Visions Awards

Visions / Awardcraft, a leading manufacturer of corporate recognition awards, has acquired AITG, a nationally recognized business gifts supplier based in California. The move rounds out Visions / Awardcraft's comprehensive offering of recognition and employee gifts, while infusing more infrastructure and support into AITG. The company joins Visions Awards, Awardcraft and Craftsman Awards under the Visions / Awardcraft family of companies. For distributors, this translates into more product options and improved sales support complemented by Visions / Awardcraft's commitment to innovation and service. "Bringing AITG under the Visions / Awardcraft umbrella enables us to offer a broader selection of products and enhanced service to our distributors," said Dave Willis, president of Visions / Awardcraft. "Our expansion into the business gift market will allow us to deliver high-quality gifts more quickly and cost-effectively. As a result, our distributors will have more options and more solutions to promote in their markets." In recent months, Visions / Awardcraft has set its sights on growth with comprehensive acquisition and branding strategies that are redefining the company's offerings. The addition of AITG is the latest component to the company's acquisition strategy, which included the purchase of Craftsman Awards in January 2008. The strategy is not only building Visions / Awardcraft's product offering, it is also bolstering the company's distributor support capabilities. Its award-winning internal support team will be expanded, and the acquisition of AITG has allowed Visions / Awardcraft to establish a concentrated sales group on the West Coast. This new sales team will be led by Les Dorfman, who was recently named vice president of sales-western region. Dorfman will focus on serving new and existing distributors on the West Coast, and he will further refine the business gifts division and brand. The additional resources will enable Visions / Awardcraft to bring support closer to its distributors for faster, more personal service. "Les brings more than 30 years of industry experience and involvement to the team," said Willis. "Our West Coast distributors are going to benefit from his industry expertise and insight." Visions / Awardcraft has additionally promoted Bill Sarno to vice president of business development. In this role, Sarno will continue to develop new business opportunities both domestically and abroad, contribute to new product development and define new product categories. To build on the acquisition strategy, Visions / Awardcraft has launched a branding and marketing strategy that will help distributors distinguish between the brands that will best meet their needs. Jay Donlin, Visions / Awardcraft vice president of sales and marketing, is leading the charge to expand the company's marketing strategy and to align the Visions Awards, Awardcraft, Craftsman Awards and AITG brands. The company has retained Graphica, a Miamisburg, Ohio-based branding agency to develop a new look and marketing direction for Visions / Awardcraft's family of products. The comprehensive branding strategy and aggressive marketing campaign will be rolled out over the next three to six months, just in time for the business gift season to get underway, Donlin noted.