PPB August 2020

$50,000,001 - $100,000,000 Award of Merit BAG MAKERS, Inc. Union, Illinois BAG MAKERS, Inc. is a supplier of printed bags specializing in non-woven, PET non- woven, paper, plastic, polyester, laminated, cotton/jute and mesh bags. The company sells more than 97 million printed bags annually and is a Certi ed Women’s Business Enterprise and a Quality Certi cation Alliance Accredited Supplier. CEO Maribeth Sandford, CAS, explains her philosophy for doing business in this industry. “For 40 years, our mission at BAG MAKERS has been to provide exceptional service and the highest-quality bags and printing capabilities to the promotional products industry. Ultimately, our goal is to help our distributor partners succeed.” When asked what qualities helped contribute to the company winning a Supplier Star Award of Merit, she says, “Distributors often tell us we are their supplier of choice because of our strong focus on customer service. Every day, customers come to us with unique challenges, and our team has a reputation for jumping through hoops to get even the most dif cult orders done.” Product safety is another of the company’s strong attributes. “Distributors also appreciate our commitment to product safety and quality,” Sandford says. “The last thing they want to worry about is a product-related injury or recall. Our rigorous quality control program gives distributors buying con dence, and we regularly test our inks, plastics and more to ensure our products won’t harm anyone.” She says distributors know they can count on BAG MAKERS to provide innovative products and decorating abilities. “We are proud to have originated some of the most recognizable bags in the industry, like our Big Thunder Grocery Totes and Therm-O Totes. We continually introduce cutting-edge products and print technologies to stay fresh and current.” $50,000,001 - $100,000,000 Supplier Star Hub Pen Company Braintree, Massachusetts Hub Pen dates back to 1954, when its founders sold pens door to door. The company has since grown to include 300 employees and sells more than 250 million pens annually. Trina Bicknell, senior vice president of sales, says Hub’s mission is to deliver a high-quality product that customers are proud to put their logos on, while providing exceptional, fast service and wonderful customer support. “Hub puts the customer rst,” she says. “We take our reputation as being a Supplier Star very seriously but it is our people who set us apart—that can mean our sales and customer service team that suggest products and answer questions, or our creative team that is creating great content for our distributors to share and win business; our product development team that keeps its nger on the pulse of trends to help develop the next best product, or our operations team, which is always ready to nd a way to make a customer happy and get orders out quickly.” “Distributors also appreciate our commitment to product safety and quality. e last thing they want to worry about is a product- related injury or recall." —Maribeth Sandford, CAS PPAI Supplier Stars | FEATURE | AUGUST 2020 | 21