BIC Graphic And Norwood Complete Acquisition
Clearwater, Florida-based supplier BIC Graphic USA (UPIC: BIC) has completed its acquisition of Indianapolis, Indiana-based supplier Norwood Promotional Products (UPIC: NORWOOD).

"Norwood and BIC are similarly aligned in mission, values and culture," says Paul Lage, MAS, president of Norwood. "We look forward to the new opportunities afforded by their ownership. These are exciting times."

Total consideration for the acquisition is $125 million plus approximately $37.5 million in assumed liabilities. Norwood will now conduct business as a wholly-owned subsidiary of BIC Graphic.

"The promotional products industry has a great future," adds Nicolas Paillot, BIC Graphic Group general manager. "We're confident that the BIC Graphic USA and Norwood employees will work diligently to offer unparalleled quality and service to our customers and carry on the proud tradition of both companies."

Ennis Temporarily Idles
One Texas Facility
Midlothian, Texas-based supplier Ennis, Inc. (UPIC: ENNIS) has announced the temporary idling of equipment in its Bellville, Texas, facility effective August 31. The Bellville facility will transfer business, certain equipment and personnel to the facility in Ennis, Texas, during the next few weeks.

Terry Pennington, Ennis vice president, says a majority of Bellville's customers are geographically closer to the remaining Texas facilities and there will be no impact on the quality or delivery of their products. A portion of the Bellville staff has been offered positions with other Ennis facilities.

"The building and equipment from our Bellville facility will remain with the company in hopes that when economic conditions improve the facility can be re-opened," says Pennington.

Raining Rose Acquires Wisconsin Company's Promotional Products Division
Cedar Rapids, Iowa-based supplier Raining Rose, Inc. (UPIC: Raini224) has acquired the promotional products division of Wisconsin Pharmacal in Jackson, Wisconsin. Wisconsin Pharmacal manufactures brands for outdoor and recreation markets. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

"Due to ongoing growth in other areas of our business, selling our promotional products division to Raining Rose was a very natural move for us," says Mike Kermendy, vice president of marketing for Wisconsin Pharmacal.

Raining Rose will manufacture Wisconsin Pharmacal's lines at its plant in Cedar Rapids. Chuck Hammond, president and chief executive of Raining Rose, says the two companies have worked together for several years.

"As we have learned about one another, we realized it makes sense for each company to focus on the markets in which they excel," says Hammond. "We will work together over the next few weeks to make this transaction as smooth and seamless as possible."

ISERVCORP Releases Latest QuickBooks Plug-In
Irving, Texas-based business services provider ISERVCORP (UPIC: IservCo) has released the next-generation OrderTrax² QuickBooks Plug-in designed for
QuickBooks' Enterprise edition.

As a result, OrderTrax² is now fully integrated with all three business editions of QuickBooks, including Pro and Premier Editions.

"We are excited to be able to release this updated version of our plug-in for QuickBooks users," says Tom Gindrup, CTO of ISERVCORP. "QuickBooks is used by almost half of the promotional products industry. Larger distributors with more customer service reps use the Enterprise edition because of its networking capabilities, so now every company using QuickBooks can enjoy the efficiencies that OrderTrax² offers for their business."

ISERVCORP is a wholly-owned subsidiary of PPAI.

Tukaiz Announces Final Stages
Of Facility Expansion
Franklin Park, Illinois-based supplier Tukaiz (UPIC: Tukaiz) is in the final stages of completing a major facility expansion as well as extensive upgrades to its equipment and technologies. The facility's size has grown by 20 percent and is expected to enhance in-house capabilities.

Tukaiz can now provide greater fulfillment, warehousing and mailing services to its client base, according to a company news release. The initiatives are a response to evolving market demands for end-to-end creative production and fulfillment services.

PPAI Responds
To Wall Street Journal Article
PPAI President and CEO Steve Slagle, CAE, sent a letter last week to the Wall Street Journal in response to a recent article on state laws affecting the distribution of promotional products to healthcare workers. In his letter, Slagle points out that the article fails to address the impact of these laws on the promotional products industry.

"While perhaps an unintended consequence, this legislation will result in lost jobs and businesses for many promotional products companies with more losses projected," he writes.

Washington Counsel Meets With
Postal Service About Mailing Rates
The rising cost of services related to the promotional products industry includes shipping, and PPAI's Washington Counsel recently met with officials from the United States Postal Service (USPS) to discuss the impact of rising rates on promotional products mailings.

PPAI expressed concerns about the classification of mailings that often includes promotional products; calendar shipping rates were given as an example.

The postal service is also confronted by its own processing structure costs and a decline in overall business mail volume due to the state of the economy. Understanding this, PPAI plans to continue the dialogue with the USPS in hopes that the industry will see less of an impact from rising rates in the future.

PPAI Continues Relationship With Human Resources Organization
Late last month, PPAI exhibited at the 2009 Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) conference and exhibition in New Orleans, Louisiana. This was the third year for the Association to participate in the conference.

Keith Vincent, PPAI director of marketing, and Erica Edwards, PPAI communications coordinator, attended the conference as part of the Association's end-buyer initiative. PPAI surveyed HR professionals about their use of promotional products to motivate employees, boost productivity and improve customer service. The survey results will be available in the coming weeks.

Association Launches Facebook Page For End Users
Recognizing the increasingly relevant role of social media in promotional products business, PPAI has expanded its end-user education efforts by creating a Facebook page, "Come To Your Senses."

"Social media sites, specifically Facebook, are about assembling online communities and encouraging two-way communication between groups--in this case, the Association and the end buyers of promotional products," says PPAI Communications Coordinator Erica Edwards.

Visit PPB online to read more.

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As S. 301 Moves To U.S. House, Members Asked To Step Up Efforts
The Physician Payments Sunshine Act (S. 301), which effectively limits the use of promotional products by healthcare-related agencies, is now being considered by the U.S. House of Representatives as a draft proposal on healthcare reform called Physician Payments Sunshine Provisions.

PPAI has filed comments for the hearings record, but members are urged to make their voices heard on the issue. Visit PPAI LAW for a more detailed summary and to access a form letter. Phone numbers for representatives can be found at www.house.gov.

Scuttled Bill Attributed To
Industry Member Efforts
Mel Ellis, president of Portland, Oregon-based supplier Humphrey Line (UPIC: HUMPHREY) shared with PPAI the news that Oregon House Bill 2376 failed to receive approval by both houses of the state's legislature and will not become law this year.

Ellis sent a letter to his representative expressing concern that the bill, which required pharmaceutical and medical device companies to report transfers of value to doctors, at a threshold of $100 annually, would cause harm to his and other promotional products companies in the state.

"The nuisance factor alone would stop most of these firms from giving anything of any value to a doctor," says Ellis in his letter. He additionally called for the exclusion of promotional products from the bill, or at the least, a minimum per-item threshold value of $25.

PPAI Joins Petition Requesting
Stay Of Enforcement
PPAI has signed its name to a petition by the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) requesting a stay of enforcement regarding the August 14 tracking label deadline set by the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA).

In a separate letter to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), PPAI President and CEO Steve Slagle, CAE, reminds the commission of comment PPAI filed in April that explain the challenges of compliance for promotional products companies.

"These challenges remain and our industry desperately needs comprehensive guidance from the CPSC on the many issues we raised in those comments," Slagle writes.

Paul Lage, MAS, shares more about Norwood's acquisition by BIC Graphic USA on this week's Industry Show.

Delve Into Denim
Get your dose of denim in the September issue of Promotional Consultant, which features jackets, shirts, pants, skirts, aprons, totes, backpacks and caps. Audrey Sellers is accepting submissions for possible inclusion--just send product descriptions and high-resolution images by July 17.

Good Timing
The October issue of PPB features clocks and watches galore. From wall clocks and leather watches to desk clocks and metal watches, we want to see your newest timepieces. Send descriptions and high-resolution images to Audrey Sellers by July 17 for possible inclusion.

Best-Dressed Men
If you've got the apparel to keep guys looking sharp, we want to see it for the October issue of PPB. We're featuring a collection of the best garments specifically tailored for men including ties, wovens, board shorts, sweaters, jackets, performance apparel and everything in between. July 17 is the deadline to send apparel descriptions and high-resolution images to Audrey Sellers for consideration.

Share Your Sports Campaigns With PPAI
Do you work with a professional sports team? Be it baseball, basketball or badminton, PPAI's public relations team is putting together a collection of unique sports campaigns and would love to hear about yours. Send your best examples to Erica Edwards, PPAI communications coordinator, 3125 Skyway Circle North, Irving, Texas 75038.

A distributor asks: "One of my longtime suppliers just filed for bankruptcy protection but is still in operation. Should I continue doing business with them?"

What's your answer? E-mail answers along with your name, title and company name to Question@ppai.org by July 31 for possible inclusion in the October 2009 issue of PPB magazine.

Try This Twist On Connecting To New Clients
While it's easy to grouse and grumble right now about poor sales, not everybody out there is complaining. Those who have chosen to keep on truckin' are largely doing it through another old-fashioned but proven technique: networking.

Building The Future On Lessons From The Past
The nation hasn't seen any dust bowls or massive migrations of unemployed workers this year, but the stagnant economy has drawn constant comparisons to the Great Depression of the 1930s. A few companies in the promotional products industry have the luxury of hindsight and the history to prove that they know what it takes to come out of a recession relatively unscathed.

Age Matters
In this economy, you've got to use whatever advantage you can. To this end, established promotions companies with several decades-or in some cases a century or more-under their belts are leveraging those bragging rights into history-driven advertising campaigns.