to build on that. We think it has a lot of new product potential, so we’re very excited.” Sanford Business-to-Business currently holds nine product lines including, Paper Mate, Sharpie, Parker, Waterman and others.
