Go Green!

It's no surprise today when you hear of a company becoming environmentally friendly. Most are aware of the current state of our planet and try to make smart decisions to have a positive effect on the atmosphere.

Businesses are getting creative when it comes to becoming more "green". Some organizations are installing solar panels to the roof, constructing office furniture and buildings out of recycled material, and using energy efficient light bulbs.

At CTI we are doing something about our environmental impact as well. There are two major ways that we try to make our planet a "greener" place.

Latex

Latex balloons, specifically, have been under criticism because of the belief that they cause harm to the environment. Latex is a natural resource that comes from rubber trees. Rubber trees can produce latex for up to 40 years! Since rubber trees consume carbon dioxide and give off oxygen, these trees play a positive role in the balance of the Earth's atmosphere. In fact, CTI's latex balloons are 100% biodegradable.

Decomposition begins immediately after inflation. Oxidation is the "dullness" that makes balloons look as if they are losing their color and is one of the first signs of decomposition. Latex breaks down more quickly when exposed to sun, water and micro-organisms - even at night.

Water Based Inks

CTI uses only environmentally friendly water based inks on every printed balloon. Water based inks use water and other related solvents which do not harm the ozone. When printing with water based inks on foil or metalized material, it has been compared to putting water on a newly waxed car. It has a similar "beading" effect and slides around on the surface of the balloon. To combat this problem, we have a system in place to effectively adhere the ink to the foil surface. Water based inks are also child safe. We feel it is important to use materials that positively affect the environment and do not damage the atmosphere.

What are you doing to be more environmentally friendly? 

Helium Price Increase - How to Get the Most for Your Money

There are a number of factors that effect the balloon industry. An increasingly important one is that helium prices have been rising.

Here's why:

Helium is a by-product of natural gas found in several large fields around the world. The International Balloon Association states that the US is the largest producer of helium and supplies 71% of the world's helium.

The price increase is directly related to the revision of the methodology the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) uses to calculate the price of crude helium offered during its yearly Open Market Sale. Consequently, Federal Crude Helium will be sold at $75.00 per thousand cubic feet in 2011 - up from $64.75 in 2010 - to cover helium debt repayment and interest. BLM has been charging the minimum price established by the Federal Helium Privatization Act of 1996. The Act established a price that represents the cost of helium but not its value on the open market.

The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) released a report that recommended pricing changes. By selling crude helium at market price rather than the established minimum could "enable more rapid retirement of BLM facilities debt to the US Treasury - a central goal of the 1996 Act".

It is important to note that the new pricing is being applied to open market helium sales only. The cost of helium sold for federal interests will continue to be the minimum allowed by the Act.

So what can you do?

The balloon industry is unique in that helium is strictly used for its ability to lift. It is not possible to recapture helium for reuse. There are some ways in which we are able to conserve the helium we need and use:

- 60/40 Helium/Air regulators help to conserve helium without significantly reducing float time.

- Ultra Hi-Float can be used in conjunction with 60/40 regulators and will float an 11" latex balloon 10+ days.

- Foil balloons are made of material specially designed to extend float time and reduce helium and labor needed to fill them.

- Air-Filled balloons are great alternatives to conserve helium and can be hung or rigged to a structure.

*Much of the information was paraphrased from IBA's analysis found here.

Holiday Planning

It's great to be a part of a company that manufactures balloons. For every event, occasion and holiday, we are prepared with the most fun party decorations - BALLOONS!

Like many other industries, we have to be prepared well in advance for upcoming holidays. This means that we need to be ahead of the curve designing new balloons and compiling our seasonal catalogs, as well as with production.

Along with planning for the production of holiday balloons, it's fun to show off our new product. One of the greatest parts of my job is being able to place advertisements in fantastic industry magazines such as - Super Floral Retailer, Florists' Review, Party & Paper Magazine, Flowers& Magazine and many others! They are gracious enough to show our products throughout their magazines as a "Product Pick" or "Hot Option" in the issue as well.

I work with our Creative Department to come up with a festive and fun way to showcase our designs for all of our lines - including our everyday styles.

Here's an ad we placed in Party & Paper Magazine's Novemeber Issue. What do you think?

These balloons are part of our Spring & Summer balloon line. If you're interested in seeing the full line, you can click here or visit our website and look under the Marketing Materials tab to view our current catalogs.

Monday: Balloon Corrals!

In marketing you wear many hats - at least when you work at CTI Industries. It's one of the things I love about my job. Not only do I work on promotions and advertising, I get to plan tradeshows and events, send out and compose newsletters, do market research and analysis, assist the sales team and even do some merchandising! And believe it or not, that's not all.

One of my projects that I continuously work on is how to better display balloons. Retailers can sometimes have a challenge adequately showing our product. For most retailers, they evaluate the success of a program by sales per square foot. Balloons are unique in that for the most part, they don't take up any space! With ceiling corrals for helium inflated balloons and corrugated cannisters attached to POS/POP structures, you're not really sacrificing much space - if any at all.

Here's a display that you can find in Kmart stores.

This corral is 4' x 4', most Kmart stores have the larger (4' x 8') display. The corral that's pictured is able to hold 15 balloons at one time!

One tip I have for you is to remember to not over fill the corral. Many retailers are experiencing problems at night when the store is closed. Most retailers set their thermostat at a cooler temperature at night. When the air is cooler, helium will compress causing the balloon to look like it is beginning to deflate. If the corral is too full, balloons will escape and could cause the security alarms to go off.

But, don't worry about the balloons deflating - once heat is restored, the helium will expand and the balloons will return to size.