Century Manufacturing (PPAI 111627, Standard-Plus) has announced that longtime company president Garry Kemnitz is purchasing the Bel Aire, Kansas-based supplier.
Kemnitz, who joined the company 48 years ago and has served as president for the past quarter century, has worked side by side with founder Jim Laubach, who’s selling the firm due to an illness.
“We thought the same for 90% of the time, so it’s probably not going to be a lot different,” Kemnitz says. “Whereas it might have been a bit difficult to get a hold of us before, we’ve been working hard on making it easier to get a hold of us through our phone system and email. Business was slow going into the end of 2023, but it has picked up since December.”
Origin Story
In his grandfather’s basement in 1958, Laubach began making coin holders from scrap acrylic bought from an aircraft surplus warehouse. He sold the coin holders to local coin shops and soon made more money than his high school peers, as well as many of his teachers.
- After graduation, he built clocks, paperweights and other items.
In 1971, Laubach launched Century Manufacturing, investing in raw acrylic and the equipment needed to embed coins into various shapes.
- Requests for customizations and imprints quickly followed, shifting the company from retail to promotional products.
Today, Century Manufacturing, which has approximately 30 employees, specializes in awards, deal toys, acrylic tap handles, metal castings and point of purchase displays.