Executive Data Control acquires Marketing Mix Inc.

Springfield printing and supply-chain management firm Executive Data Control Inc. closed this month on the purchase of promotional products company Marketing Mix Inc.

St. Louis entrepreneur Walker Deibel, who owns the company that does business as EDC, said his firm bought Springfield-based Marketing Mix from its founder, Brenda Jackson, on Sept. 1 for an undisclosed sum.

“We are continuing to go on a Springfield-oriented acquisition growth strategy,” Deibel said of EDC, noting future purchases are in the works.

The Marketing Mix purchase adds over 100 customers to EDC’s roughly 400, he said.

At Marketing Mix, Jackson plans to stay on board for a trial period through the end of the year as business development manager.

“I didn’t want her to be prematurely committed,” he said. “Brenda was enthusiastic about staying on, and I was enthusiastic about keeping Brenda on, because I think it would help our Springfield presence.

“I’m essentially completely leaving it up to her on what she wants to do.”

Deibel said Jackson’s single employee recently left the company to join the family business, a motivating factor in the sale. He said the founder of the 15-year-old company also would benefit from EDC’s inventory management, warehouse, fulfillment services and information technology.

EDC is continuing to rebrand itself as a provider of e-commerce solutions while staying true to its core - over 50 percent of its business is print, promotional and apparel items, Deibel said.

Saying he’s shooting for an experience similar to Amazon, Deibel said EDC has added an e-commerce module inside customer accounts. The company employs around 14.