Olympus Flag & Banner Career Opportunities

HISTORY OF OLYMPUS FLAG & BANNER

Henry Eder was in South High School and Joseph Eder in grade school when they recognized the demand by rabid sports fans for pennants with the colors of various schools. In 1893, they began their business by sewing pennants at home. As demand grew, they farmed out pennants to neighborhood women. Soon the company took on new lines—wall blankets, lodge banners, flags, bumper stickers and armbands.
Henry and Joseph were joined by their brothers Nathan, Samuel and Morris. In 1914, the five brothers formed and registered their corporation as Eder Manufacturing Company. Joseph Eder served as its first president. By 1960, Morris was the only original brother involved in the operation and the sole owner. In 1974, he transferred full ownership to his daughter, Barbara (Eder) Shikora. Barbara and her husband Mel shared ownership from 1977 until their retirement in 1995.

The company has seen many changes since the two brothers started the business in their own home. In 1992 Helmut Adam joined the company as president and co-owner, completing a total transfer of ownership in January of 1996. In 1994, the company name was changed to Olympus Flag & Banner, redefining its identity as it entered into its 101st year. However, Olympus continues to sew and print custom banners for schools and has been producing the U.S. flag since 1912. In the late 1970s, Olympus began sewing mascot and character costumes beginning with the Ronald McDonald characters for McDonald’s Corporation.

Olympus now sews and prints products for many markets. Flags and flag kits are marketed to the consumer market through retailers such as Home Depot, Menards, Mills Fleet Farm and numerous other valuable customers. Flagpoles are sold to construction contractors and corporate customers. Custom banners are sold through ad specialty companies to corporate accounts such as Ford, GM, John Deere, Harley Davidson, Miller Brewing and thousands of other corporations. Costumes are sold to amusement parks, sports teams and directly to many corporate promotional departments. We have many notable customers including McDonald’s, Kelloggs, Walt Disney, Universal Studios and others.

Olympus offers a full benefit package to its employees. We offer health insurance from WPS (two thirds paid by the company), dental insurance from Paid Dental that is accepted at all dental offices, a 401(k) plan with a 25% match up to 15% of your salary and a company paid life insurance/accidental death policy. In addition, we offer the following days as paid holidays:

New Year’s Eve
New Year’s Day
Memorial Day
Independence Day
Labor Day
Thanksgiving Day
Friday after Thanksgiving
Christmas Eve
Christmas Day