This month, Ideal Shield is choosing to honor one of our most loyal dealers – Steve Orosz from Bollards and Sleeves, LLC (BollardSleeves.com).
Steve got his start working with the first computers introduced by IBM and soon switched from the technical aspect to consulting in the electronics industry. Once he realized the skillset that consulting had given him, Steve left the computer industry and began selling cigarette “butt cans.” Something that he found to fall in the same niche as bollard covers, which led him to add bumper sleeves to his portfolio.
Initially, Steve was selling ribbed sleeves from one of our competitors. When he found that his customers generally preferred smooth sleeves, he stumbled upon Ideal Shield. In 2008, Steve made the journey to Detroit from New Jersey to tour our facility and meet face-to-face with our own Dennis Knittel. Hitting it off with Dennis, Steve decided that he loved what he saw and decided to work with Ideal.
He’s been selling only Ideal Shield materials ever since.
When asked who his favorite contact at Ideal was, Steve responded “Dennis. He is the go-to guy whenever there is a problem. But also, the rest of the support staff and customer service – they are always doing the right thing to help and improve business.” He also loves the fun environment that we offer with our closest customers. “I consider the employees at Ideal as friends and family, including all the new employees,” he says.
To get an even better feel for Steve, we also asked him a few personal questions about running his own business, including his biggest account and the flexibility that comes with being a business owner.
- He’s most proud of his largest account, Academy Sports, and just received his largest order to date of over 1300 sleeves! He credits these connections to his “great relationship with Ideal Shield.”
- By partnering with Ideal, Steve has been able to enjoy the flexibility of running his own business while still having a strong supplier to back him up.
- “I have the ability to enjoy life away from work but I can also work from anywhere,” Steve says about our partnership. “I’ve been placing orders on the beach in Aruba, but owning my own business has allowed me to take this time away in the first place!”
Not a bad gig! Ideal Shield takes pride in our ability to offer other small businesses stellar service and dependability, all the while increasing our market share and footprint in the industry. Dealer relationships are a win-win!