By: Deborah Johnson Wood
Grand Rapids-based Terryberry Company, a 90-year-old provider of employee recognition and award services, recently acquired John Gray Awards in Cincinnati and is moving the manufacturing facility to Grand Rapids.
John Gray Awards, founded in 1888, makes custom jewelry and awards for employee recognition programs and Terryberry officials predict the acquisition will increase business to $35 million within a year, a 15 percent increase.
"From a pure business standpoint this group mirrored Terryberry's business model and business practices, with a similar commitment to their clients and a focus on being a leader in quality, which is our focus as well," says Mike Byam, Terryberry spokesperson.
Terryberry, 2033 Oak Industrial Drive, offered Gray's employees the option of moving to Grand Rapids and retaining their jobs. All declined, and that opened the door for the company to generate eight new positions, most of them in jewelry manufacturing.
"In West Michigan, there are not a lot of people with jewelry manufacturing experience," Byam says, "so we're looking for people who are adept with their hands, and over 12 to 18 months we'll train them on the job."
Terryberry employs 140 people in Grand Rapids and in 25 offices throughout North America. The Cincinnati office will remain open as a sales hub.
"We moved the manufacturing here because we're committed to staying here," Byam says. "There are still opportunities for manufacturing businesses in West Michigan, and it's been our home for a long, long time."
Source: Mike Byam, The Terryberry Company; Karen Hogan, Seyferth Spaulding Tennyson, Inc.
Deborah Johnson Wood is development news editor for Rapid Growth Media. She can be contacted at [email protected].
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