“You have to constantly reinvent yourselves,” says Klitzner. “If you can’t change rapidly to meet customer demands, you simply won’t survive.”
Providence has done much more than survive. Today, it is one of the most respected organizations in the promotional products industry. And while that success can be attributed to the company’s adaptability through the years, it is also testament to the fundamental business precepts set down by Harry Klitzner when he founded his company. As a fourth-generation member of the family-owned business, Dean Klitzner provides historical perspective. “My great-grandfather used to say ‘the customer is your bread and butter. Without customers, you have no food.’”
Harry Klitzner’s philosophy has been passed down through the years. Dean’s father, Alan, is still active in the business. “My dad recalls going to the factory with my great-grandfather on Sundays so they could get orders ready to send out first thing Monday morning,” the younger Klitzner relates. “Everyone who has ever worked at Providence embraces the fact that the customer is the one who drives the business. Our commitment today to providing distributors with world-class service dates back to my great-grandfather’s commitment to his customers.”
 
From manufacturer to marketer
Armed with a small directory of Masonic lodges across the United States, Harry Klitzner launched his mail order company in 1907. Over the past century, Providence’s client base has transferred from fraternal organizations to promotional products distributors who service corporate America, professional sports organizations, smaller regional business concerns, civic organizations, and more. “Our distributors do work for everyone from IBM and the New York Mets to the local cleaning company,” Riccitelli points out. “Because we have been part of the promotional products industry since the 1950s, we understand what customers are looking for: good quality, a fair price, and attentive service. We enable distributors to deliver those benefits to their clients.” 
Today, Providence’s line offerings encompass an extensive range of imprinted promotional products, including a full line of emblematic jewelry, Lucite® and acrylic, Go Kits™, lip balm, hand sanitizers, lanyards, and embroidered patches. “We have evolved not only as a state-of-the-art specialty manufacturing company, but also as a great idea and marketing company,” explains Klitzner. “Customers are looking to distributors to help them solve marketing challenges. Our job is to provide the distributor with the right product, to customize it to suit the customer’s promotional purposes, and to ensure that everything goes smoothly, from order placement to delivery.”

Legacy of innovation
Looking back on Providence’s history, Klitzner and Riccitelli point to several major milestones:
• When corporate recognition and awards programs emerged in the 1950s, Providence turned to distributors to penetrate this growing market. “We knew distributors were the best way to reach corporate America,” Riccitelli observes. “They had the expertise and the established relationships.” The partnership was a good one, and Providence sells exclusively to distributors to this day.

• In the 1960s, Providence introduced Lucite® embedments to the corporate recognition market. “We are always looking for something new,” Riccitelli says. “In 1965, a local dentist helped us find it.” It turns out the dentist was experimenting with Lucite® as a material for dentures. The designers at Providence quickly realized they could embed objects in the material to create dramatic and durable recognition gifts and awards. Lucite® embedments continue to be one of the company’s most popular lines.

• In the late 1960s, importers transformed the selling dynamics in the promotional products industry. Sourcing became as important as manufacturing. “If you didn’t become an importer, you didn’t survive,” says Riccitelli. Providence made its first trip to the Orient in 1967 and initiated sourcing relationships that remain in place to this day.

• In the 1980s, Providence introduced acrylic insertments as an innovative alternative to the company’s Lucite® embedments. “The high temperatures used in the Lucite® embedment process caused certain materials to melt,” Klitzner points out. “There were no such issues with our acrylic insertments, and acrylic allowed us to create unique shapes. It opened the door to new and dramatic product possibilities.”

• Recently, the Internet has revolutionized the industry’s selling dynamics. Providence was quick to see the benefits of online communications, for both the company and its distributors. “It’s actually easier to let distributors know we exist and to keep them updated on our products and specials,” says Klitzner. “Distributors are challenged today to cover expanding customer bases and geographies. We can help them enhance their service to their customers through the smart use of technology.”

State of the industry today
According to Klitzner and Riccitelli, new technology, the growing presence of branded retail products, and more educated distributors are all major factors affecting today’s promotional products industry. “With end-users becoming more astute about buying direct via the Internet, it has become essential for distributors to provide expertise and value-added services,” says Klitzner. 
“It’s a much more sophisticated business today,” Riccitelli adds. “Successful companies are incorporating promotional products into a broader marketing effort. Distributors can contribute to their clients’ success by helping them develop creative solutions and then managing the order and delivery process.”
Klitzner notes that as the pace of doing business continues to accelerate, Providence has evolved into a quick-turnaround company. “I can get a prototype out of China in two days,” he says. “That’s a long way from the two weeks it used to take. Customers expect to get things quickly today. We give distributors a resource they can rely on to meet those expectations.”

To the next 100 years
Vision, resources, experience, and a willingness to constantly evolve – these qualities have enabled Providence to prosper for 100 years, and no doubt will serve the company well as it embarks on its second century.