George P. Johnson Company

International Directory of Company Histories, Volume 60 (1989) by Frank Uhle

George P. Johnson Company

3600 Giddings Road Auburn Hills, Michigan 43826 U.S.A. Telephone: (248) 475-2500 Fax: (248) 475-2324 Web site: http://www.gpjco.com

Private Company Incorporated: 1914 Employees: 1,000 Sales: $300 million (2003 est.) NAIC: 541850 Display Advertising; 541613 Marketing Consulting Services

The George P. Johnson Company (GPJ) is one of the world's leading event marketing firms. The company is best known for the many eye-catching displays it has created for the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, but in recent years it has expanded internationally and gained new, nonautomotive clients like IBM and Samsung. The privately held firm has production facilities in Auburn Hills, Michigan; Torrance, California; and Stuttgart, Germany, as well as offices on both U.S. coasts and in Europe and Asia. GPJ produces more than 4,000 events each year.

Early Years

The George P. Johnson Co. was founded in 1914 by its namesake in Detroit, Michigan as a flag-making and sail-repair shop. George Johnson, age 25, had been involved with the Detroit Auto Show as early as 1910, and his new company continued to do work for the auto industry's annual exhibits of new vehicles. Over the following decades Johnson also began to produce banners, flags, and bunting for parade floats and special exhibits. As displays at the Auto Show became more and more elaborate, the company established itself as one of their leading creators.

In 1956 GPJ helped produce the first International Auto Show in New York, and in 1961 the firm introduced the first vehicle display turntable, which soon became a staple of such events. The company also had Detroit's Woodward Avenue "paved with gold" to help celebrate the auto industry's 50th anniversary.

In 1976 Johnson's grandson Robert G. Vallee, Jr., began working for the company, and two years later he was appointed head of production. In 1980, in his new job of account executive, he was assigned American Honda, one of the first foreign carmakers with which the company had worked. In 1985 the growing GPJ opened an office in Los Angeles, and with Vallee's help the new unit gained assignments from important clients like Toyota and Nissan. Because of the increasing amount of work it was doing on the West Coast, in 1989 GPJ built a second production facility there. The company was now beginning to attract clients outside of the automotive industry, and also was working to develop its consulting capabilities.

Expansion to Europe in 1995

The early 1990s saw GPJ open new offices in Boston, Chicago, and Seattle, and also win the account of Chrysler International. The latter assignment led the firm to open its first European office in Brussels, Belgium in 1995. That same year saw the formation of the Rutchik Group in Boston, which designed interiors for chain restaurants like Boston Market and Burger King. By now GPJ's annual revenues had grown to more than $100 million, and the company employed between 300 and 500, depending on seasonal needs.

The year 1996 saw many changes for the firm. In March its main headquarters and production operation were moved from Madison Heights, Michigan to a new 300,000-square-foot facility in the Detroit suburb of Auburn Hills. In addition to administrative, sales, and design offices, the new building included a 36,000-square-foot state-of-the-art paint shop and 100,000 square feet of warehouse space to store client exhibits. A few months later GPJ also opened a new office in San Jose, California to serve the growing exhibition needs of Silicon Valley. New contracts were soon won with Cisco Systems, Siebel, and Intel. Also during the year Robert Vallee, Jr., by now the firm's president, gained the additional title of CEO.

The company's highest profile activity continued to be the creation of eye-popping displays for the introduction of new vehicles, however. Carmakers traveled to as many as 150 auto shows around the United States each year, and spent $1–$3 million approximately every three years for a new display. Each one was custom-made and incorporated the latest developments in attention-grabbing technology like simulated-motion and virtual reality. The largest displays were more than 10,000 square feet in size and were constructed in modules that could be configured to fit the space in which they were assembled.

Winning IBM's Worldwide Account in 1998

In June of 1998 GPJ scored a major coup when it was selected by IBM to perform all of the computer maker's exhibition management services worldwide. IBM had worked previously with more than 50 different agencies, but, seeking to cut costs, awarded the entire account to GPJ. The $40 million assignment would add more than 1,000 business shows and events to the company's schedule. The year 1998 also saw GPJ form a strategic alliance with National Commerce Bank Services to begin designing bank branches for location inside supermarkets and retail stores.