Norwood Promotional Products

IN 1905 ALBERT Einstein published his theory of special relativity. The theory, which has since been proven correct by experiments, revealed one of the most startling truths about the way the world works: Time changes depending on who is observing it. It seems counter-intuitive when dwelled upon, but most people have experienced it in some way. Einstein himself described the phenomena to the masses with a quirky analogy. He said if a person touches something hot for a minute, it will seem like an hour, but if he or she sits with a lover for an hour, it will seem like a minute. “That’s

LOYALTY HOLDS POWERFUL sway over many people’s actions. It is difficult to settle for good when the best is just a little further. Loyalty will see the extra mile traveled, the extra call made and the extra cost paid. Often, it is a result of superior quality or superior service, while other times familiarity can be held accountable, and yet other people will have a simple affection toward a brand. This is the dream of any corporation: To be known of not as a source, but as the definitive source for a commodity. Promotional Marketing’s 2007 Supplier Excellence Awards recognize the best in more

Norwood Promotional Products, Indianapolis, will replace its points-for-purchase program (Norwood Rewards) with an improved rebate program. Norwood has earmarked the funds used to operate its Rewards program for an expanded 2008 Distributor Volume Rebate Program. Distributor principals will be contacted directly with details about the new rebate program. Norwood Rewards was launched in 2003 with the intent of creating a positive incentive for distributor salespeople to sell Norwood products. The program, however, has generated some concerns from distributor principals. “We’re committed to honoring the supplier-distributor principal relationship,” noted Paul Lage, Norwood president. “[Norwood Rewards] is perceived to be in conflict with that relationship and we want

Norwood Promotional Products, Indianapolis, has announced the promotion of Kelly Rezansoff to the newly created position of vice president of customer relations and Richard Cordaro has joined the company as vice president of pharmaceutical sales, also a newly created position. According to company personnel, Rezansoff’s position was formulated to “cultivate, implement and measure processes that will create highly responsive customer care throughout Norwood.” As the executive leader for the front-end teams at the company’s five manufacturing locations, Rezansoff’s primary objective is to achieve Norwood’s mission of delivering a positive distributor experience. “Customer experience is our number one priority. Given that our customer service

Norwood Promotional Products, Indianapolis, announced today that Jim Simone has been hired as senior vice president and chief marketing officer. Simone has held key marketing roles in the promotional products industry for more than 16 years, including management positions with several distributorships. He most recently served as the marketing and merchandising manager for Oriental Trading Company where he created the company’s highly successful promotional products division. “We’re building our executive team around high-caliber, industry-focused individuals,” noted Paul Lage, president. “This isn’t the same team that was in place a year ago. Jim brings a critical distributor perspective to our organization. He knows what distributors

Production of Indianapolis-based Norwood’s Barlow and V-Line product lines has successfully transferred from Los Angeles to the company’s Red Wing, Minn., facility, which also houses other Norwood lines, including Action Line, Econ-O-Line, Pillowline and Tee Off. Norwood began transferring production to the Red Wing plant when it announced the closure of its Los Angeles facility in June. “The transfer of production went very smoothly,” noted Tim Dunford, general manager. “Our customers experienced no disruption in production, quality or customer service during the move.” Distributors may continue to use the published telephone/fax numbers and e-mail addresses for Barlow and V-Line. Postal mail and packages

In an effort to learn how it could better serve distributors and improve its overall service, Norwood Promotional Products, Indianapolis, recently hosted a focus group consisting of eight distributors, dubbed “The Mighty 8.” “Getting feedback was important to us because we wanted to learn how we could give our distributors the best service, which may include calling more often, improving order status or helping them custom-source products,” explained Allison Avin, manager of marketing communications. Members of Norwood’s leadership team, including company president Paul Lage, engaged the group in dialogue about the company’s perception in the industry, its past performance and plans for the

Norwood Promotional Products, Indianapolis, recently announced the promotion of two account managers to sales management positions. Kevin Wicks, a 15-year Norwood veteran, has been promoted to vice president of sales of the central region. He will lead account managers in the Midwest, representing all Norwood product lines except dated products. Prior to joining Norwood, Wicks spent several years in marketing and sales roles for various industry suppliers. Michael Clark, who joined the company in 2004, has been promoted to vice president of national accounts. Clark made the transition into promotional products after working for several years in the incentives industry. He will join

Norwood Hires CFO Norwood Promotional Products, Indianapolis, announced Bill Steckel has joined its executive team as senior vice president, CFO and treasurer. Steckel, a CPA, has spent his career in a broad range of senior finance and general management positions, primarily with global firms that manufacture and distribute electronics. Most recently, he served as president of Lambda Power, a division of Invensys, San Diego. “We are very thrilled to have an executive of Bill’s caliber join the Norwood Promotional Products team,” said Frank Bellis, CEO. “In addition to his financial prowess, he also brings a natural leadership ability that will be crucial in helping Norwood achieve

Norwood Confident Against Roller Lawsuit “We are confident that the evidence will show Mr. Roller’s allegations are false and without merit,” said Frank Bellis, CEO of Norwood Promotional Products, Indianapolis, in a statement released by the company's counsel, Jonathan Polak. “We look forward to disproving Mr. Roller’s claims during arbitration, as required by his employment agreement.” According to a release issued by PPAI, Bellis’ statement is in response to a suit filed by former Norwood CEO Thomas Roller alleging that upon his termination last December, he was told that 6,000 shares of Preferred Stock given to him as part of Norwood’s debt/equity restructuring in 2004 were