For Immediate Release

Company Contact:

Margit Fawbush

Marketing Manager

Norwood Promotional Products

mfawbush@norwood.com

o: 317-275-2549

c: 317-833-7629

 NORWOOD ANNOUNCES CONSOLIDATION OF SOME MANUFACTURING OPERATIONS AND RELOCATION OF INDIANAPOLIS OFFICE

INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA (February 23, 2010) – Norwood Promotional Products LLC announced today a plan for the consolidation of some manufacturing operations and the relocation of the Indianapolis office.

 A strategic analysis of Norwood and BIC Graphic operations has taken place the last several months with the intention of improving the customer experience and streamlining operational capabilities in core product categories. As a result, the San Antonio, TX facility will be consolidated into other existing Norwood US locations and the support functions in Indianapolis relocated to Clearwater, FL. The move of both the San Antonio operations and the Indianapolis office is expected to be completed by the end of 2010.

“Our goal is to create the most customer focused and cost efficient organization in the industry,” said BIC APP Chief Executive Officer Nicolas Paillot. “These steps allow us to improve processes to benefit both our customers and the organization. The decision to close these two sites has not been easy and is not a reflection on the dedication or performance of our employees.”

The San Antonio site currently employs 345 associates. First consideration and relocation assistance will be given to San Antonio associates for open positions across the Norwood and BIC Graphic organization. The company will also provide severance and outplacement assistance.

Norwood Finance, Marketing, IT, Legal and Human Resource functions in the Indianapolis office will be moved to the corporate offices in Clearwater, FL and the 99 associates will be offered a relocation package to aid them should they choose to move. The company is dedicated to providing job search support and severance to those employees choosing not to move.

“In the long term, this is the right decision for the organization,” said Paul Lage, President of Norwood. “We are very grateful for the many years of service and dedication our San Antonio associates have given Norwood and hope that many of our Indianapolis associates will join the organization in Clearwater.”

 BIC Advertising & Promotional Products: Established in July 2009, BIC Advertising & Promotional Products is a leading global supplier of a wide range of custom imprinted products to the advertising and promotional products industry. In the United States BIC APP operates under the BIC Graphic USA and Norwood Promotional Products trade names.

BIC Graphic USA: A division of BIC USA Inc., established in 1969 under the name BIC Special Markets Division. BIC Graphic USA is a leading supplier of a wide variety of high quality, innovative custom-imprinted writing instruments and complementary products.

Visit BIC Graphic’s USA website for more information.

Norwood Promotional Products is an industry leading supplier of imprinted promotional products. The company offers nearly 5,000 products and is a market leader in several of the industry’s major product categories. Norwood also offers hundreds of products on 24-Hour service at no extra charge.

Representing the best of:

Automotive, Tools & Flashlights • Awards, Recognition & Gifts • Bags, Meeting & Outdoor • Calendars, Planners & Diaries

Drinkware & Housewares • Golf, Sports & Fun • Health, Wellness & Safety • Office, Magnets & Badge Holders • Writing Instruments

For more information about Norwood Promotional Products visit the company’s website.

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It seems like just yesterday that it was July and we were all wondering if we would ever survive the heat wave! Now here we are the end of another year and looking forward to a new a decade…and it’s COLD!! 2009 has been a roller coaster year for our industry and the economy in general. We have seen mergers, failures and everything in between but the old saying “work still works” will prevail.

2010 is going to bring fresh changes to the CAPPA Board of Directors. We are so excited to have four new members. I have had the opportunity to meet each of them and begin working with them and I must say that I think 2010 is going to be a great year for CAPPA!

 Darlene Kirk, Norwood (President)

 Matt Gledhill, Walker Advertising (EXPO Chair)

 Bill Collins, AJL Advertising (Education Chair)

 Scott Harris, Pro Towels, Etc… (Event/Social Chair)

Last but not least, a special thanks to: Matt Storlien, Rick Sepulveda, and Heather Nigh. Each of them gave their time, in 2009, on the CAPPA Board of Directors and we wish them well.

2009 was CAPPA’s 25^th Anniversary! We would just like to say thanks to each and every person who has helped to get us where we are today. Without those dedicated individuals you would not have awesome opportunities right here in Central Texas such as the EXPO, MAS/CAS education and much more.

Moving forward CAPPAChat will become your #1 source for all CAPPA news, statistics, events, announcements, articles and more. Plan on book marking our site and joining the conversation today!

We’re optimistic about 2010 and as you’re making your New Year’s resolutions, please consider adding CAPPA to the list We sincerely hope that you and yours have a wonderful holiday season and wish you much success in the coming year!

Early Bird registration, for the 2010 CAPPA EXPO, is NOW OPEN to all exhibitors! Click on the link below to view the invitation and register!

View the event invitation.

*EB Rates expire on 2.6.10

]]> http://cappachat.com/2009/12/18/ready-set-go/feed/ 0 CAPPA http://cappachat.com/2009/12/03/cappa-holiday-social/ http://cappachat.com/2009/12/03/cappa-holiday-social/#comments Thu, 03 Dec 2009 18:34:16 +0000 CAPPA http://cappachat.com/?p=559 ]]>

Come Celebrate the Season and share some Holiday Cheer!

The 2010 Board will be announced as well as: 2009 Supplier of the Year, Multi-Line Rep of the Year and the Volunteer of the Year.

Date: December 9th
Location: Nuevo Leon/512-479-0097
1501 E. Sixth Street
Austin, TX 78702
www.nuevoleoninaustin.com
Time: 5:30-8:00pm
Dinner: Complimentary Fajata Buffet & Cash Bar

To RSVP, please leave a comment or email debra@cappatexas.org

]]> http://cappachat.com/2009/12/03/cappa-holiday-social/feed/ 0 CAPPA HappyHolidaysLights http://cappachat.com/2009/09/10/social-media-revolution/ http://cappachat.com/2009/09/10/social-media-revolution/#comments Thu, 10 Sep 2009 05:14:19 +0000 CAPPA http://cappachat.com/?p=514 ]]> If you’re on the fence about incorporating social media into your business then please take 4 minutes and watch this video!

Post a comment below and let us know what you think…

You might ask what constitutes a success?

• Awesome suppliers and multi-line reps. who support CAPPA year after year and led to us selling out of booths this year. We owe you an enormous amount of gratitude!
• 289 distributors who showed up ready to engage and learn. Thanks to you, all of our hard work paid off in spades

Planning a 2 day EXPO is a monumental VOLUNTEER effort that begins a year in advance. I would be remiss not to call out a few special people who gave above and beyond what is required to make this event truly “The Best Little Show in Texas”!

• Rick Tabone (The Identity Group), 2009 EXPO Chair. It would take at least 2 pages to list all of the things Rick did for our show this year. Any event of this magnitude needs an anchor, head cheerleader, pilot and he definitely filled those shoes for us. Thank You for all you did for CAPPA this year… your efforts will be felt for years to come!
• Debra Stovall- I am not kidding when I tell you I don’t know what we would do without her. We would an unorganized bunch of heathens who did not know up from down Debra has been with CAPPA for a number of years and she continues to put her heart and soul into making us a better organization and for this we are eternally grateful!
• CAPPA Board Members- Matt, Ruth, Marsha, Rick, Heather, Terri and myself. Not only do we give our time to serve on the CAPPA board but we all have a hand in making the show a success.
• Volunteers (Matt Gledhill, Melinda Chandler, Sunny Araguz, Hilda Guiteriez, Collin Newmann, Bob and Audrey Elder, Forrest Stovall, Tyler Vaught, and Michael Burbank). Thanks to you we have fabulous pictures, check in ran smoothly and load in and load out were a breeze. Thank you so much for volunteering your time year after year… from the bottom of our hearts we truly appreciate you!

2009 was our 25th Anniversary and we hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony to start the show. It was attended by many of the CAPPA Past-Presidents, Jennifer Arriaga from HPPA, Kathy Schneider from PPAS, Larry Krause longtime CAPPA supporter, Steve Slagel and Melissa Hall from PPAI. Thanks for all your support over the years- we would not be where we are today without ya’ll!

This year we had lots of changes including a new day, new time and a new venue. I am very proud to say that all of these worked our to our advantage and we received glowing reviews from both attendees and exhibitors.

Planning is already under way for the 2010 EXPO. Please do us a favor and mark your calendars now for August 19th, 2010, in San Antonio at Live Oak Civic Center. You won’t be disappointed!

For details about the show, including an online distributor registration form, please visit: www.cappatexas.org

Note: Pre-registration ends on Aug. 7th but there will be onsite registration available.

We hope to see all of your smiling faces!!

P.s. If you have questions about the show please leave a comment below or email cappa@gvtc.com

If you need details about the show or to register online please click here.

What’s in it for me?

Distributors: name brand exhibitors such as Leeds, Norwood, 3M and the list goes on, samples, spec samples, free lunch and door prizes drawings for cash and an airline ticket! Click here to register.

Suppliers: the opportunity to visit with 250+ distributors! If you are not already exhibiting with us we have a FEW (less than 5) booths left. Click here to reserve your booth today.

See you soon!

Email me: jennifer@360promos.com

I can’t offer you money for your time but i’m sure, if you help me, it will improve your karma tenfold !