Bright Ideas … Part 2

Last year was so chock-full of great ideas, we couldn’t fit them all into our 2009 Sales Outlook. Below, you’ll find the tips we just couldn’t squeeze in.

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Cedar Crest Manufacturing Begins Operations

Cedar Crest Manufacturing, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, a new supplier of writing instruments to the promotional products industry. Founded by a team of former Norwood/Souvenir staff, the company offers a distribution network with more than 80 years of experience.

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Norwood Announces Exclusive Agreement with Cleveland Golf

Norwood Promotional Products, based in Indianapolis announced they have entered into an agreement with Cleveland Golf for the 2009 selling year. Norwood will feature Cleveland hard goods and accessories and will be the exclusive supplier of the Cleveland Custom Logo Wedge line—a line that provides laser-engraved a corporate logos on wedge heads.

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Norwood Provides Educational Solution To New PhRMA Code

Indianapolis-based Norwood Promotional Products announced the company’s calendar products, as branded, customizable, educational materials would fall within the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) guidelines. The newly revised PhRMA code reaffirms that interactions between company representatives and health-care professionals “should be focused on informing the healthcare professionals about products, providing scientific and education information, and supporting medical research and education.” Among the specifics, the revised code prohibits distribution of noneducational “reminder” items such as pens, mugs, and other objects that might have previously been imprinted with the pharmaceutical company’s logo. Norwood believes custom calendars, planners and diaries offer educational real estate that can

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Norwood To Relocate Flood-Ravaged Souvenir Writing Instruments Division

Indianapolis-based Norwood Promotional Products announced the company will relocate its Souvenir Writing Instruments operation to its Red Wing, Minn. facility. The Souvenir Writing Instruments facility was catastrophically impacted by the June flood of the Cedar River and has been operating out of the Red Wing site since that time. “Since it was quickly apparent that returning to the Souvenir facility would be a risk—both to the business and the safety of our employees,” explained Paul Lage, president and CEO of Norwood, “we [had] been temporarily operating Souvenir out of Red Wing.” During that time, Norwood conducted an evaluation of available production sites

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Safety Dance

If one thing became clear this year regarding product responsibility, it’s there will never be a time when suppliers can sit back and sigh in relief that they’ve finally mastered the safety jive everyone’s been talking about. The reason is simple: just when a company feels it’s got its groove down pat, a few new moves get thrown in, the music falls out of time and toes are inevitably squashed. But the beat goes on. Product-safety education is an ever-evolving quagmire of state and federal legislation, new studies uncovering the next potentially dangerous chemical and pending product recalls. This article is a comprehensive overview

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Norwood Makes Major Price Announcement

Indianapolis-based Norwood Promotional Products announced it will demonstrate its ongoing commitment to distributor partnerships by holding prices for the remainder of 2008. Though many suppliers are raising prices due to rising costs of raw materials, freight, fuel and the declining value of the U.S. dollar, Norwood said it is committed to its current pricing and continues to offer customers more services to help boost sales during these challenging economic times. “We understand that distributors have made their own commitments to customers regarding pricing for the year and Norwood is doing what it can to support them during these tough economic times,” said Jim Simone,

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