Management Changes:
Janson Goldstein LLP (New York architecture and interior design firm) has named Yuji Yamazaki an associate.
RPA (Columbus, Ohio, retail design firm) has hired Tom Wilson as implementation manager; Jesse Bulger as graphic designer; Carrie Hampton as project manager; and Chris Mattingly as research assistant.
Visual Marketing Associates (VMA, Dayton, Ohio, branding firm) has added Scott Parker to its graphic design team. Parker most recently worked at Nova Creative Group.
Royce Corp. (Orillia, Ont., merchandising display designer and manufacturer) has appointed Michael Whitwell to handle business development-sales, responsible for managing and expanding the firm's display business in the mass merchandising marketplace.
International Code Council (Falls Church, Va., building safety association) has named James Lee Witt as ceo; Karl Meyer as cfo; and Mark Johnson as California office manager. The ICC, a 50,000-member organization, develops building codes for residential and commercial construction projects.
Arlon (Santa Ana, Calif., vinyl film manufacturer) has added Brad Smith as director of sales for Australia and New Zealand, and Lynn Levoy as human resources director.
Compression Polymers Corp. and Vycom Corp. (Moosic, Pa., manufacturers of engineering thermoplastic sheet and plate) have promoted Gary DiFazio to marketing and technical services manager.
W.A.C. (Garden City, N.Y., lighting designer and manufacturer) has appointed Howard Schnall director of customer support. Schnall has held previous positions as customer service manager for Global Equipment Co.; customer service director for Fortunoff; and customer service sales manager for Saks Fifth Avenue's catalog division.
Mergers/Acquisitions:
WD Partners (Columbus, Ohio, design, architecture and engineering firm) has acquired Roy J. Yoder Architect Inc. (Columbus, Ohio architectural firm). The purchase consolidates work for several shared clients and adds grocery market experience to WD Partners' offerings.
Business Briefs:
Brandow (Excelsior, Minn., retail branding firm) has added the following clients: Extraco Banks (in conjunction with Spyglass Creative), Gar Products, Sakura and Mosaic.
AdSpace Networks Inc. (Burlingame, Calif., digital media network manufacturer and operator) is teaming with consumer magazine Entertainment Weekly to produce daily and weekly 15-second interactive spots to run on AdSpace's network of digital advertising displays located in theater lobbies. The spots will highlight content from issues of Entertainment Weekly, including pop culture lists, quizzes and reviews of movies, DVDs, CDs, books and video games.
Pearlite Display Products (Burnaby, B.C., store fixturing manufacturer) was ranked by Profit Magazine as the seventh-fastest growing company in Canada and the fifth-fastest privately owned firm.
GranitiFiandre (Castellarano, Italy, stone and tile manufacturer) has earned the UNI EN ISO 14001 Environmental Management System designation, based in part on the company's protection of building air quality, raw-material utilization, post-industrial recycling, anti-pollution devices and recycled materials usage.
Visual Terrain Inc. (Van Nuys, Calif., design firm for the architectural and entertainment markets) has been certified as a woman-owned business by the Women's Business Enterprise National Council.
Awards & Competitions:
REI (Recreational Equipment Inc., Seattle, outdoor gear and clothing retailer) was awarded Best in E-Commerce Innovation at the 2003 Retail Systems Achievement Awards presented by MoonWatch Media and Chain Store Age magazine. The award recognizes REI for its systems and practices that improve customers' online shopping experiences.