Industry updates
New hires & promotions
Sean Eckhardt
S&S
S&S appointed veteran commercial leader Sean Eckhardt as senior vice president of U.S. sales. Eckhardt joins S&S with nearly 30 years of commercial leadership experience and a track record of leading high-performing sales organizations, driving transformational growth, and developing winning teams. He succeeds Jim Strugell, who recently announced his retirement after helping lead S&S through its transformation following the acquisition of alphabroder. In this role, he will lead the company’s national sales organization, advancing its commercial strategy, strengthening partnerships, investing in talent, and delivering even greater value to customers.
John McCahan
Fellers
Fellers made three key additions to its executive and leadership team: John McCahan as chief customer experience officer, John Peck as vice president of sales, and Monica Sarmiento as director of human resources.
McCahan joins Fellers as chief customer experience officer, bringing a record of leading customer-centric transformation across the automotive, banking, logistics, manufacturing, and retail industries. In his role at Fellers, he will lead the continued evolution of the company’s service strategy, leveraging data-driven insights and technology to enhance every customer interaction.
Peck is vice president of sales. He brings more than 28 years of leadership experience in sales, marketing, and operations across manufacturing, industrial distribution, and supply chain. At Fellers, Peck will lead the sales organization across the enterprise, including inside sales, outside sales, and the product team, while partnering closely with operations, supply chain, and logistics to drive customer satisfaction and top-line growth.
John Peck
Fellers
Peck is vice president of sales. He brings more than 28 years of leadership experience in sales, marketing, and operations across manufacturing, industrial distribution, and supply chain. At Fellers, Peck will lead the sales organization across the enterprise, including inside sales, outside sales, and the product team, while partnering closely with operations, supply chain, and logistics to drive customer satisfaction and top-line growth.
Monica Sarmiento
Fellers
Sarmiento joins Fellers as director of human resources, bringing more than a decade of progressive HR leadership experience across manufacturing, distribution, and consumer products organizations. At Fellers, she will lead the company’s people strategy, focusing on talent acquisition, leadership development, employee engagement, and building a high-performing culture to support the company’s continued growth.
Jessica De Mello
SRG
SRG promoted Jessica De Mello to director of vendor relations. A respected industry professional with more than 30 years of experience in the promotional products industry, De Mello will assume responsibility for SRG’s program business while also serving as a key liaison between the company, its preferred vendor partners, and major distributor groups across North America. In her new role, De Mello will oversee supplier and vendor partnerships, preferred vendor programs, and strategic vendor growth initiatives designed to support SRG’s continued expansion within the promotional products marketplace. De Mello has been with SRG for over 30 years and has most recently served as national business development representative.
2026 Events
Updates
STAHLS’ welcomed apparel decorators, print professionals, and business owners from across the region to its SF-1 Innovation Center for a sold-out Pro Day, giving attendees an close-up look at the latest innovations in heat printing, custom transfers, and print-on-demand fulfillment.
As the band Rush embarks on its historic Fifty Something Anniversary Tour, Royal Apparel said it is proud to play a role in helping bring merchandise to one of the most influential and enduring bands in music history through the launch of Basic Supply Co.
Image360 Rapid City has earned its Experiential Graphic Design (XGD) Certification.
Giving back
Crystal D announced its second disbursement of charitable donations to nonprofits supported by the company’s Legacy Gallery award sales. Donations helped support the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption, the International Rett Syndrome Foundation, 4 Paws for Ability, and Water for South Sudan.
Pukka supported Children’s Mentoring Connection of Hancock County’s 43rd annual golf fundraiser by donating headwear for children participating in the event. The hats helped commemorate the day while enhancing the experience for attendees and supporting the fundraiser’s efforts to raise awareness and funding for local mentoring programs.
Allegra Marketing Print Mail Billings has provided more than $11,000 in printing and signage grants to local nonprofits through its partnership with Yellowstone Valley Gives, a community fundraising initiative organized by the Billings Community Foundation.
Awards & recognitions
Durst Group, including Durst North America and Vanguard Digital Printing Systems, has been recognized as the most awarded organization for the fourth consecutive year, securing 13 PRINTING United Alliance Pinnacle Awards.
The International Sign Association will be recognized with a Power of Associations Award from the American Society of Association Executives this month.
David Rindfleisch of Minuteman Press in Gilbert, Arizona, was inducted into the President’s Club after surpassing $1 million in gross sales for the year ending 2025.
iPROMOTEu has been named to the PPAI 100 list for 2026, climbing to No. 4.
Epson garnered three PRINTING United Alliance 2026 Pinnacle Product Awards for its industrial professional printing solutions.
The Minuteman Press franchise in McAllen, Texas, celebrated its 9th anniversary with a special ribbon-cutting ceremony, The event, sponsored by the McAllen Chamber of Commerce and the Rio Grande Valley Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, recognized the milestone, celebrated the business’s continued growth, and showed support for owner Gina Cruz and her team.
Three of Roland DG’s products have received 2026 Pinnacle Awards from the PRINTING United Alliance.
AlphaGraphics is one of only 50 franchises to be named to Franchise Business Review’s (FBR) 2026 Most Profitable Franchises list for the third consecutive year. In addition, AlphaGraphics is also one of only 100 franchise brands recognized by FBR as a 2026 Top Franchise for Women.
Agfa received two 2026 Pinnacle Product Awards from PRINTING United Alliance.
Partnerships
Koozie Group partnered with Artifi, the SaaS platform, to make AI-generated, customization-ready product data available to distributors through Artifi’s AI Automated Product Setup.
Glantz entered into a distribution deal with HEXIS to add paint protection film and color change film solutions to its growing portfolio of wrap and surface protection products.
Gemline announced a new partnership with LifeStraw, a brand known for its water filtration products and mission to expand access to safe drinking water worldwide.
S&S, formerly S&S Activewear, is now the exclusive U.S. distributor for adidas team apparel, marking a significant milestone in its longstanding partnership with the brand.
STAHLS’ partnered with the National Hockey League to provide real-time jersey customization during the 2026 Upper Deck NHL Draft at Buffalo’s KeyBank Center.
MiiR, a lifestyle brand known for its drinkware, announced a new wholesale partnership with SanMar, a wholesale imprintable apparel supplier.
SanMar will partner with Flexfit to add to the supplier’s portfolio of retail brands as a standalone offering for the first time.
Mergers & Acquisitions
Principal Industries, a provider of electrical components and services to the commercial sign industry, announced the acquisition of GENLED Brands, a New Jersey-based LED lighting solutions provider.
