Universal Promotions, leader in manufacturing and distributing North American and union-made promotional products, announced it has completed its acquisition of Art-Flo Shirt and Lettering Co, a multi-million investment over the next 5 years, bringing together over 100 years of combined experience in the industry.
“Art-Flo, strategically based in Chicago, IL is an extraordinary company, with a rich heritage and an amazing team of incredibly passionate individuals” states Frederic Mimeault, President and CEO of Universal Promotions. “It is our similar “family-style DNA” that made me fall in love with their business. Their passion, determination and dedication to their customers is phenomenal and reminds me of our own business model. We have been looking for such a partnership for many years and are extremely proud and excited with this transaction. With new decorating services now in Chicago, we are once again taking Universal Promotions to new heights, elevating us even further from our competition”.
“Today marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter for Art-Flo, one that will allow us to accelerate our mission to serve and create jobs in the greater community of Chicago, as well as expand nationwide”, states Michael Dastice, former CEO of Art-Flo and new General Manager for Universal Promotions. “As part of Universal Promotions we will deliver more value to customers faster with expanded emphasis on union-made in USA products, fuelled by Universal Promotions’ experience in this particular area. We are thrilled to embark on this journey with Universal Promotions that will undoubtedly take us all to the next level.”
Both entities, with their solid reputation and heritage, will keep their respective names and all employees will remain in place as they move forward into a recruiting phase for continued growth.
Since 1958, Art-Flo has been the leader in the silkscreen and embroidery business in the Chicagoland area. They started printing bowling shirts and as the business grew, they became the leading national distributor of printed and embroidered bowling shirts in the country. During the 1980s they started printing for the Chicago Cubs, White Soxs, Bulls, Blackhawks, and Wolves. In the 1990s, they expanded their product selection to include thousands of promotional items. Throughout their history they have maintained a competitive edge by being industry leaders in product knowledge, advanced technology, and customer service. For more information about Art-Flo, visit artflo.com.
Founded in Quebec in 1987, Universal Promotions is the industry's most complete supplier and manufacturer of union-made promotional products in Canada and the USA. Today, Universal Promotions uses multiple distribution platforms and websites – including myunionstore.com, myunionstore.ca, teamsterwear.com along with the industry’s only search engine for union-made promotional products, buyunionmade.com. With its multiple locations, Universal Promotions is the only company in North America to have its own embroidery, screen printing, pad printing, digital printing, engraving, cut and sew departments, as well as its own unique metal-casting manufacturing plant for lapel pins, keychains, etc.