Nimlok Company Celebrates 25 Years Of Service

Niles, IL, March 1, 2006

It was April 2, 1981, the day after April Fool's Day when father and son Gerald and Simon Perutz founded Nimlok Company near Chicago IL. Purposely avoiding start up on April Fool's Day, Nimlok Company has proven to be no fool after 25 years of success in the trade show design and manufacturing industry.

It all started when Gerald Perutz, a Nimlok "founding father" who sat on the board of directors of Nimlok Ltd. in the UK, suggested that his 23-year-old son, Simon Perutz, assume the responsibility of getting the US division of Nimlok Company off the ground.

"Did appointing a young college graduate with no business experience raise some eyebrows among our colleagues in the UK? You bet it did," said Nimlok Chairman Gerald Perutz. "It was a bold decision but while studying economics at Northwestern University, Simon showed the promise and dedication needed to lead this endeavor. It was the right decision, and once they saw Simon's intense dedication and leadership at work, those reservations quickly vanished."

No wonder. Simon more than proved himself a smart business leader by not only launching the company, but by establishing Nimlok as an industry leader, growing its partner distribution network, changing it's internal structure, successfully re-shaping it's brand identity, and reaching its $1 billion dollar sales goal - all within 25 years.

When Simon spent the summer of 1980 in London and at the Nimlok plant in Kettering, he returned to the U.S. full of confidence, conviction and ideas of how he would launch the US start-up. With resolve and serious intent, Simon completed his classes at Northwestern and one week later, launched Nimlok Company on April 2, 1981 - carefully avoiding April Fool's day.

In its first year, Nimlok Company was essentially Simon plus one employee. The product was imported from Nimlok's manufacturing facility in Europe, and Simon rolled up his sleeves and personally completed assembly in a 3000 square foot plant in Morton Grove, IL. "I spent half the day assembling product in the plant, and the other half selling, literally out of the back of my truck," Simon explained.

"Simon had that ability to make smart, intuitive, business decisions, yet he wasn't afraid to get his hands dirty to put Nimlok on the US map," Gerald said. Simon knew Nimlok couldn't flourish without a distributor network in the US, and he took on the daunting task of starting one himself. Simon spent much of his time traveling the country persuading custom houses to add Nimlok's modular system.

By the mid 1980's, Nimlok experienced commendable growth, built a strong distributor network, and established an unswerving reputation for product quality and integrity. "The product line was developed and refined through Simon's intuitive and intellectual feel for the marketplace," said Gerald. Always staying ahead of the curve, Simon refined and perfected Nimlok's popular Nimlink and "Easy" range of products. His invention of a 360 hinge for the "Easy" products was the key to that line's success.

In 1984, Nimlok expanded into Canada where the organization quickly grew to, and has maintained an industry leadership position, delivering creative, effective exhibit system solutions built to achieve clients' individual needs.

By 1990, Nimlok Company was a successful leader of the industry in North America, with a strong and leading product range, and export activities in Latin American, Japan and Korea. After the death of Nimlok Ltd. founder Neil Nimmo, the Perutz family bought 100% of the shares in Nimlok Ltd. and Nimlok Company by the early 90's, and Gerald continued the family affair by tapping other son, Tim, to be Managing Director of Nimlok Ltd.

Simon became known for not only recognizing trends but creating them. As low-cost products from China inundated the tradeshow exhibit industry, Simon knew that to survive and thrive, they had move away from selling commodity products and provide more up market custom exhibit solutions. In the 90's Nimlok added in-house graphics and trade show services, making Nimlok one of the first one-stop solution centers in the industry. As a result the product range changed from primarily panels to custom fabrics, graphics, welded structures and imaginative shapes, and surfaces and a team that provided consultative custom solutions.

Competitors said it would never be profitable, but Simon proved them wrong as the decision to shift emphasis to design and project management, supported by service, really paid off. Nimlok distributing partners reaped benefits from the change as well. "Nimlok dedicates their time and energy to making it better for their partners and distributors by improving in-house processes, continually investigating and advancing its technology in order to offer the latest in creative solutions, and by spending marketing dollars to create and implement programs to increase awareness in the exhibit trade show market," said Nimlok Orange Country president, Denise Dres.

In 2004, Simon made another bold move and turned the company on its head by changing the successful business model it had used for years. Simon was the innovator of the Branded Distributor Partner Program, a program that transforms Nimlok distributors into branded partners. Re-branded distributors operate under the Nimlok name, such as Nimlok Chicago or Nimlok Orlando and gain the consistent sales and marketing benefits of a national organization, while retaining their independent ownership.

The program enables Nimlok to build an even closer, more personal relationship with their partners and the companies buying their exhibits. Distributor partners who re-branded saw an average 49% increase in sales. "Nimlok truly takes a vested interest in its 'partnership' approach, working together with its partners and distributors on an individual basis to assess their unique needs to develop a strategy for success," said Nimlok Philadelphia managing partner Karen Cohen.

Simon also developed and implemented the Nimlok Certified Consultant program, a training program for distributor partners that encourages them to build sales by building solid client relationships. Nimlok distributors who participate in the company's proprietary sales training - a program unlike any other industry - also report significant sales increases.

It's all been a family recipe for success. "We are extraordinarily fortunate that Simon, Tim and I can not only work together harmoniously, but also truly enjoy doing so," explains Gerald.

What's the secret to this harmony? "We don't always agree on every detail, but we always manage to work out our differences of opinion. Plus the fact that Simon and Tim are more than just brothers in business, they're close personal friends who communicate well and are in general agreement on most important policy matters," added Gerald.

In 25 years, Nimlok Company has grown from a Simon-plus-one-employee operation to a 386-employee company with more than 56 authorized distributor partners. Nimlok Company is a vital part of the Nimlok global network and is a market leader in the trade show solution industry. "The first 25 years have been very exciting and we're looking forward to the next 25 and beyond," said Simon.

Since its founding in 1970, Nimlok has grown to become a worldwide leader in the display and exhibit industry. With more than 200 authorized distributor partners in 56 countries worldwide, they offer an extensive Custom Solution product line as well as portable and pop-up displays, visual communication systems and other exhibit accessories. Manufacturing facilities are located in Chicago, Toronto, and the U.K.

Please visit www.nimlok.com for additional information.