Top 40 supplier BIC Graphic (asi/40480) announced that Bruno Bich, chairman of the board of BIC Group, recently visited the supplier’s headquarters office in Clearwater, FL.

Bich, who served as chairman and chief executive of the worldwide BIC organization from 1993 to 2006 and has been chairman of the board since 2006, spent two days with BIC Graphic management reviewing long-term strategies and touring the company’s writing instrument operation.

On his visit to the BIC Graphic headquarters, Bich addressed all employees, discussing BIC’s overall philosophy and his positive outlook for the BIC Graphic division. Tim Andrews, president and CEO of ASI, and Paul Bellantone, president and CEO of PPAI, also met with Bich during his visit to discuss the ad specialty industry’s outlook.

“I appreciate the time Tim and Paul took from their busy schedules to visit us,” Bich said. “We’ve spent a great deal of time analyzing the challenges and the potential of the promotional products market. After long discussions about the evolution of the industry over the past five years, and what is needed to progress, we are optimistic and confident that BIC has an opportunity to grow market share.”

According to Counselor’s 2013 State of the Industry report, BIC Graphic is the fourth-largest supplier in the market. The company reported to Counselor that it recorded $313 million in North American ad specialty sales in 2013, a decrease of 3% from 2012. For the first quarter of 2014, BIC Graphic recorded global sales of $72 million, a comparative annual increase of 1.4%