Teraco, Inc., an industry-leading manufacturer of plastic cards based in Midland, Texas, announced the newest member of its sales team, Laura Johnson. She joined the company recently as account executive for strategic sales. Johnson comes to Teraco with more than a decade of experience in the plastic card industry. She has extensive knowledge of card fulfillment programs and will handle strategic projects related to her field of expertise. “Her attention to detail and ability to work through the intricacies of complex programs is a phenomenal asset to any project,” stated Steve Pruitt, company vice president of sales and marketing. “Laura’s understanding of card fulfillment
Read MoreFranchise Services Acquires Signal Graphics
Mission Viejo, California-based Franchise Services Inc., announced it has completed its acquisition of Signal Graphics, a printing franchise operating 34 locations in 15 states. “We are delighted to add Signal Graphics to our family of printing and marketing brands,” said Don Lowe, chief executive officer of Franchise Services Inc. “We believe in our industry and are confident our brands will continue to lead in its evolution.” The Signal Graphics brand will become the fourth brand to be joined under Franchise Services Inc.’s print-management group, which includes Sir Speedy, PIP and MultiCopy. Steve Morris, founder and former CEO of Signal Graphics stated, “We are excited
Read MoreMediaTree Gets Green with Seed-the-Future Promotion
Parsippany, New Jersey-based MediaTree, a leading supplier of music download, ringtone and other digital gift-card incentives and promotions, announced it believes it has ushered in a new era in green promotions with its Seed-the-Future custom-branded tree cards. Seed-the-Future is an easy-to-use online promotion that is delivered through a gift card, Web site and PIN code. The Web site allows consumers to enter his or her PIN and have a tree planted in his or her name in one of seven forest reforestation projects worldwide. The site also has an online application that measures end-users’ effect on the environment by calculating monthly energy consumption.
Read MoreHanesbrands To Close Nine Plants Globally
Winston-Salem, North Carolina-based Hanesbrands Inc. announced continued progress in executing its consolidation and globalization cost-reduction strategy, which includes increasing production in Asia. The latest supply-chain streamlining, expected to be completed by the end of summer 2009, will consolidate production through nine plant closures in five countries in the Western Hemisphere, affecting approximately 8,100 employees. It also will complete the migration of the company’s large knit-fabric textile production from the United States. “We are making significant progress in expanding our supply-chain production capability in Asia and consolidating into fewer, larger facilities located in lower-cost countries around the world,” Hanesbrands CEO Richard A. Noll said. “Globalizing
Read MoreJournalbooks Celebrates FSC Certification
Journalbooks recently celebrated their Forest Stewardship Counsel (FSC) certification and commitment to be an eco-friendly company by honoring its employees with a steak luncheon. Plant Manager Tim Klima and production supervisors grilled steaks and served the entire staff. According to company president Tom O’Boyle, “The company cookouts have been a long-standing tradition at Journalbooks, however, the exciting thing was this event was paid for entirely through proceeds from recycling scrap-magnesium dies, printing plates and paper.” For more information on Journalbooks and its FSC certification, visit www.journalbooks.com
Read MoreBodek and Rhodes Adds Six New Lines
Philadelphia-based Bodek and Rhodes, one of the leading wholesalers of imprintable activewear, recently announced the addition of six new brands of apparel and accessories to its 2009 lineup. With the early release of their annual catalog in November, Bodek and Rhodes will now offer a total of 36 brands. “It’s all about giving our customers and their clients the choices and variety they deserve,” said Mike Rhodes, president. “We’re … making sure we’ve got the hot names people are looking for like Adidas Golf, which is new for us this year. We’re also making sure we’ve got a variety of styles and accessories to
Read MoreJoffrey’s Coffee Brews Java For Bloggers
Here’s some news that will surely keep bloggers up at night:
Tampa, Florida-based Joffrey’s Coffee & Tea Company announced it is launching a new blend, Coffee 2.0, as the perfect complement to the java-fueled techie. The blend is inspired by the more than 1,500 bloggers who participated in a recent java beta test coordinated by Joffrey’s Coffee & Tea Company, where they sampled its Jamaican Me Crazy flavored coffee.
Bloggers participating in the java beta test sampling program also filled out a survey about their coffee preferences. Survey results showed 93 percent of bloggers prefer regular coffee, while a mere seven percent prefer decaf.
Inoculation and Mutation
ON JULY 10, 2008, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), a large trade organization of pharmaceutical companies, substantially revised its governing code. Among other changes, PhRMA banned the use of promotional products intended for health-care professionals, with the exception of items purely educational in purpose. Slated to take effect January 1, 2009, the new code will cut the once-vast array of promotional products available to the pharmaceutical industry down to a few select items. Given these major changes, many distributors are surely wondering what their next move should be. To help explain which promotional items pharmaceutical companies are still interested in purchasing,
Read MorePin it Down
IT’S NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE to prepare an article on badges and buttons without at least one reference to flair. Yes, “flair”—a term made famous by the 1991 cult comedy, Office Space. In the movie, Jennifer Aniston plays a long-suffering waitress who gets chided by her boss for not adorning her T.G.I. Friday’s-esque suspenders with enough buttons, or flair. As he explained: “They come to Chotchkie’s for the atmosphere and the attitude. OK? That’s what the flair’s about. It’s about fun.” And with that, flair’s place in the cultural lexicon was secured. Cut to 2008. With nary a be-buttoned suspender to be found, can a
Read MoreFind Little Risk in Company Rewards
THERE IS NO soon-to-be-dropped crystal ball hanging in Times Square. Washington is not setting up for a gigantic fireworks display (Congress not included), and Mr. and Mrs. Joe Q. Public aren’t ardently making New Year’s resolutions, but none of that means businesses and organizations aren’t getting ready for the new year—a time when corporate gifts and award programs usually reach a triumphant end or enlightened launch. Yes, distributors, it’s time to start thinking about the season of giving. Get with the program A 2008 survey by Scottsdale, Arizona-based WorldatWork, a nonprofit organization focused on knowledge leadership for human-resources diciplines, stated nearly 90 percent
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