It’s not often you see business partners that meet in third grade and remain friends all through high school and college to form a business together. With over 40 years of friendship, founders Brian Close and Mike Hennessy knew their new business venture would survive just as their friendship did when they opened their doors in Schaumburg on December 19, 2003.
They began the business by acting as an importer of record sourcing products from China and India to help clients launch new product ideas. From custom buckles to towels for health clubs, Integrity provided a solution for anything our clients needed and helped navigate the complex world of international trade.
This idea blossomed as clients wanted us to offer more. More branded merchandise from corporate apparel to company store platforms and client gifts. This grew into providing trade show services from promotional products to table banners, signs, and even shipping small displays. As the company grew in offering these services, we expanded to Addison in 2011 to take on a small warehouse. In 2015, we added Scott Falli to our team to manage day to day operations and customer service. In 2016, we moved to our Lombard location where we reside today.
Our Lombard location has a much larger warehouse to manage just-in-time inventory for company stores, reward programs, and trade shows. We also offer our signature Perfectly Packaged Kits that we assemble in-house for clients to provide a true branded experience that can include customized package design, notes, and shipping instructions to reach people in the office or at home.
A large portion of our business is branded corporate apparel. We partner with premier decorators that can help create or stitch any logo design to build and protect your brand. Integrity works within your brand guidelines to ensure a consistent logo in both size and color. We also specialize in work apparel for the construction and healthcare industries providing company stores for uniforms and even on-site fittings.
In 2019, the COVID pandemic hit, and we adapted with it. We expanded our warehouse to help our clients assemble and ship more custom gifts and experiences for employees and clients. We invested more in our company stores to create true eCommerce platforms and micro-stores. Despite the pandemic, we had our best year in 2021 and grew our business by adding our Marketing Team in 2022. We hope you like our new website launch and will connect with us on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram. We look forward to celebrating our 20th Anniversary with our Integrity team and valued clients in 2023!
Managing Partners: Mike Hennessy and Brian Close