There's no question that people in the industry know just how special awards can be. In the case of this year's Supplier of the Year, the announcement was extra sweet. When owner Myron Funk stepped to the stage to accept the award on behalf of Plastic Dress-Up Co. (PDU), it marked the first time he has returned to Las Vegas since undergoing a heart transplant in September 2003. The honor also marked the second time in five years that the South El Monte, CA based PDU has received the Supplier of the Year award (it also won in 2000).

While the company's plastic components helped make the awards industry what it is today, PDU's award is based on another key part of its business equation: service. The company is known for its customer service and customer support, which starts at the factory and continues through an experienced staff of sales reps and its cutting edge distributor network.

Combine that with substantial involvement in the local community and a commitment to the industry through an extensive and enthusiastic involvement with ARA-including most recently with a $25,000 cornerstone donation to the ARIEF foundation in honor of Funk's late wife, Estelle-it's no wonder PDU is once again a winner.

Multiple Strengths
The old saw 'nothing succeeds like success' is applicable to companies like PDU, which helped revolutionize the awards industry with its introduction of plastic components. Since that paradigm-shifting move, the company has spent the last 45 years refining development and delivery of those plastic components. The end result: no awards retailer is more than a next-day delivery away from having top-line components from which to build a sports or corporate award.

Myron Funk's leadership of PDU since 1984 has driven the company success through the development of both an experienced core of exclusive PDU sales reps and a network of 15 PDU Authorized Distributors with 34 locations nationwide.

The history of PDU dates back to 1960, when founders Ed and Leta Allee translated his experience as a tool-and-die-maker into a whole new approach for the awards industry. Funk, who became PDU's controller in 1978 and bought the business from the Allees, explains that Ed Allee became aware of the awards industry through a vacuum metalizing contract from Dodge, one of the largest metal trophy component manufacturers in the country.

After studying the demands of the industry, Allee decided he could mould plastic parts and decorate them, giving buyers a similar appearance but at a much lower cost.

Allee's plastic components sparked a major change in the industry in that the participation award became a reality. Rather than just 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place, every team member was recognized with an award. Until then, higher-priced wood or metal awards were the norm, and retailers might wait weeks for the part they needed.

While Allee's new product idea reduced the manufacturing time and price of these components, it took Funk's vision to make them a next-day delivery item, well before the rise of overnight shipping services.

Cathy Garcia, PDU's director of product development, says that to deal with any of PDU's distributors-15 different companies with 34 locations- is like dealing with the company itself in terms of same day or next day service.

"It was Myron's vision that started the distributor network, and in all cases they take their commitment to PDU very seriously," says Garcia. "We've created a synergy that's stronger than ever. Their commitment to PDU is stronger than ever to market its products and to deliver PDU award products to the awards retailers."

Phenomenal Relationships

Synergy-the ability to create an end result greater than the sum of its parts-doesn't just apply to PDU's relationship with its distributors. The relationship between its nine sales representatives and those awards retailers is equally phenomenal.

"Some of them came to us 15 or 20 years ago with pre-experience in the industry," says Garcia. "These are people whose longevity in the business is an unbelievable asset and an extremely rich resource for our customers."

An exchange of information with a PDU sales rep is a two-way street, however. One of the reps' jobs is to provide feedback, critical information that plays a key role in the company's on-going process of product development.

Garcia explains that new products are known 18 months in advance, after being vetted by people within the distributor network and retailers selected by the sales reps, as well as people at the company's headquarters who may be called on to rank from 400 to 500 contenders for selection.

"There's an unbelievable amount of time and energy that goes into a slated selection of new products," says Garcia. "It's important, though, because to us it's a tooling investment."

That investment in tooling is only part of what sets PDU apart from its competitors. The company has a fully staffed, in-house design department headed by a design director, who holds a master's degree in fine art. The remainder of the design staff also has fine arts-rather than graphics- backgrounds.

Garcia explains that the reason behind that is the desire for anatomical expertise. "We're mostly creating sports figures," she says. "A fine art designer has a tendency to be anatomically well educated and can build a much better figure utilizing our technology here than someone whose background is building toys."

Technology has also played an increasingly important role in the company's designing process, Garcia notes. PDU's in-house sculptors have only recently made the transition to electronic sculpting.

The care that goes into creating new products for PDU pays off in their long-term popularity. Most of the sports figures enjoy a lifespan of a decade or more, and while the company does discontinue some products, the product breadth is certainly a good reason for the size of the PDU catalog.

"There's no way we can successfully discontinue products and not make customers unhappy,' says Garcia. "Even though they want something new every year, they also expect to have the staples we provide. We do discontinue products, but it's usually not in the mainstream."

And, of course, PDU's list of mainstream products keeps on expanding, especially now that the company has expanded its line of corporate awards in response to the growth in that part of the industry.

With the growth and acceptance of resin awards, PDU's investment in the custom awards business is also affect awards retailer relationships. Any awards retailer now has the opportunity to create custom awards with their customers" own designs.

"Our customer has the ability to present any design idea they have and PDU will turn that idea into an award for them and their customer," says Lyle King, international sales manager at PDU. It's a sure guarantee of a customer for life, both for PDU and for the award retailer."

The need for those imported products to be of the same high standards PDU builds into each piece manufactured at its South El Monte facility is critical. Garcia says PDU believes it sets the industry standard, and that's not likely to change.

"We feel our customer has a higher expectation of what comes out of the PDU box than it does of our competitors,' she says. 'This company set the bar 40 years ago, and PDU has continued to measure up. We're not letting anything in the door unless it continues to meet our high standards."

To maintain those standards, the company has a quality-control manager, a 10,000-square-foot quality control lab, and a staff of 20 inspectors. The plant operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and as long as production is taking place, the quality control staff is pulling samples to check for imperfections.

Along with high quality, another key ingredient to come out of every PDU box is an expectation of fairness. While it's not a word often used in conjunction with service, Garcia says part of Funk's vision for his company is that each customer, no matter their size, will have the same support from customer service knowing that their order or their request will be given the same importance and resolution, dealt with promptly and professionally.

"That's the whole philosophy of our customer service network, whether a person is dealing with one of our reps inside the building who handles customer complaints or one of our sales reps or one of our distributors," Garcia says. "It doesn't matter who they're talking to, they're taken care of as if they were a million-dollar customer."

"When a customer buys from PDU, they're not just buying fine quality," she adds. "When they open the box that says PDU on it, they're expecting a whole lot of other things that include design, detail, and good color, just to name a few. That's what makes PDU great and that's what Myron's vision is all about."

The presence of Funk in Las Vegas to accept the Supplier of the Year Award was an extremely emotional moment for his employees, Garcia says. Although ably assisted by his three sons, Dennis, Loren, and Alan Greenblat, the fact Myron is healthy and back in his office more than half the time, "just adds to a great story for us," she says.

While PDU customers see first rate products and great service, there is another component to its success that most don't necessarily see. Beside sales reps who enjoy longevity in the industry and with the company, PDU's executive staff, manager staff, and production staff can all boast significant years of service. Each year at the annual Christmas Party, more than 25 employees are acknowledged for their longevity from 5-25 years. Last fall, ARA retail members were asked to nominate those suppliers most deserving of the ARA Supplier of the Year Award. Blinded nominations were sent to the ARA Awards Committee, and once again, the committee had a difficult choice choosing a winner. The following are the other nominees for ARA Supplier of the Year: employees receive '25 Years of Service,' wrist watches each year.

When asked what makes this award so special to him, Myron Funk explains that, 'PDU's philosophy is about quality, service, and meeting the award retailer's needs. For PDU to be acknowledged once sends a clear message to me that we are doing it right. To be recognized again is overwhelming, and it tells me that the PDU Distributor Network, the PDU Sales Reps and employees are listening to our customers.' Funk concludes: 'Our partnership with the awards retailer continues to evolve and we don't forget that our customers' name goes on every single product we design and produce for them.'