Ohio-based Proforma Albrecht & Co. (asi/116308) announced Monday it has acquired Professional Image, a fellow promotional products distributor also based in the Buckeye State. Financial terms of the deal were private.

With more than $34 million in annual sales, Proforma Albrecht & Co. is the largest member owner in the Proforma (asi/300094) distributor network. Company executives believe the acquisition of Professional Image will help power the Milford, OH-based distributor toward its goal of $50 million in annual sales.

“Professional Image has a sterling reputation of providing top quality products and services,” said Fred Albrecht, who co-owns Proforma Albrecht & Co. with Suzette Albrecht. “Professional Image’s experienced team, notable clients and added service offerings increase our overall company IQ. This is great growth for our company.”

For more than 20 years, Professional Image has specialized in apparel, uniforms, embroidery and fulfilment for some of the largest companies in Cincinnati. Eight Professional Image employees, including Vice President of Sales Todd Gigax and Senior Account Executives Andrea Mosley and Alex Rogan, will join Proforma Albrecht & Co. Experienced Professional Image production team members are coming aboard at Albrecht as well.

Gigax said joining Proforma Albrecht & Co. makes good business sense.

“I met Fred and Suzette about five years ago and I admired the business they had built,” said Gigax. “Their business model helps empower their team to succeed. They have several sales reps achieving more than $1 million in sales, which is a testament to the resources and investment the Albrechts put into their people and business. We are proud to now be a part of the Proforma Albrecht & Co. family and are excited for our future together.”

As part of the acquisition, Proforma Albrecht & Co. is taking over Professional Image’s warehouse and production facility located in Sharonville, OH. That brings Proforma Albrecht’s warehousing capacity to 36,000 square feet. The companies said the additional production facility will house state-of-the-art Tajima embroidery equipment. 

Furthermore, Proforma Albrecht & Co. has hired a new embroidery manager and customer service representative to help support the company’s recent growth.

“We intend to provide our sales professionals with the best embroidery options in the industry. The resources we now have through Professional Image, coupled with our in-house art department, give us an even stronger advantage over the competition,” said Suzette Albrecht.

Proforma Albrecht & Co. is a certified woman-owned business through the Women's Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC) and was recognized as Cincinnati's 11th largest woman- owned business in 2016. The company is also a six-time honoree on the Inc. 5000 list of the fastest-growing companies in the US, and has been recognized by Counselor magazine as one of the industry’s Best Places to Work for nine consecutive years. The Albrechts joined Proforma in 2000 and have built a network of more than 85 sales representatives nationally. They entered the Multi-Million Dollar Club in their first year with Proforma, achieved their first $10 million sales year in 2005, and in 2014 became Proforma’s first 25 Million Dollar Club member.

With reported 2016 North American promotional product revenue of $368.9 million, Proforma ranked third on Counselor’s list of the top 40 largest distributors in the industry by revenue.