PPAI Hits The Road With SAGE: Three Cities In Three Days

PPB Editor Tina Berres Filipski traveled to Denver, Phoenix and Tucson last week as part of the SAGE Seminar Series and also stopped in to see three member companies along the way. The Series teaches distributors how to use SAGE products in a half-day education program offered each week in targeted cities across the U.S. and Canada through October. During the program, a PPAI staff member presents a 30-minute overview on PPAI member services and benefits to the distributor audience.

PPAI Editor Tina Berres Filipski visits with Russ Robbins at Archers Decorative Glass Corporation in Denver.

In Denver, Filipski visited with Russ Robbins, general manager at supplier Archers Decorative Glass Corporation (UPIC: Archer). She watched as freshly decorated glass tumblers were loaded into a machine that heated and set the ink, and then packed into boxes. Then it was on to see Mark Callahan at Denver supplier Amusemints. The company produces a round breath mint in a variety of flavors packaged in colorful tins for its retail and promotional products divisions. Amusemints was recently featured on the Science Channel’s program, “How It’s Made.”

(Left) An Amusemints worker packages the mints in decorative tins. (Center) Mark Callahan, Amusemints’ director of sales, pauses during one of the steps in the mint manufacturing process. The machine produces 1,800 mints per minute. (Right) Amusemints’ Mark Callahan shows off the company’s many packaging options to Tina Berres Filipski, PPAI editor.

During the stop in Phoenix, Filipski visited with Ken Kravitz, CEO at distributor Commotion Promotions, which was recently named a PPB Greatest Companies To Work For, toured the offices and met with several team members.

Tina Berres Filipski, PPAI editor, and Ken Kravitz, CEO at Commotion Promotions, chat during her visit to the company’s Phoenix office.

“This was a tremendous opportunity to see our members in their offices and factories, and get to learn more about the day-to-day operation of their businesses,” says Filipski. “It helped me to more fully understand how they work and how we, at PPAI, can better serve their needs.”

Click here to where the SAGE Seminar Series is headed next.