Supplier Artistic Toy Manufacturing, Inc. (PPAI 110753) is under new ownership. Katrina Marshall, a former sales manager with more than 11 years of experience at the company, acquired the assets on December 29 and formed a new company under the name Artistic Toys & Promotions LLC. The business will remain in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

“The decision to sell Artistic Toy was a difficult one,” says Jim Socci, CAS, president of Artistic Toy Manufacturing, Inc. “I’d been considering it for a while, and in May 2017, I told the staff that I would be closing the business in December 2018. A few months after the decision to close the company was made, the team challenged me to consider selling them the business. Ultimately, they appointed Katrina as their leader and we worked together on an agreement of sale.”

Marshall credits her extensive background in handling multiple aspects of the company’s day-to-day operations, and her knowledge of the industry, for making the decision easy for her. Speaking to PPB Newslink, she says, “Having done almost every role here over the past 11 years owning the company seemed like a natural fit for me. I really enjoy working with people and forming long-lasting relationships as well as leading my team of employees and further developing them.”

She says that Artistic Toy’s customers shouldn’t see any effect on services and products. Looking ahead, she says, “I want to see the company to continue to grow and have many more successful years to come.”
 
Socci, who will be consulting for the new company going forward, adds, “I am humbled and honored to see Katrina take Artistic Toy into the future. She has a talented team behind her and a client base that loves her and our products.”