Supplier Galaxy Balloons, Inc (PPAI 113835), based in Cleveland, Ohio, has acquired Great American Drinkware Company in nearby West Alexandria. Financial terms of the transaction were not released.
Great American Drinkware Company injection-molds coliseum cups, double-walled tumblers, wing ring flyers, zingbee flyers and pill cases in their West Alexandria facility. Speaking to PPB Newslink, Terry Brizz, MAS, Galaxy Balloons president, shared what led to the acquisition. “Anna Mathews, the owner of Great American Drinkware, called me as she had heard that we might be looking for acquisitions,” he says. “We talked for a little bit and I decided to drive down to Great American Drinkware to meet with Anna and tour her facility. I really liked what I saw, and Anna was very well organized and great to work with. We were able to do the deal fairly quickly.”
Great American Drinkware will become a line within Galaxy Balloons, and all its assets are moving into the Cleveland company’s 100,000-square-foot facility.
Brizz identified several positive contributions the acquisition brings to the table for Galaxy Balloons. Among them are the company’s line of American-made products and the ability to continue manufacturing them in the U.S. Currently, 40 percent of the products Galaxy Balloons sells are made domestically. Furthermore, he says their coliseum cups and double-walled tumblers place Galaxy Balloon products in the popular drinkware category and the company’s zing bee and wing ring flyers are natural extensions of Galaxy Balloons’ current line of play balls and sport balls. Great American Drinkware’s decoration capabilities will also allow Galaxy Balloons to do some advanced printing on the drinkware line.
With the two companies based in Ohio, relocation of equipment and inventory was fairly easy. Brizz also notes the potential for growth. He says, “Galaxy Balloons will be able to give the Great American Drinkware line a lot more exposure in our industry. Great American Drinkware did not produce a catalog, they did not exhibit at trade shows, nor have multi-line reps.”
When asked about what Great American Drinkware’s customers can expect following the acquisition, Brizz says, “Galaxy Balloons is an award-winning company—15-time ASI Distributor Choice Award Winner, A+ SAGE rating, multiple Supplier Excellence Award winner with Promotional Marketing)—that will provide their customers with top service. We have plans to expand the drinkware line with more American-made products and invest in more advanced decorating capabilities, and The Great American Drinkware line will receive a lot more exposure in our market.”