It all started with lapel pins.

In 1976, A.T. Designs (asi/30239) owner Trevor Temple was operating a small shop out of his Ontario garage to source pins for teams and clubs.

Trevor Temple, owner of A.T. Designs (asi/30239), mans the booth at his first trade show in 1980.

But Temple saw a gap in the market, and he decided he could fill it.

“In those days, to bring things in from overseas took at least 12 weeks,” explains Rochelle Rex, general manager at A.T. Designs. “This was before the fax machine; people communicated via teletype. Trevor realized that people needed things faster, and they needed them in smaller quantities.”

So, Temple started manufacturing from his home city of Toronto. Around 1988, the firm expanded into the U.S. market. He noticed that a lot of customers wanted to order pins in small qualities, so he got his first casting machine and eventually built an electroplating shop that would allow the firm to do gold, silver and bronze finishing in house. Before he knew it, Temple’s small lapel-pin shop had evolved into a North American operation that produced trophies, ribbons, key tags and coins – customized for client needs in all shapes and sizes.

Today, with around 80 staff members – factory workers and office support combined – the firm is stronger than ever. Its product line runs the gamut, but its sweet spot is manufacturing custom-made medallions for events like Little League tournaments, marathons and graduations.

A.T. Designs (asi/30239) staff gather for a barbeque.

“Medallions and trophies span so many industries,” says Rex. “You go from concert venues to space travel.”

A Domestic and International Production Model

Today, about 50% of A.T. Designs’ production happens overseas, with the other half of its products made in Canada. That domestic footprint helps the firm offer quick turnaround, especially on smaller orders. For example, when a member of the military dies in the line of duty (also known as a fallen officer), A.T. Designs creates custom lapel pins that are handed out at the funeral.

“That stuff has to be made within one to three days,” says Rex. “We can turn stuff over very quickly.”

When determining whether to manufacture an order in Toronto or abroad, A.T. Designs considers a few factors to determine the best approach. “Our smaller orders are generally made in Toronto, and the larger ones we can make here or source overseas,” says Sales Manager John Bresnai. “We look at the intricacies, the quantity and the timing to determine the best option for any particular project.”

Continuous Innovation

While Temple has been doing this work for half a century, he continues to find ways to stand out as the market – and the world – evolve. For example, the firm now produces sublimated ribbons and combines custom shapes with UV-printing capabilities.

“It shows Trevor’s commitment to always evolving, to asking, ‘What can we do better?’” says Bresnai. “We’ve introduced new options, new products, new processes into the factory.”

Temple adds, “After 50 years in business, I still enjoy being in the factory. I’m especially proud of the reputation we’ve built for delivering when others can’t.”

Fifty years later, Temple is still working in the factory, introducing new technology and challenging his team to think bigger.

Temple is “still creating new products and processes, still coming up with new ideas,” Rex says. “He’s still coming up with new technology and equipment to increase productivity. He looks at every single operation, and he makes it easier on the factory workers and improve the flow of work.”

It would be easy, Bresnai notes, to work somewhere for 50 years and become complacent, doing things a certain way because it’s the way they’ve always been done. But at A.T., that’s certainly not the case.

“It’s encouraging to me that we have an owner that’s still putting money into the factory, still looking at ways to make things better,” Bresnai says. “He’s always looking for improvements. And it’s things like that that we can take to trade shows and sales meetings.”

The Next 50 Years

So, what’s in store for A.T. Designs as it embarks on the next 50 years? Bresnai, for one, is excited to build on some of the firm’s most successful partnerships. For example, A.T. Designs recently sold custom belt buckles to a large music festival in Southern California through a distributor.

“It took years for the distributor to get his foot in the door, but once he did, we got great feedback from both the end-users and the end-buyer,” Bresnai explains.

Or, perhaps doing more large-scale orders, like a recent promo partnership that required the company to source and produce close to a million lapel pins. “It’s projects like this that I get excited about because they require a lot of hard work, but it’s great when it comes to fruition,” he says.