True Innovation

– is coming up with a product that the customer didn’t even

know they needed.

Defined.

Ideas • Innovation • Adaptation • Entrepreneurial Spirit

A family-owned business with origins in architecture and

a legacy of high quality, very visibleproducts designed to enhance

the human experience.

32 years of ideas, design, creativity, adaptation, innovation and entrepreneurial-

spirit have kept this company in a world-class legion, capable of seizing

opportunity and succesfully building equity.

T

W

Today – the challenge is in standing out, being noticed.

Our products are seen by millions of people every day.

Clients depend on our products for visual impact, functionality, adaptability and durability.

Our products are made to be seen...

We live in a visual society.

Consort Brands:

Kalamazoo Banner Works®

KBW Bannerflex Brackets®

FlagTrax®

Abstracta®

Display One®

Dori Pole®

Podia®

Kalamazoo WaterJetTM

Core FocusEnhancing the world around us +

Solving challenges with unique products.

Core Intellectual CapitalCutting edge technology.

Ideas • Innovation • Adaptation • Entrepreneurial Spirit

+

+

+...and, to be there when you need them.

Mya • Personal Tableby Abstracta

KBW Bannerflex® Bracket(Pantented)

WWhat sparked the founding of this business?

Inspiration – 1983 Kalamazoo, MI

By 1994: 50 states1,900 U.S. Cities Canada (all 5 provinces) MexicoUnited Kingdom

Roger M. Lepley (Lepley/Yurk Architects) created Kalamazoo Banner Works, (today Consort Display Group}, based on a request from the City of Kalamazoo for vertical street pole banners.

The new company was the first to market this new product, both nationally and internationally – and to manufacture(patented) banner brackets, designed to spill wind and reduce wind force on the banner and light pole.

In 1985 Roger introduced a specialty gift item (LunchNotes®), designed by KBW’s first employee Edward Tereshinski.

1983

Kalamazoo Banner Works

1984 19861985

LunchNotes® New Facility BannerFlex®

The vast popularity of LunchNotes(as seen on the Johnny Carson and Today shows), helped sell millions of foam sandwiches – enabling Roger to direct profits back, into the fledgling banner company.

Production of LunchNotes alsoprovided jobs for McKercher Rehabilitation Center. Forty employees of the local nonprofit assembled, packaged and prepared the gift item for shipping.

1989 – Inc. Magazine named KBW as one of the nation’s fastest growing 500 private companies.

1989

Inc. 500!

1992 1998

2003 Podia®

2004 BannerFlex Airow®

2006 Dori Pole®

2007 WaterJet Services

2014 FlagTrax®

Display One® Abstracta®/Mya®

INGENUITYINNOVATIONIDEASPerfomance Plus

WWhat challenges didthe founder and his teamovercome to build the business?

Challenges – Peak Perfomance

The primary goal was to alleviate a long-standing problem associated with attaching banners to exterior street poles – excessive wind loading.

Roger and the KBW team designed the highly innovative BannerFlex® bracketwhich evolved into state-of-the-arthardware used on virtually every streetpole banner in the world.

By 1998, the KBW bracket received a U.S. patent and was recognized for its unique ability to mount to any pole configuration without custom tools or adapting plates.

Roger M. Lepley, President Consort Display Group

Challenges – Peak Perfomance

WWhat made + makesthis business stand out?

Consort Display Group has always beenrecognized as being “unique within the visual display industry.” It’s a very diverse company that offers creative ideas and a strong focus on design, as well as innovative and diverse product lines. These products had no other model and are unique both within their industry and that they are sold globally.

Roger has consistently created innovativeproducts that fill customer needs – for which there are no similar products available onthe market.

Consort (from its inception as KBW) bootstraps new ideas to life and subsequently supports their growth through acquisition of subcontrac-tors and new product lines.

Pioneer Thinking – Innovative Product Lines

The company has grown from a single product- innovation (street pole banners) to a full-service, design and innovation-oriented manufacturer of seven distinctive, visual display product lines –growing into a multi-million dollar firm.

Select examples of intellectual capital:

KBW BannerFlex® bracket – designed, tested, improved and patented.

Abstracta® Modular Display System – acquired, brought to Kalamazoo, MI and further developed into unique new products (i.e. Mya®) using the highly recognized and sophisticated Abstracta technology.

Pioneer Thinking – Innovative Product Lines

PodiaTableTop Display

AbstractaRetail Display

FlagTrax • New!Street Pole Display

WWhat has this businessachieved? Where is it now?

Accomplishments –

Consort Display Group/Roger M. LepleyCurrent interests and affiliations -

Membership in the American Institute of Architects, AIA

Members of: Kalamazoo Institute of the ArtsKalamazoo County Chamber of Commercethe National Trust for Historic Preservationand the Specialty Graphics Imaging Association(among other associations).

Advisory Board for Education for Employment,Kalamazoo Public Schools.

Guest speaker on “Entrepreneurship”for KRESA.

Roger Lepley - Marketer of the YearKBW - 14th Fastest Growing Private Company in MI (Michigan Business Magazine)

1989/May

+

“The reasons we’ve stayed with Consort all these years are the consistent, superior quality

of their products and their excellent customer service. They meet every one of my requests and they do it

with creativity, good humor and speed.”

Roger Lepley - Governor’s Award for Excellence in Design (by Design Michigan through the Michigan Council for the Arts - for Flying Colors)1977

Roger Lepley - Honor Award (AIA - Western MI Chapter) (for the Lepley residence & residential/commer- cial property in downtown Kalamazoo, MI)1978

Roger Lepley - Honor Award (AIA - Western MI & Grand Valley Chapters) (for the Haymarket building - with Gordon Rogers Associates - a 7 level commercial rehab in downtown Kalamazoo, MI)

1982

1988

KBW Patents -(United States Patent & Trademark Office)

No. 4880195 KBW BannerFlex hardware systemNo. 7930847 Podia Tabletop Display

1989

Consort - Finalist for “Innovation Michigan 2008” (Business Review Magazine)2008

Consort/Abstracta - Finalist/GlobalShop Competition (for Herman Miller Corporation)2015

Our Greatest Reward... ...customer loyalty and recognition –

as one of the most recommended displayproducts companies in America.

++Roger Lepley - Award for Excellence in Historic Preservation - “Adaptive Reuse” (AIA - Western MI & Grand Valley Chapters) (for the Haymarket building - with Gordon Rogers Associates - a 7 level commercial rehab in downtown Kalamazoo, MI)

Steven Lazaroff, Director of Events ProgrammingHartford Downtown Council(Connecticut)

WWhat’s next? What keepscustomers involved?

Vision –

Going forward, Consort Display Groupwill continually build upon our foundation of innovative products, excellent reputa-tion, competent and friendly staff, state-of-the-art manufacturing capabilities and marketing technology – to make major sales and profit gains far into the future.

We will go forward together, living the values we set forth for this company, for ourselves – and, we will respect eachother, our customers and our vendors,to be the best we can possibly be.

Podia Abstracta Dori Pole

Ingenious.

“With his first city outfitted with banners, Lepley is preparing the marketing strategy he hopes will

take his business nationwide.”

Consort Display Group2129 Portage Street • Kalamazoo, MI 49001

(800) 525.6424 • (269) 388.4532www.consort.com

Janet HastingsKalamazoo Gazette1984

Roger Lepley“Unbreakable! See?”