Member Article

Promotional Merchandise Company Hits Ruby Milestone

A family run, North East based, promotional merchandise company is celebrating an impressive milestone with the celebration of 40 years in business.

Pro-Ad, well known for its huge choice of products, was set up by Carlo Nardini in 1982 providing bespoke product solutions. As the customer base has grown to cover a wide range of industries across the UK, so has the company that now boasts seven staff (soon to be eight), over 100,000 products sourced from the UK or around the world when required and an annual turnover of £1.5m.

Wife Helen and son Loren have been instrumental in the success of the company over the years alongside Carlo, having become good employers and a team synonymous with quality and first-class customer care. Carlo said:

“Pro-Ad has allowed me and the team to make good on our passion of finding the best promotional products and branded clothing solutions. Lots of our team have been with us for many years, and the company’s growth, success and longevity are testament to their hard work, so I want to thank them all.

“I would also like to thank our customers, particularly those loyal ones who have been with us through the years. It is an exciting time as we look to the future, but for now, we need to celebrate what we have achieved.”

To celebrate the milestone the team will be having a celebratory dinner, have been raising funds for charities in the community, and are resurrecting their annual merchandise show, which hasn’t been run for the last 4 years, to be held in March 2023.

Exceling in their sector, Pro-Ad work differently to gain insight into your project be ascertaining campaign goals, audience, budget and timings. The creative team then find suitable, cost-effective solutions that stand out.

Visuals are provided by the design team to ensure client satisfaction, and high quality along with strong brand impact is as paramount to the team as it is to the client. Loren, who joined in 2003 and is the commercial director for the company, said:

“We have done a lot of things right over the last 40 years working with key clients such as ICI, British Telecom, e-on, SSE, Greggs, Newcastle University, the NHS, many local authorities, and a whole portfolio of private companies. We intend to build upon that, growing the team with a new member joining next month, and by supporting as many British manufacturers as we can in the industry.

“Having worked in the industry for my whole life and being the regional ambassador for the North East for the British Promotional Merchandise Association, I intend to keep driving the company forward, developing our services to clients to ensure increased customer satisfaction and ROI, focusing on quality and bespoke product design. We are currently looking to develop our software and web service to improve and increase the customer experience. Our vision continues to be the go-to supplier of creative promotional merchandise solutions that give our clients added value and high levels of customer satisfaction, fulfilling our passion to support British manufacturers wherever possible.”

Pro-Ad is the proud holder of ISO 9001, winner of the IPM COGs awards, winner of the UK Corporate Excellence Awards, and winner of the top 25 Distributors of the Year.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Anna Toms .