Bill Kaufmann had no idea when he founded dot-com startup ImprintStore.com that he’d be celebrating the company’s 5th anniversary this summer as part of the Olympics.

Now, just nine months after his firm merged with Nike inspired company CorpLogoWare, the combined promotional product companies have been selected as one of only two companies worldwide to produce premiums and promotional products for all USOC Olympic Sponsors. The license includes the games in Athens, Greece, 2004, Torino, Italy, 2006 and Beijing, China, 2008 with an option to renew for an additional four years.

“This is a golden opportunity for us to showcase our online store technology, custom products and creativity to a group of top international companies,” commented Kaufmann, now executive vice president for Miami-based CorpLogoWare, and manager of the company’s Imprint Store Division in Tacoma. “We’re proud that our division’s online store experience was one of the key factors in the CLW selection. In the spirit of the Olympics, receiving this license recognizes the strength of our team,” he added.

With the Athens games are less than two months away, CLW is getting lots of calls and already producing Olympic licensed merchandise for numerous Olympic sponsors, including northwest companies such as Seattle’s NBC affiliate King5 TV, Bank of America and Marriott as well as other companies nationwide including Samsung, Panasonic, John Hancock, Brown Foreman, and the U.S. Olympic Committee.

The company has launched an aggressive nation wide program to hire additional sales and support staff with promotional product experience to support Olympic clients as well as it’s growth in other industries. Several opportunities are anticipated in the Tacoma/Seattle area as part of this expansion, particularly for serving clients in the technology, banking and medical sectors.

In addition to supporting the Olympics, the Tacoma, WA IMPRINT Store Division manages all of CLW’s online services nationwide, including online Company Imprint Stores, fulfillment programs, creative design and product photography. The Division’s large Tacoma showroom also offers sales of imprinted products to the company’s Northwest clients, including the University of Washington, McFarland Cascade, Roman Meal, Multicare, Homestreet Bank, Interstate Trucking, the Port of Tacoma and Brown & Haley.