(Editor’s Note: PromoWire by PPAI Media is a running digest of news releases and updates submitted from organizations around the promotional products industry. PPAI Media edits these only slightly, including for length, and will consider newsworthy entries from any member organization.)

January 11, 2023

Orbus Awarded Silver And Bronze In 2022 Best In Biz Awards

Orbus Exhibit & Display Group (PPAI 428128, S7), a producer and manufacturer of portable, modular and custom displays used in events, exhibits, retail and corporate interiors, has been awarded two Best in Biz Awards:

  • Silver, Company of the Year - Midwest
  • Bronze, Most Environmentally Responsible Company of the Year

This is the third year that Orbus has won Best in Biz Awards. Winners are determined by an independent judging panel of editors and reporters from diverse publications in North America. The 12th annual program drew more than 700 entries highlighting leadership, workplace best practices and continued investments in environmental and corporate social responsibility programs.

“It is an honor to once again be receiving two Best in Biz Awards,” says Natalie Whited, vice president of marketing for Orbus. “Orbus is especially proud to be presented the award for Most Environmentally Responsible Company of the Year, as we are deeply committed to limiting our environmental impact.”

As part of its green efforts, the company is registered to the ISO 14001:2015 standard for its environmental management system.

Reciprocity Road Donates $7,500 To PPEF

two women display oversized donation check

On Tuesday, January 10, buying group Reciprocity Road (PPAI 769354) made a $7,500 donation to PPEF, matching the amount it has contributed for several years and bringing its cumulative total donation to PPEF to more than $50,000 since its founding.

Fairware CEO Denise Taschereau (left) presented the donation to Janet McMaster, regional sales vice president at Geiger and this year’s PPEF chair, during The PPAI Expo.

Speaking as a Reciprocity Road member owner, Taschereau says, “We’d like to challenge every other buying group in the industry to step up and to start donating to PPEF, to match our donation or beat it.”

 Veteran Supplier Launches His Own Distributorship

Industry veteran Rich Corvalan has started his own distributorship, Paradise Promotional Products PPAI 818242, D1) after working for years on the supplier side of the business with top 40 suppliers such as Vantage, Ash City, SanMar, Charles River and Zing Manufacturing.

“I am so fortunate to have the experiences I have had in this amazing industry,” says Corvalan. “This company was formed to honor the past and bring forward the spirit of true partnership. I know the supplier side of the business, and all we have ever wanted was to create the partnerships with our distributors that was a win for the supplier, win for the distributor and win for the end user.”

Rich Corvalan headshot

He adds that transparency and loyalty with supplier partners will be driving factors and thanks the industry as a whole for rallying behind him.

“I never would have expected my former distributor customers to rally behind me and support me in the ways I have already seen,” Corvalan says. “It is truly a tribute to our industry that we can support each other even in a competitive landscape.”