THE OHIO ART COMPANY … The Ohio Art Company, which has been in Bryan since 1908, has recently acquired Allstate Can Company, and in doing so has invested in United State manufacturing while also cutting product transportation expenses.
By: Anna Wozniak
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
anna@thevillagereporter.com
When people think of The Ohio Art Company, they often think of the etch-a-sketch, or other toys they created from the time they were founded in 1908 until they stopped in 2016.
The Ohio Art Company is still around, with their administration still sitting at their 1 Toy Street, Bryan location. So, if they don’t make toys, what do they do?
In 2016, the company fully dove into the world of metal lithography, which is a process through which an image is applied as a polymer on top of flexible metal or plastic and has been completed at the company for the past seven years.
The process, which has been around since 1796 with limestone tablets, is also used in printing newspapers, and other paper products like posters and books.
This is why The Ohio Art Company’s recent acquisition of Allstate Can Company, a family company with over 100-years of experience, is a smart move made under CEO Elana West and company President Martin Killgallon.
With their metal lithography process already streamlined, the executives hope to do the same with the consolidation of these companies, eliminating a lot of transportation expenses for the crude product as it is transformed into a finished one.
Instead of going out of the country to get the various metals cut and shaped, and then back to be labeled, this will see the product staying in the U.S.A. throughout the production process.
The way that the metal is cut has to be adjusted for each project and this can cause some delay in production as a switch is made.
This partnership helps to save years of work and money on setting up a fabrication process from scratch, which has been a part of The Ohio Art Company’s long-term goal.
They recently sent a press release and had the following to say on the recent acquisition: “The acquisition, according to Elena West, CEO of The Ohio Art Company, “will significantly broaden our capabilities beyond lithography, allowing us to deliver a broad range of services to meet customer demand and supporting continued growth for the company.”’
“Allstate Can Corporation, with over 100 years of experience in the can industry, was previously owned by the Papera family, and is one of the last independent general and specialty can making operations in the United States.”
“The company has manufacturing facilities in New Jersey and Nevada and provides a broad product offering of decorative and industrial cans across many product segments, including food, cosmetics, chemical and petroleum, children’s entertainment, home goods, and military applications.”
“The acquisition allows The Ohio Art Company to significantly expand its manufacturing capabilities at a time when customers are looking for turnkey services.”
“Beyond lithography and coating, the company will now provide a broad range of services, including on-campus partnerships with steel sourcing and servicing companies, prepress platemaking resources, conventional coating and printing, UV coating and printing, metal stamping, full-service can making, and warehousing.”
“This acquisition is a key step in our strategic business focus to meet growing customer demands, allowing us to develop production strategies to meet all of the metal packaging needs of current and prospective customers,” says West.
“We couldn’t have found a better partner than the Allstate Can Corporation, which, like The Ohio Art Company, has been focused on delivering high quality, professional products and services for more than a decade.”
“Our team is thrilled to become part of The Ohio Art Company,” says Mike Papera with Allstate Can Corporation.
“We have successfully worked together for more than 20 years and together we will provide customers with unmatched experience in quality, manufacturing and customer service,” he adds.”
“The company also announced that Dave D’Agostino has been appointed as Director of Sales and will work closely with CEO West and Martin Killgallon, President of The Ohio Art Company. Mike Papera will continue in his role as Sr. Director of Procurement at Allstate Can Corporation.”
“These are exciting times for both The Ohio Art Company and Allstate Can Corporation,” concludes Killgallon, “as we meet market demands with a broader set of capabilities and services and continue to build our business in a meaningful manner.”