UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

 

 

 

FORM 10-Q

 

(Mark One)

x QUARTERLY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15 (d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

 

For the quarterly period ended September 30, 2012

 

OR

 

¨ TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15 (d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

 

For the transition period from _________to_________

 

Commission File Number 000-23115

 

CTI INDUSTRIES CORPORATION

(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)

 

Illinois 36-2848943
(State or other jurisdiction of (I.R.S. Employer Identification Number)
incorporation or organization)  

 

22160 N. Pepper Road  
                  Lake Barrington, Illinois                   60010
(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code)

 

(847) 382-1000

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

 

Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant: (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the Registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.  Yes  þ      No  ¨

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files). Yes  þ      No  ¨

 

Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, or a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See definition of “large accelerated filer”, “accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

 

Large accelerated filer  ¨      Accelerated filer  ¨     Non-accelerated filer  ¨   Smaller Reporting Company   þ

 

Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).  Yes  o      No  þ

 

The number of shares outstanding of the Registrant’s common stock as of November 1, 2012 was 3,231,646.

 

 
 

 

INDEX

 

Part I – Financial Information  
     
Item No. 1 Financial Statements  
  Condensed Consolidated Interim Balance Sheet at September 30, 2012  (unaudited) and December 31, 2011 1
  Condensed Consolidated Interim Statements of Operations and  Comprehensive Income (unaudited) for the three and nine months ended  September 30, 2012 and September 30, 2011 2
  Condensed Consolidated Interim Statements of Cash Flows (unaudited) for  the three and nine months ended September 30, 2012 and September 30, 2011 3
  Condensed Consolidated Interim Earnings per Share (unaudited)  for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2012  and September 30, 2011 4
  Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements (unaudited) 5
Item No. 2 Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations 15
Item No. 3 Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures Regarding Market Risk 22
Item No. 4 Controls and Procedures 22
     
Part II – Other Information  
     
Item No. 1 Legal Proceedings 22
Item No. 1A Risk Factors 23
Item No. 2 Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds 23
Item No. 3 Defaults Upon Senior Securities 23
Item No. 4 Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders 23
Item No. 5 Other Information 23
Item No. 6 Exhibits 24
  Signatures  
  Exhibit 10.6  
  Exhibit 10.7  
  Exhibit 10.8  
  Exhibit 31.1  
  Exhibit 31.2  
  Exhibit 32  

 

 
 

 

PART 1 - FINANCIAL INFORMATION

 

Item 1. Financial Statements

 

CTI Industries Corporation and Subsidiaries

 

Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets

 

    September 30, 2012     December 31, 2011  
    (unaudited)        
ASSETS                
Current assets:                
Cash and cash equivalents (VIE $19,000 and $11,000, respectively)   $ 363,511     $ 338,523  
Accounts receivable, (less allowance for doubtful accounts of $80,000 and $70,000, respectively)     7,330,051       7,091,194  
Inventories, net     15,045,063       13,338,317  
Net deferred income tax asset     812,255       760,241  
Prepaid expenses (VIE $0 and $10,000)     1,321,385       1,345,223  
Other current assets (VIE $91,000 and $83,000)     658,410       427,471  
                 
Total current assets     25,530,675       23,300,969  
                 
Property, plant and equipment:                
Machinery and equipment     25,089,327       24,333,989  
Building     3,329,174       3,329,174  
Office furniture and equipment     3,080,508       3,022,719  
Intellectual property     432,070       432,070  
Land     250,000       250,000  
Leasehold improvements     434,257       415,663  
Fixtures and equipment at customer locations     2,784,419       2,629,902  
Projects under construction     550,086       502,021  
      35,949,841       34,915,538  
Less : accumulated depreciation and amortization     (27,448,195 )     (26,071,629 )
                 
Total property, plant and equipment, net     8,501,646       8,843,909  
                 
Other assets:                
Deferred financing costs, net     204,670       42,986  
Goodwill     1,033,077       1,033,077  
Net deferred income tax asset     127,954       197,243  
Other assets, due from related party $82,000 and $79,000, respectively     242,018       197,338  
                 
Total other assets     1,607,719       1,470,644  
                 
TOTAL ASSETS   $ 35,640,040     $ 33,615,522  
                 
LIABILITIES AND EQUITY                
Current liabilities:                
Checks written in excess of bank balance   $ 821,404     $ 154,501  
Trade payables     4,556,722       6,359,757  
Line of credit     5,410,470       7,298,363  
Notes payable - current portion (VIE $94,000 and $91,000, respectively)     351,859       362,927  
Notes payable - officers, current portion     1,123,742       1,424,923  
Notes Payable Affiliates - current portion     7,968       6,718  
Accrued liabilities     2,299,285       2,081,805  
                 
Total current liabilities     14,571,450       17,688,994  
                 
Long-term liabilities:                
Notes Payable - Affiliates     138,420       134,919  
Notes payable, net of current portion (VIE $614,000 and $687,000, respectively)     7,981,559       3,932,032  
Capital Lease     -       426  
Warrants Payable     680,633       -  
Notes payable - officers, subordinated     -       103,656  
Total long-term liabilities     8,800,612       4,171,033  
                 
Equity:                
CTI Industries Corporation stockholders' equity:                
Preferred Stock — no par value 2,000,000 shares  authorized 0 shares issued and outstanding     -       -  
Common stock  - no par value, 5,000,000 shares authorized, 3,303,773 and 3,276,633 shares issued and 3,231,646 and 3,137,348 outstanding, respectively     13,704,890       13,704,890  
Paid-in-capital     1,054,826       950,968  
Accumulated deficit     (51,003 )     (368,122 )
Accumulated other comprehensive loss     (2,197,597 )     (2,285,679 )
Less:  Treasury stock, 72,127 shares     (141,289 )     (141,289 )
                 
Total CTI Industries Corporation stockholders' equity     12,369,827       11,860,768  
                 
Noncontrolling interest     (101,849 )     (105,273 )
                 
Total Equity     12,267,978       11,755,495  
                 
TOTAL LIABILITIES AND EQUITY   $ 35,640,040     $ 33,615,522  

 

See accompanying notes to condensed consolidated unaudited financial statements

 

1
 

 

CTI Industries Corporation and Subsidiaries

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income (Unaudited)

 

    For the Three Months Ended September 30,     For the Nine Months Ended September 30,  
    2012     2011     2012     2011  
                         
Net Sales   $ 11,786,226     $ 11,730,972     $ 37,409,817     $ 36,393,391  
                                 
Cost of Sales     9,114,918       9,461,457       29,290,188       29,583,262  
                                 
Gross profit     2,671,308       2,269,515       8,119,629       6,810,129  
                                 
Operating expenses:                                
General and administrative     1,570,380       1,295,317       4,441,458       3,974,997  
Selling     482,544       233,756       1,304,783       654,531  
Advertising and marketing     349,581       416,916       1,249,078       1,108,932  
                                 
Total operating expenses     2,402,505       1,945,989       6,995,319       5,738,460  
                                 
Income from operations     268,803       323,526       1,124,310       1,071,669  
                                 
Other (expense) income:                                
Interest expense     (270,793 )     (326,177 )     (629,854 )     (615,370 )
Interest income     5,536       7,576       16,607       13,528  
Foreign currency gain     5,301       8,630       13,206       34,896  
                                 
Total other expense, net     (259,956 )     (309,971 )     (600,041 )     (566,946 )
                                 
Net income before taxes     8,847       13,555       524,269       504,723  
                                 
Income tax expense     1,451       12,907       203,726       253,807  
                                 
Net income     7,396       648       320,543       250,916  
                                 
Less: Net income (loss) attributable to noncontrolling interest     1,359       (17,471 )     3,425       (77,666 )
                                 
Net income attributable to CTI Industries Corporation   $ 6,037     $ 18,119     $ 317,118     $ 328,582  
                                 
Other Comprehensive Income (loss)                                
Foreign currency adjustment     387,275     $ (718,290 )   $ 88,082     $ (323,582 )
Comprehensive income (loss)   $ 393,312     $ (700,171 )   $ 405,200     $ 5,000  
                                 
Basic income per common share   $ 0.00     $ 0.01     $ 0.10     $ 0.10  
                                 
Diluted income per common share   $ 0.00     $ 0.01     $ 0.10     $ 0.10  
                                 
Dividends per share   $ -     $ 0.05     $ -     $ 0.05  
                                 
Weighted average number of shares and equivalent shares of common stock outstanding:                                
Basic     3,214,771       3,138,848       3,208,862       3,138,181  
                                 
Diluted     3,353,267       3,178,444       3,269,941       3,187,871  

 

See accompanying notes to condensed consolidated unaudited financial statements

 

2
 

 

CTI Industries Corporation and Subsidiaries

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows (Unaudited)

 

    For the Nine Months Ended September 30,  
    2012     2011  
             
Cash flows from operating activities:                
Net income   $ 320,543     $ 250,916  
Adjustment to reconcile net income to cash used in operating activities:                
Depreciation and amortization     1,261,064       1,383,459  
Amortization of debt discount     -       5,042  
Change in value of swap agreement     158,090       158,090  
Stock based compensation     65,826       105,009  
Provision for losses on accounts receivable     9,930       9,001  
Provision for losses on inventories     223,877       61,465  
Deferred income taxes     17,276       (100,865 )
Change in assets and liabilities:                
Accounts receivable     (51,976 )     1,044,070  
Inventories     (1,676,156 )     (2,533,593 )
Prepaid expenses and other assets     (190,274 )     (539,135 )
Trade payables     (1,952,903 )     368,200  
Accrued liabilities     (336,174 )     (455,233 )
                 
Net cash used in operating activities     (2,150,877 )     (243,574 )
                 
Cash used in investing activities - purchases of property, plant and equipment     (760,084 )     (796,222 )
                 
Cash flows from financing activities:                
Change in checks written in excess of bank balance     664,787       523,414  
Net change in revolving line of credit     (1,900,868 )     99,055  
Proceeds from issuance of long-term debt     5,000,000       730,615  
Repayment of long-term debt (related parties $297,000 and $268,000)     (696,274 )     (481,233 )
Proceeds from exercise of stock options and warrants     34,160       5,550  
Dividends paid     -       (158,381 )
Cash paid for deferred financing fees     (184,795 )     (7,510 )
                 
Net cash provided by financing activities     2,917,010       711,510  
                 
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash     18,939       4,049  
                 
Net increase in cash and cash equivalents     24,988       (324,237 )
                 
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period     338,523       761,874  
                 
Cash and cash equivalents at end of period   $ 363,511     $ 437,637  
                 
Supplemental disclosure of cash flow information:                
Cash payments for interest   $ 637,181     $ 397,218  
                 
Cash payments for taxes   $ 5,000     $ 42,250  
                 
Supplemental Disclosure of non-cash investing and financing activity                
Property, Plant & Equipment acquisitions funded by liabilities   $ 79,647     $ 43,524  
                 
Reclassification of line of credit to long-term debt   $ -     $ 700,000  
                 
Exercise warrants and payments of subordinated debt   $ (3,872 )   $ -  

 

See accompanying notes to condensed consolidated unaudited financial statements

 

3
 

 

CTI Industries Corporation and Subsidiaries

Condensed Consolidated Earnings per Share (unaudited)

 

    For the Three Months Ended September 30,     For the Nine Months Ended September 30,  
    2012     2011     2012     2011  
Basic                                
Average shares outstanding:                                
Weighted average number of common shares outstanding     3,214,771       3,138,848       3,208,862       3,138,181  
                                 
Net income:                                
Net income attributable to CTI Industries Corporation   $ 6,037     $ 18,119     $ 317,118     $ 328,582  
                                 
Per share amount   $ 0.00     $ 0.01     $ 0.10     $ 0.10  
                                 
Diluted                                
Average shares outstanding:                                
Weighted average number of common shares outstanding     3,214,771       3,138,848       3,208,862       3,138,181  
                                 
Effect of dilutive shares     138,496       39,596       61,079       49,690  
                                 
Weighted average number of shares and equivalent shares of common stock outstanding     3,353,267       3,178,444       3,269,941       3,187,871  
                                 
Net income:                                
Net income attributable to CTI Industries Corporation   $ 6,037     $ 18,119     $ 317,118     $ 328,582  
                                 
Per share amount   $ 0.00     $ 0.01     $ 0.10     $ 0.10  

 

See accompanying notes to condensed consolidated unaudited financial statements

 

4
 

 

CTI Industries Corporation and Subsidiaries

Notes to Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements

 

Note 1 - Basis of Presentation

 

The accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements are unaudited but in the opinion of management contain all the adjustments (consisting of those of a normal recurring nature) considered necessary to present fairly the consolidated financial position and the consolidated results of operations and consolidated cash flows for the periods presented in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles for interim consolidated financial information and the instructions to Form 10-Q and Article 8 of Regulation S-X. Accordingly, they do not include all the information and footnotes required by accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. Operating results for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2012 are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2012. It is suggested that these condensed consolidated financial statements be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included in the Company's annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2011.

 

Principles of consolidation and nature of operations:

 

The condensed consolidated financial statements include the accounts of CTI Industries Corporation and its wholly-owned subsidiaries, CTI Balloons Limited, CTI Helium, Inc. and CTF International S.A. de C.V., its majority-owned subsidiaries CTI Mexico S.A. de C.V., Flexo Universal, S.A. de C.V. and CTI Europe gmbH, as well as the accounts of Venture Leasing S. A. de R. L. and Venture Leasing L.L.C (the “Company”). The last two entities have been consolidated as variable interest entities. All significant intercompany transactions and accounts have been eliminated in consolidation. The Company (i) designs, manufactures and distributes balloon products throughout the world and (ii) operates systems for the production, lamination, coating and printing of films used for food packaging and other commercial uses and for conversion of films to flexible packaging containers and other products.

 

Variable Interest Entities (“VIE’s”):

 

The determination of whether or not to consolidate a variable interest entity under U.S. GAAP requires a significant amount of judgment concerning the degree of control over an entity by its holders of variable interest. To make these judgments, management has conducted an analysis of the relationship of the holders of variable interest to each other, the design of the entity, the expected operations of the entity, which holder of variable interests is most “closely associated” to the entity and which holder of variable interests is the primary beneficiary required to consolidate the entity. Upon the occurrence of certain events, management reviews and reconsiders its previous conclusion regarding the status of an entity as a variable interest entity. Upon the adoption of amended accounting guidance applicable to variable interest entities on January 1, 2010, management continually reconsiders whether the Company is deemed to be a variable interest entity’s primary beneficiary who consolidates such entity. There are two entities that have been consolidated as variable interest entities.

 

5
 

 

Use of estimates:

 

In preparing condensed consolidated financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America, management makes estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the condensed consolidated financial statements and the reported amount of revenue and expenses during the reporting period in the condensed consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes. Actual results may differ from those estimates. The Company’s significant estimates include reserves for doubtful accounts, reserves for the lower of cost or market of inventory, reserves for deferred tax assets and recovery value of goodwill.

 

Earnings per share:

 

Basic earnings per share is computed by dividing net income by the weighted average number of shares of common stock outstanding during each period.

 

Diluted earnings per share is computed by dividing the net income by the weighted average number of shares of common stock and equivalents (stock options and warrants), unless anti-dilutive, during each period.

 

As of September 30, 2012 and 2011, shares to be issued upon the exercise of options and warrants aggregated 267,000 and 205,000, respectively. The number of anti-dilutive shares (not included in the determination of earnings on a diluted basis) for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2012, was 80,500, all of which were represented by options. The number of anti-dilutive shares for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2011, were 124,000 and 81,500, respectively, all of which were represented by options.

 

New Accounting Pronouncements:

 

The Company’s significant accounting policies are summarized in Note 2 of the Company’s consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2011. There were no significant changes to these accounting policies during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2012. 

6
 

 

Note 2 - Stock-Based Compensation; Changes in Equity

 

The Company has adopted Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 718 which requires all share-based payments to employees, including grants of employee stock options, to be recognized in the condensed consolidated financial statements based on their grant-date fair values.

 

The Company has applied the Black-Scholes model to value stock-based awards and recently issued warrants related to notes. That model incorporates various assumptions in the valuation of stock-based awards relating to the risk-free rate of interest to be applied, the estimated dividend yield and expected volatility of our common stock. The risk-free rate of interest is the related U.S. Treasury yield curve for periods within the expected term of the option at the time of grant. The dividend yield on our common stock is estimated to be 1.14%. The expected volatility is based on historical volatility of the Company’s common stock.

 

The Company, at the discretion of the board, may issue options in excess of the total available, if options related to that stock plan are cancelled. In some cases, not all shares that are available to a stock plan are issued, as the Company is unable to issue options to a previous plan when a new plan is in place.

 

7
 

 

The Company’s net income for the three months ended September 30, 2012 and 2011 includes approximately $22,000 and $34,000, respectively of compensation costs related to share based payments. The Company’s net income for the nine months ended September 30, 2012 and 2011 includes approximately $66,000 and $104,000, respectively of compensation costs related to share based payments. As of September 30, 2012 there is $131,000 of unrecognized compensation expense related to non-vested stock option grants and stock grants. We expect approximately $22,000 of additional stock-based compensation expense to be recognized over the remainder of 2012, $59,000 to be recognized during 2013, and $41,000 to be recognized during 2014, and $9,000 to be recognized during 2015.

 

As of September 30, 2012, the Company had four stock-based compensation plans pursuant to which stock options were, or may be, granted. The Plans provide for the award of options, which may either be incentive stock options (“ISOs”) within the meaning of Section 422A of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”) or non-qualified options (“NQOs”) which are not subject to special tax treatment under the Code as well as for stock grants.

 

On April 12, 2001, the Board of Directors approved for adoption, effective December 27, 2001, the 2001 Stock Option Plan (“2001 Plan”). The 2001 Plan authorizes the grant of options to purchase up to an aggregate of 119,050, shares of the Company’s Common Stock. As of September 30, 2012 , 139,958 shares (including cancelled shares re-issued under the Plan) have been granted and were fully vested at the time of grant and 4,500 remain outstanding. During the third quarter 2012, 3,000 options were exercised.

 

On April 24, 2002, the Board of Directors approved for adoption, effective October 12, 2002, the 2002 Stock Option Plan (“2002 Plan”). The 2002 Plan authorizes the grant of options to purchase up to an aggregate of 142,860 shares of the Company’s Common Stock . As of September 30, 2012, 123,430 shares have been granted and were fully vested at the time of grant and 27,500 remain outstanding.

 

On April 30, 2007, the Board of Directors approved for adoption, effective October 1, 2007, the 2007 Stock Option Plan (“2007 Plan”). The 2007 Plan authorizes the grant of options to purchase up to an aggregate of 150,000 shares of the Company’s Common Stock . As of September 30, 2012, 165,750 options (including cancelled shares re-issued under the Plan) had been granted and 14,500 remain outstanding. During the third quarter 2012, 2,500 options were expired and 15,500 options were exercised.

 

On April 10, 2009, the Board of Directors approved for adoption, and on June 5, 2009, the shareholders of the Corporation approved, a 2009 Stock Incentive Plan (“2009 Plan”). The 2009 Plan authorizes the issuance of up to 250,000 shares of stock or options to purchase stock of the Company. As of September 30, 2012, 82,000 options had been granted and 80,500 remain outstanding.

 

8
 

 

A summary of the Company’s stock option activity and related information is as follows:

 

    Shares 
under
Option
    Weighted
Average
Exercise
Price
    Weighted
Average
Contractual
Life
    Aggregate
Intrinsic
Value
 
Balance at December 31, 2011     162,500     $ 4.25                  
Granted     -       -                  
Cancelled     (3,500 )     5.26                  
Exercised     (32,000 )     1.94                  
Outstanding at September 30, 2012     127,000     $ 4.81       2.90     $ 108,423  
                                 
Exercisable at September  30, 2012     51,875     $ 2.89       2.40     $ 108,423  

 

On July 17, 2012, the Company entered into a Note and Warrant Purchase Agreement with BMO Equity pursuant to which (i) BMO Equity advanced to the Company the sum of $5 million and (ii) the Company issued to BMO Equity a warrant to purchase up to Four Percent (4%) of the outstanding shares of common stock of the Company on a fully-diluted basis (140,048 shares of common stock of the Company) at the price of One Cent ($0.01) per share. The term of the loan provided for in this Agreement is five and a half years. Interest is payable on the outstanding balance of the loan at the rate of 11.5% per annum.

 

A summary of the Company’s stock warrant activity and related information is as follows:

 

    Shares
under
Warrant
    Weighted
Average
Exercise
Price
    Weighted
Average
Contractual
Life
    Aggregate
Intrinsic
Value
 
Balance at December 31, 2011     -       -                  
Granted     140,048     $ 0.01                  
Cancelled     -       -                  
Exercised     -       -                  
Outstanding at September 30, 2012     140,048     $ 0.01       9.80     $ 680,633  
                                 
Exercisable at September  30, 2012     -       -       -       -  

 

A summary of the Company’s stock option activity by grant date as of September 30, 2012 is as follows:

 

    Options Outstanding     Options Vested  
Options by
Grant Date
  Shares     Weighted
Avg.
    Remain.
Life
    Intrinsic
Val
    Shares     Weighted
Avg.
    Remain.
Life
    Intrinsic Val  
Dec 2005     32,000     $ 2.88       3.2     $ 63,680       32,000     $ 2.88       3.2     $ 63,680  
Nov 2008     14,500       1.78       0.1       44,743       14,500       1.78       0.1       44,743  
Dec 2010     72,500       6.14       3.2       -       5,375       5.97       3.2       -  
Jan 2011     8,000       5.96       3.3       -       -       -       -       -  
TOTAL     127,000     $ 4.81       2.9     $ 108,423       51,875     $ 2.89       2.4     $ 108,423  

 

The aggregate intrinsic value in the tables above represents the total pre-tax intrinsic value (the difference between the closing price of the Company’s common stock on the last trading day of the quarter ended September 30, 2012 and the exercise price, multiplied by the number of in-the-money options) that would have been received by the option holders had all the holders exercised their options on September 30, 2012.

 

9
 

Note 3 - Legal Proceedings

 

The Company is party to certain claims or actions arising in the normal course of business. The ultimate outcome of these matters is unknown but, in the opinion of management, the resolution of these matters is not expected to have a significant effect on the future financial position or results of operations of the Company.

 

Note 4 - Other Comprehensive Income

 

In the three and nine months ended September 30, 2012 the company had comprehensive income of $387,000 and $88,000, all from foreign currency translation adjustments.

 

The following table sets forth the accumulated balance of other comprehensive loss and each component.

    Foreign
Currency Items
    Accumulated 
Other 
Comprehensive
(Loss)
 
             
Beginning balance as of January 1, 2012   $ (2,286,000 )   $ (2,286,000 )
                 
Current period change, net of tax     88,000       88,000  
                 
Ending Balance as of September 30, 2012   $ (2,198,000 )   $ (2,198,000 )

 

Note 5 - Inventories, Net

    September 30,
2012
    December 31,
2011
 
Raw materials   $ 3,469,000     $ 3,027,000  
Work in process     1,330,000       1,503,000  
Finished goods     10,855,000       9,192,000  
Allowance for excess quantities     (609,000 )     (384,000 )
Total inventories   $ 15,045,000     $ 13,338,000  

 

Note 6 - Geographic Segment Data

 

The Company has determined that it operates primarily in one business segment which designs, manufactures and distributes film and film related products for use in packaging, storage and novelty balloon products. The Company operates in foreign and domestic regions. Information about the Company's operations by geographic areas is as follows:

 

10
 

 

    Net Sales     Net Sales  
    For the Three Months Ended     For the Nine Months Ended  
    September 30,     September 30,  
    2012     2011     2012     2011  
                         
United States   $ 8,419,000     $ 8,545,000     $ 26,965,000     $ 26,695,000  
Europe     316,000       124,000       631,000       326,000  
Mexico     2,546,000       2,778,000       8,193,000       7,842,000  
United Kingdom     505,000       284,000       1,621,000       1,530,000  
                                 
    $ 11,786,000     $ 11,731,000     $ 37,410,000     $ 36,393,000  

 

    Total Assets at  
    September 30,     December 31,  
    2012     2011  
             
United States   $ 25,652,000     $ 25,302,000  
Europe     1,084,000       464,000  
Mexico     7,862,000       7,116,000  
United Kingdom     1,042,000       734,000  
                 
    $ 35,640,000     $ 33,616,000  

 

Note 7 - Concentration of Credit Risk

 

Concentration of credit risk with respect to trade accounts receivable is generally limited due to the number of entities comprising the Company's customer base. The Company performs ongoing credit evaluations and provides an allowance for potential credit losses against the portion of accounts receivable which is estimated to be uncollectible. Such losses have historically been within management's expectations. During the nine months ended September 30, 2012, there was one customer whose purchases represented more than 10% of the Company’s consolidated net sales. During the nine months ended September 30, 2011, there were two customers whose purchases represented more than 10% of the Company’s consolidated net sales. Sales to the top customers for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2012 and 2011 are as follows:

 

11
 

 

    Three Months Ended     Three Months Ended  
    September 30, 2012     September 30, 2011  
Customer   Net Sales     % of Net 
Sales
    Net Sales     % of Net 
Sales
 
Customer A     2,251,000       19.1%     2,839,000       24.2%
Customer B     1,478,000       12.5%     1,204,000       10.3%
Customer C     886,000       7.5%     1,640,000       14.0%

 

    Nine Months Ended     Nine Months Ended  
    September 30, 2012     September 30, 2011  
Customer   Net Sales     % of Net 
Sales
    Net Sales     % of Net 
Sales
 
Customer A     9,586,000       25.6%     10,272,000       28.2%
Customer B     3,341,000       8.9%     4,836,000       13.3%

 

As of September 30, 2012, the total amount owed to the Company by our two largest customers was $1,467,000 or 20.0% and $204,000 or 2.8% of the Company’s consolidated accounts receivables, respectively. The amounts owed at September 30, 2011 by the largest customers were $1,552,000 or 21.4% and $1,082,000 or 14.9% of the Company’s consolidated net accounts receivables, respectively. There was nothing owed to the Company by the third customer as of September 30, 2011.

 

Note 8 - Related Party Transactions

 

Stephen M. Merrick, President and Chief Financial Officer of the Company, is of counsel to the law firm of Vanasco Genelly and Miller PC which provides legal services to the Company. Legal fees paid by the Company with this firm for the three months ended September 30, 2012 and 2011, respectively, were $52,000 and $14,000. Legal fees paid by the Company with this firm for the nine months ended September 30, 2012 and 2011, respectively, were $123,000 and $100,000.

 

John H. Schwan, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Company, is a principal of Shamrock Specialty Packaging and affiliated companies. The Company made payments for packaging materials, rent and temporary employees supplied by Shamrock of approximately $813,000 during the three months ended September 30, 2012 and $643,000 during the three months ended September 30, 2011. The Company made payments for packaging materials, rent and temporary employees supplied by Shamrock of approximately $2,373,000 during the nine months ended September 30, 2012 and $1,694,000 during the nine months ended September 30, 2011. At September 30, 2012 and 2011, outstanding accounts payable balances were $498,000 and $330,000, respectively.

 

12
 

 

John H. Schwan, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Company, and Howard W. Schwan, Executive Vice President of the Company, are the brothers of Gary Schwan, one of the owners of Schwan Incorporated, which provides building maintenance and remodeling services to the Company. The Company made payments to Schwan Incorporated of approximately $11,000 during the three months ended September 30, 2012 and $13,000 during the three months ended September 30, 2011. The Company made payments to Schwan Incorporated of approximately $20,000 during the nine months ended September 30, 2012 and $23,000 during the nine months ended September 30, 2011.

 

Interest payments have been made to John H. Schwan and Stephen M. Merrick for loans made to the Company. During the three months ended September 30, 2012 and 2011 these interest payments totaled $21,000 and $26,000, respectively. During the nine months ended September 30, 2012 and 2011 these interest payments totaled $66,000 and $86,000, respectively.

 

On July 1, 2011, Flexo Universal, S.A. de C.V. (“Flexo”) entered into a lease agreement with Venture Leasing S.A. de R.L. (“Venture Leasing Mexico”) for the lease of balloon production equipment financed and owned by Venture Leasing Mexico and used by Flexo for the production of latex balloons. Venture Leasing Mexico is wholly owned by entities owned by John H. Schwan, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Company and Stephen M. Merrick, President and Chief Financial Officer of the Company. Venture Leasing Mexico and Venture Leasing L.L.C., also owned by entities owned by Mr. Schwan and Mr. Merrick, are deemed variable interest entities and are consolidated with the accounts of the Company. During the three and nine months ended September 30, 2012, Flexo made lease payments to Venture Leasing Mexico totaling $36,000 and $72,000, respectively.

 

Note 9 - Derivative Instruments; Fair Value

 

The following table represents information about the Company’s assets and liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis as of September 30, 2012, and indicate the fair value hierarchy of the valuation techniques utilized by the Company to determine such fair value:

 

    Amount as of                    
Description   9/30/2012     Level 1     Level 2     Level 3  
                         
Interest Rate Swap   $ 142,000     $ -     $ 142,000     $ -  
                                 
    $ 142,000     $ -     $ 142,000     $ -  

 

    Amount as of                    
Description   9/30/2011     Level 1     Level 2     Level 3  
                         
Interest Rate Swap   $ 158,000     $ -     $ 158,000     $ -  
                                 
    $ 158,000     $ -     $ 158,000     $ -  

 

The Company is exposed to certain market risks including the effect of changes in interest rates. The Company uses derivative instruments to manage financial exposures that occur in the normal course of business. It does not hold or issue derivatives for speculative trading purposes. The Company is exposed to non-performance risk from the counterparties in its derivative instruments. This risk would be limited to any unrealized gains on current positions. To help mitigate this risk, the Company transacts only with counterparties that are rated as investment grade or higher and all counterparties are monitored on a continuous basis. The fair value of the Company’s derivatives reflects this credit risk.

 

13
 

 

On July 1, 2011, we entered into a swap agreement with BMO Capital Markets with respect to $6,780,000 of our loan balances with Harris. This swap agreement limits the Company’s exposure to interest rate fluctuations on the Company’s floating rate loans. The swap agreement has the effect of fixing the interest rate on the loan balances covered by the swap at 4.65% per annum. The swap agreement is a derivative financial instrument and we determine and record the fair market value of the swap agreement each quarter. The value is recorded on the balance sheet of the Company and the amount of the unrealized gain or loss for each period is recorded as interest income or expense.

 

Fair Values of Derivative Instruments in the Statement of Financial Position

 

          Liability Derivatives
As of     September 30   2012   2011
             
      Derivatives not designated as hedging instruments under Statement 133   Balance Sheet Location   Fair Value     Balance Sheet Location   Fair Value  
      Interest Rate Contracts   Accrued Liabilities   $ 142,000     Accrued Liabilities   $ 158,000  

 

The Effect of Derivative Instruments on the Statement of Financial Performance

 

for the 3 month                        
period ending   September 30   2012   2011
             
  Derivatives not Designated as Hedging Instruments under Statement 133   Location of Gain (Loss) Recognized in Income on Derivative   Amount of Gain (Loss) Recognized in Income on Derivative     Location of Gain (Loss) Recognized in Income on Derivative   Amount of Gain (Loss) Recognized in Income on Derivative  
  Interest Rate Contracts   Interest Expense   $ *(10,000 )   Interest Expense   $ (179,000 )
*Interest on fixed/variable rate variances       $ 20,000              

 

for the 9 months                        
period ending   September 30   2012   2011
             
  Derivatives not Designated as Hedging Instruments under Statement 133   Location of Gain (Loss) Recognized in Income on Derivative   Amount of Gain (Loss) Recognized in Income on Derivative     Location of Gain (Loss) Recognized in Income on Derivative   Amount of Gain (Loss) Recognized in Income on Derivative  
  Interest Rate Contracts   Interest Income/ (Expense)   $ *(61,000 )   Interest Income/ (Expense)   $ (179,000 )
*Interest on fixed/variable rate variances       $ 59,000              

 

14
 

 

Item 2. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

 

Forward Looking Statements

 

This quarterly report includes both historical and “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. We have based these forward-looking statements on our current expectations and projections about future results. Words such as “may,” “should,” “could,” “would,” “expect,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “potential,” “continue,” or similar words are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these words. Although we believe that our opinions and expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements, and our actual results may differ substantially from the views and expectations set forth in this quarterly report on Form 10-Q. We disclaim any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking statements after the date of this quarterly report to conform such statements to actual results or to changes in our opinions or expectations.

 

Overview

 

We produce film products for novelty, packaging and container applications. These products include metalized balloons, latex balloons and related latex toy products, films for packaging and custom product applications, and flexible containers for packaging and consumer storage applications. We produce all of our film products for packaging and container applications at our plant in Lake Barrington, Illinois. We produce all of our latex balloons and latex products at our facility in Guadalajara, Mexico. Substantially all of our film products for packaging and custom product applications are sold to customers in the United States. We market and sell our novelty items and flexible containers for consumer use in the United States, Mexico, Latin America, and Europe.

 

Results of Operations

 

Net Sales . For the three months ended September 30, 2012, net sales were $11,786,000 compared to net sales of $11,731,000 for the same period of 2011, an increase of 0.5%. For the quarters ended September 30, 2012 and 2011, net sales by product category were as follows:

 

    Three Months Ended  
    September 30, 2012     September 30, 2011  
    $     % of     $     % of  
Product Category   (000) Omitted     Net Sales     (000) Omitted     Net Sales  
                         
Metalized Balloons     4,092       35%     4,173       36%
                                 
Pouches     3,625       31%     2,424       21%
                                 
Latex Balloons     2,641       22%     2,961       25%
                                 
Film Products     1,033       9%     1,907       16%
                                 
Other     395       3%     266       2%
                                 
Total     11,786       100%     11,731       100%

 

15
 

 

For the nine months ended September 30, 2012, net sales were $37,410,000 compared to net sales of $36,393,000 for the same period of 2011, an increase of 2.8%. For the nine months ended September 30, 2012 and 2011, net sales by product category were as follows:

 

    Nine Months Ended  
    September 30, 2012     September 30, 2011  
    $     % of     $     % of  
Product Category   (000) Omitted     Net Sales     (000) Omitted     Net Sales  
                         
Metalized Balloons     16,557       44%       16,150       44%
                                 
Pouches     7,237       19%     6,284       17%
                                 
Latex Balloons     8,232       22%     7,782       21%
                                 
Film Products     3,876       11%     5,258       15%
                                 
Other     1,508       4%     919       3%
                                 
Total     37,410       100%     36,393       100%

 

Metalized Balloons . During the three months ended September 30, 2012 revenues from the sale of metalized balloons decreased by 1.9% compared to the prior year period from $4,173,000 to $4,092,000. During the nine months ended September 30, 2012 revenues from the sale of metalized balloons increased by 2.5% compared to the prior year period from $16,150,000 to $16,557,000. During the nine months ended September 30, 2012 sales of metalized balloons sales to our largest customer decreased to $9,219,000 from $9,984,000, while sales of metalized balloons to other customers increased in this period. For the nine months ended September 30, 2012, sales of metalized balloons to other customers were $7,338,000 compared to $6,166,000 for the same period last year. These included sales to customers in the United States, Mexico, the United Kingdom and Europe.

 

Pouches . During the three months ended September 30, 2012 revenues from the sale of pouches increased by 49.5% compared to the prior year period from $2,424,000 to $3,625,000. During the nine months ended September 30, 2012 revenues from the sale of pouches increased by 15.2% compared to the prior year period from $6,284,000 to $7,237,000. Virtually all of our pouch sales in 2011 and 2012 have been of vacuumable pouches in two categories: (i) zippered pouches and (ii) open-top pouches or rolls. For the three and nine months ended 2012 and 2011, sales of pouch products in these categories have been as follows:

 

    Three Months Ended
September 30,
    Nine Months Ended 
September 30,
 
Pouches   2012     2011     2012     2011  
                         
Zippered   $ 1,611,000     $ 1,326,000     $ 3,452,000     $ 3,788,000  
                                 
Open-Top or Rolls     2,014,000       1,098,000       3,785,000       2,496,000  
                                 
Total   $ 3,625,000     $ 2,424,000     $ 7,237,000     $ 6,284,000  

 

16
 

 

Most of our sales of zippered pouches have been of branded products to a principal customer, although we have had limited sales of our ZipVac® pouch line as well.

 

During 2010, we introduced a line of open-top pouches and rolls for use with existing vacuum sealing machines which we have sold under the ZipVac® label as well as on a private label basis.

 

In December, 2011, we entered into a Trademark License Agreement with S.C. Johnson & Son, Inc. pursuant to which we received a license to market and sell vacuum sealing machines as well as pouches and rolls of film for use with those machines, under the Ziploc brand name. In the first quarter 2012, we introduced and began to market and sell that branded line of vacuum sealing machines and associated open-top bags and rolls. During the third quarter, sales of this branded line of products increased significantly as we began to install the product line in a number of retail outlets. As of September 30, 2012, we had installed this line of products for sale in approximately 2,700 stores throughout the United States.

 

As the chart indicates, our sales of open-top pouches and rolls increased from just over $1 million in the third quarter 2011 to more than $2 million in the third quarter this year. These sales amounts for the third quarter 2012 include sales of vacuum sealing machines as well as of the open-top pouches and rolls. Also, while most of the sales shown for the third quarter 2012 relate to sales of our branded line, they also include some sales of our Universal or private label lines of pouches.

  

Latex Balloons. During the three months ended September 30, 2012 revenues from the sale of latex balloons decreased by 10.8% compared to the prior year period from $2,961,000 to $2,641,000. During the nine months ended September 30, 2012 revenues from the sale of latex balloons increased by 5.8% compared to the prior year period from $7,782,000 to $8,232,000. The decrease in the third quarter 2012 is attributable to a decline in the value of the peso and a slight decrease in sales in Mexico by Flexo Universal, our subsidiary there. The increase for the nine months ended September 30, 2012, is attributable to increased sales in Mexico as well as increased sales to various customers in the United States.

 

Films . During the three months ended September 30, 2012 revenues from the sale of laminated film products decreased by 45.8% compared to the prior year period from $1,907,000 to $1,033,000. During the nine months ended September 30, 2012 revenues from the sale of laminated film products decreased by 26.3% compared to the prior year period from $5,258,000 to $3,876,000. The decrease is attributable to a decrease in sales to a principal customer. Approximately 86.2% of the sales of laminated film products during the nine months ended September 30, 2012 were to a principal customer.

 

Sales to a limited number of customers continue to represent a large percentage of our net sales. The table below illustrates the impact on sales of our top three and ten customers for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2012 and 2011.

 

    Three Months Ended September 30,     Nine Months Ended September 30,  
    % of Sales     % of Sales  
    2012     2011     2012     2011  
                         
Top 3 Customers     39.2%     48.4%     43.1%     50.9%
                                 
Top 10 Customers     67.1%     72.7%     63.8%     70.9%

 

During the three months ended September 30, 2012, there were two customers whose purchases represented more than 10% of the Company’s consolidated net sales. Sales to these customers for the three months ended September 30, 2012 were $2,251,000 or 19.1%, and $1,478,000 or 12.5% of consolidated net sales, respectively. Sales to the top three customers in the same period of 2011 were $2,839,000 or 24.2%, $1,204,000 or 10.3%, and $1,640,000 or 14.0% of consolidated net sales, respectively. During the nine months ended September 30, 2012, there was one customer whose purchases represented more than 10% of the Company’s consolidated net sales. Sales to this customer for the nine months ended September 30, 2012 were $9,586,000 or 25.6% of consolidated net sales. Sales to the top two customers in the same period of 2011 were $10,272,000 or 28.2% and $4,836,000 or 13.3% of consolidated net sales, respectively. As of September 30, 2012, the total amount owed to the Company by our two largest customers were $1,467,000 or 20.0% and $204,000 or 2.8% of the Company’s consolidated net accounts receivables, respectively. The amounts owed at September 30, 2011 by our two largest customers were $1,552,000 or 21.4%, and $1,082,000 or 14.9% of the Company’s consolidated net accounts receivables, respectively.

 

17
 

 

Cost of Sales . During the three months ended September 30, 2012, the cost of sales represented 77.3% of net sales compared to 80.7% for the three months ended September 30, 2011. During the nine months ended September 30, 2012, the cost of sales represented 78.3% of net sales compared to 81.3% for the nine months ended September 30, 2011. During the nine months ended September 30, 2012, cost of sales declined compared to the same period last year as the result of several factors including: (i) moderation in the cost of certain raw materials, particularly latex, (ii) increases in the selling prices of certain of our products and (iii) a shift in the mix of products sold to products having higher margin.

 

General and Administrative . During the three months ended September 30, 2012, general and administrative expenses were $1,570,000 or 13.3% of net sales, compared to $1,295,000 or 11.0% of net sales for the same period in 2011. During the nine months ended September 30, 2012, general and administrative expenses were $4,441,000 or 11.9% of net sales, compared to $3,975,000 or 10.9% of net sales for the same period in 2011. The increase in general and administrative expenses is attributable to (i) an increase in salary expense of $116,000, (ii) an increase in consulting expense of $58,000, and (iii) an increase in legal expense of $65,000.

 

Selling . During the three months ended September 30, 2012, selling expenses were $483,000 or 4.1% of net sales, compared to $234,000 or 2.0% of net sales for the same period in 2011. During the nine months ended September 30, 2012, selling expenses were $1,305,000 or 3.5% of net sales, compared to $655,000 or 1.8% of net sales for the same period in 2011. The increase in selling expenses is attributable principally to (i) an increase in salary expense of $152,000, (ii) an increase in travel expenses of $75,000, (iii) an increase in outside services of $305,000, (iv) an increase in engineering and testing services related to the vacuum sealer machines of $67,000 and (v) an increase in royalty expenses of $63,000.

 

Advertising and Marketing . During the three months ended September 30, 2012, advertising and marketing expenses were $350,000 or 3.0% of net sales for the period, compared to $417,000 or 3.6% of net sales for the same period of 2011. During the nine months ended September 30, 2012, advertising and marketing expenses were $1,249,000 or 3.3% of net sales for the period, compared to $1,109,000 or 3.0% of net sales for the same period of 2011. The increase in advertising and marketing expense is attributable to (i) an increase in commission expense of $110,000 and (ii) an increase in artwork and films for creative designs of $65,000.

 

Other Income (Expense) . During the three months ended September 30, 2012, the Company incurred net interest expense of $265,000, compared to net interest expense during the same period of 2011 in the amount of $319,000. During the nine months ended September 30, 2012, the Company incurred net interest expense of $613,000, compared to net interest expense during the same period of 2011 in the amount of $602,000.

 

18
 

 

For the three months ended September 30, 2012, the Company had a foreign currency transaction gain of $5,000 compared to a foreign currency transaction gain of $9,000 during the same period of 2011. For the nine months ended September 30, 2012, the Company had a foreign currency transaction gain of $13,000 compared to a foreign currency transaction gain of $35,000 during the same period of 2011.

 

Income Taxes . For the three months ended September 30, 2012, the Company reported a consolidated income tax expense of $1,000, compared to a consolidated income tax expense of $13,000 for the same period of 2011. For the nine months ended September 30, 2012, the Company reported a consolidated income tax expense of $204,000, compared to a consolidated income tax expense of $254,000 for the same period of 2011. For the three and nine months ended September 30, 2012, this income tax provision was composed of provisions for United States income tax on the Company, income tax in Mexico of Flexo Universal, our Mexican subsidiary, income tax in the United Kingdom of CTI Balloons Limited, our United Kingdom subsidiary, and income tax in Germany of CTI Europe, our Germany subsidiary.

 

Net Income. For the three months ended September 30, 2012, the Company had net income of $6,000 or $0.00 per share (basic and diluted), compared to net income of $18,000 for the same period of 2011 or $0.01 per share (basic and diluted). For the nine months ended September 30, 2012, the Company had net income of $317,000 or $0.10 per share (basic and diluted), compared to net income of $329,000 for the same period of 2011 or $0.10 per share (basic and diluted).

 

Financial Condition, Liquidity and Capital Resources

 

Cash Flow Items.

 

Operating Activities . During the nine months ended September 30, 2012, net cash used in operations was $2,151,000, compared to net cash used in operations during the nine months ended September 30, 2011 of $244,000.

 

Significant changes in working capital items during the nine months ended September 30, 2012 consisted of (i) an increase in accounts receivable of $52,000, (ii) an increase in inventories of $1,676,000, (iii) depreciation and amortization in the amount of $1,261,000 (iv) a decrease in trade payables of $1,952,000 and (v) an increase in prepaid expenses and other assets of $190,000.

 

Investing Activity. During the nine months ended September 30, 2012, cash used in investing activity for the purchase or improvement of equipment was $760,000, compared to $796,000 in the same period of 2011. Substantially all of this expense is related to equipment maintenance and upgrades, tooling and related expense.

 

Financing Activities . During the nine months ended September 30, 2012, cash provided by financing activities was $2,917,000 compared to cash provided by financing activities for the same period of 2011 in the amount of $712,000. During the nine months ended September 30, 2012, financing activities included proceeds from issuance of long-term debt of $5,000,000, payment of $696,000 on long-term debt obligations, and a reduction of $1,901,000 on the revolving line of credit.

 

19
 

 

Liquidity and Capital Resources . At September 30, 2012, the Company had cash balances of $364,000 compared to cash balances of $438,000 for the same period in 2011 and there was $3,383,000 available to advance under the Company’s revolving line of credit.

 

At September 30, 2012, the Company had a working capital balance of $10,959,000 compared to a working capital balance of $5,612,000 at December 31, 2011.

 

The Company’s liquidity is dependent significantly on its bank financing and the Company relies on its revolving line of credit to maintain liquidity. On April 29, 2010, the Company entered into a Credit Agreement with Harris N.A. (“Harris”) replacing and paying off the Company’s credit line with RBS Citizens N.A. (formerly Charter One Bank). Under the Credit Agreement, Harris agreed to provide loans and credits to the Company in the aggregate maximum amount of $14,417,000. The arrangement includes:

 

i. A revolving credit up to a maximum amount of $9,000,000 based upon a borrowing base of 85% of eligible receivables and 60% of eligible inventory (up to a maximum of $5,000,000);
ii. A mortgage loan in the principal amount of $2,333,350, amortized over 25 years, the principal balance due on April 29, 2013;
iii. A term loan in the principal amount of $583,333 maturing in monthly principal installments of $58,333; and
iv. An equipment loan commitment in the amount of up to $2,500,000 providing for loan advances from time to time until April 29, 2012 based upon 100% of the purchase price of equipment purchased, the loans to be amortized on a five year basis commencing April 29, 2012, the balance due on April 29, 2013.

 

The Credit Agreement includes various representations, warranties and covenants of the Company, including various financial covenants.

 

In connection with the Credit Agreement, the Company executed and delivered to Harris, a Term Loan Note, a Mortgage Loan Note, an Equipment Note and a Revolving Note, as well as a form of Mortgage, Security Agreement, Pledge Agreement (pursuant to which shares of capital stock of the Registrant’s Mexico subsidiary were pledged as security for the loans), Patent Security Agreement and Trademark Security Agreement. Two officers and principal shareholders of the Company, John H. Schwan and Stephen M. Merrick each executed Limited Guaranties of the loans and also executed Subordination Agreements with respect to obligations of the Company to them.

 

On April 29, 2010, Harris advanced a total of $11,963,518 under these loans on behalf of the Company for the pay-off of all outstanding loan and lease financing balances of the Company to RBS Citizens N.A. and RBS Asset Finance.

 

Under the terms of the Credit Agreement, in order to obtain advances under the revolving line of credit and the equipment loan, the Company is required to meet various financial covenants including a senior leverage ratio, fixed charge coverage ratio and tangible net worth. As of September 30, 2012, we were in compliance with these covenants.

 

20
 

 

The Credit Agreement provides that the outstanding balance of all loans under the agreement will bear interest with reference to a base rate or, at the option of the Company, with reference to an adjusted LIBOR. At September 30, 2012, the effective rate on the outstanding loan balances was 4.0%.

 

As of September 30, 2012, the outstanding balances on the loans with Harris were: (i) revolving line of credit, $5,260,000, (ii) mortgage loan, $2,108,000, and (iii) equipment loan, $1,205,000.

 

On July 1, 2011, we entered into a swap agreement with BMO Capital Markets with respect to $6,780,000 of our loan balances with Harris. This swap agreement is designated as a cash flow hedge to hedge the Company’s exposure to interest rate fluctuations on the Company’s floating rate loans. The swap agreement has the effect of fixing the interest rate on the loan balances covered by the swap at 4.65% per annum. The swap agreement is a derivative financial instrument and we will determine and record the fair market value of the swap agreement each quarter. This value will be recorded on the balance sheet of the Company and the amount of the unrealized gain or loss for each period will be recorded as interest income or expense.

 

On July 17, 2012, the Company entered into Amendment Number 3 to the Credit Agreement among the Company and BMO Harris Bank N.A. (“BMO Harris”) pursuant to which (i) the amount of the loan commitment on the revolver loan of BMO Harris was increased from $9 million to $12 million, (ii) BMO Harris consented to a transaction among the Company and BMO Private Equity (U.S.), Inc. (“BMO Equity”) and (iii) the term of credit and loans to the Company provided in the Credit Agreement and BMO Harris was extended to July 17, 2017.

 

Also, on July 17, 2012, the Company entered into a Note and Warrant Purchase Agreement with BMO Equity pursuant to which (i) BMO Equity advanced to the Company the sum of $5 million and (ii) the Company issued to BMO Equity a warrant to purchase up to Four Percent (4%) of the outstanding shares of common stock of the Company on a fully-diluted basis (140,048 shares of common stock of the Company) at the price of One Cent ($0.01) per share. The term of the loan provided for in this Agreement is five and a half years. Interest is payable on the outstanding balance of the loan at the rate of 11.5% per annum.

 

The Note and Warrant Purchase Agreement includes provisions for:

 

(i)        a closing fee of $100,000

 

(ii)       payment of the principal amount in five and a half years with optional prepayment subject to certain prepayment premiums;

 

(iii)      security for the note obligations in all assets of the Company junior to the security interest of BMO Harris;

 

(iv)       various representations and warranties and covenants of the Company;

 

(v)       financial covenants including an applicable senior leverage ratio, fixed charge coverage ratio and tangible net worth amount.

 

Management believes that the funds provided by this new financing arrangement as well as internally generated funds will be sufficient for the Company to meet its working capital needs for at least the next 12 months.

 

21
 

 

Seasonality

 

In recent years, sales in the metalized balloon product line have historically been seasonal with approximately 40% occurring in the period from December through March and 24% being generated in the period from July through October. The sales of latex balloons and laminated film products have not historically been seasonal.

 

Critical Accounting Policies

 

Please see pages 24-26 of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011 for a description of policies that are critical to our business operations and the understanding of our results of operations. The impact and any associated risks related to these policies on our business operations is discussed throughout Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations where such policies affect our reported and expected financial results. No material changes to such information have occurred during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2012.

 

New Accounting Pronouncements

 

See “New Accounting Pronouncements” in Note 1 to the Notes to Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements which is here incorporated by reference.

 

Item 3. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures Regarding Market Risk

 

Not applicable.

 

Item 4. Controls and Procedures

 

Our management, under the supervision and with the participation of our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, has reviewed and evaluated the effectiveness of the design and operation of our disclosure controls and procedures as of September 30, 2012. Based on such review and evaluation, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer have concluded that the disclosure controls and procedures were effective as of September 30, 2012, to ensure that the information required to be disclosed by us in the reports that we file or submit under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, (a) is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time period specified in the SEC’s rules and forms and (b) is accumulated and communicated to our management, including the officers, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure. There were no material changes in our internal control over financial reporting during the third quarter of 2012 that have materially affected or are reasonably likely to materially affect our internal controls over financial reporting.

 

Part II. OTHER INFORMATION

 

Item 1. Legal Proceedings


 

Commitment and Contingencies

 

In September 2012, the Company entered into a 54-month lease to expand its warehouse, fulfillment and operations functions. The facility, encompassing approximately 116,000 square feet of warehouse and office space is located in Lake Zurich, Illinois, approximately 6 miles from its principal plant and offices in Lake Barrington, Illinois. The facility will replace current warehouse locations comprising about 55,000 square feet with lease terms expiring on December 31, 2012.

 

22
 

 

Item 1A. Risk Factors

 

Not applicable.

 

Item 2. Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds

 

Not applicable.

 

Item 3. Defaults Upon Senior Securities

 

Not applicable.

 

Item 4. Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders

 

Not applicable.

 

Item 5. Other Information

 

The Certifications of the Chief Executive Officer and the Chief Financial Officer of Registrant Pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 are attached as Exhibits to this Report on Form 10-Q.

 

23
 

 

Item 6. Exhibits

 

The following are being filed as exhibits to this report:

 

Exhibit
Number
  Description
     
3.1   Third Restated Certificate of Incorporation of CTI Industries Corporation (incorporated by reference to Exhibit A contained in Registrant’s Schedule 14A Definitive Proxy Statement for solicitation of written consent of shareholders, as filed with Commission on October 25, 1999).
     
3.2   By-laws of CTI Industries Corporation (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 contained in Registrant’s Form SB-2 Registration Statement (File No. 333-31969) effective November 5, 1997).
     
10.1   Third Amendment to Loan Agreement between BMO Harris Bank, N.A. and the Company dated July 17, 2012 (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 contained in Registrant’s Report on Form 10-Q dated August 14, 2012).
     
10.2   Replacement Revolving Note between BMO Harris Bank, N.A. and the Company dated July 17, 2012 (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 contained in Registrant’s Report on Form 10-Q dated August 14, 2012).
     
10.3   Note and Warrant Purchase Agreement between BMO Private Equity, Inc. and the Company dated July 17, 2012 (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.3 contained in Registrant’s Report on Form 10-Q dated August 14, 2012).
     
10.4   Warrant Agreement between BMO Private Equity (U.S.), Inc. and the Company dated July 17, 2012 (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.4 contained in Registrant’s Report on Form 10-Q dated August 14, 2012).
     
10.5   Senior Secured Subordinated Promissory Note between BMO Private Equity (U.S.), Inc. and the Company dated July 17, 2012 (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.5 contained in Registrant’s Report on Form 10-Q dated August 14, 2012).
     
10.6   Employment Agreement between Howard W. Schwan and the Company dated September 24, 2012.
     
10.7   Consulting Agreement between Schwan Flexible Packaging, L.L.C, Howard W. Schwan, and the Company dated January 1, 2013.
     
10.8   Lease Agreement between Schultz Bros. Co. and the Company dated September 19, 2012.
     
31.1   Certification of Chief Executive Officer pursuant to Rule 13a-14(a) and rule 15d-14(a) of the Securities Exchange Act, as amended (filed herewith).
     
31.2   Certification of Chief Financial Officer pursuant to Rule 13a-14(a) and rule 15d-14(a) of the Securities Exchange Act, as amended (filed herewith).
     
32   Certification of Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer pursuant to 18 U.S.C. 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (filed herewith).
     
101   Interactive Data Files, including the following materials from the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2012, formatted in XBRL: (i) the Consolidated Balance Sheets, (ii) the Consolidated Statements of Income, (iii) the Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows, and (iv) the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.

 

24
 

 

SIGNATURES

 

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.

 

Dated: November 14, 2012 CTI INDUSTRIES CORPORATION
     
  By: /s/ John H. Schwan
    John H. Schwan
    Chief Executive Officer
     
  By: /s/ Stephen M. Merrick
    Stephen M. Merrick
    President and Chief Financial Officer
     
  By: /s/ Timothy S. Patterson
    Timothy S. Patterson
    Senior Vice President Finance / Controller

 

25
 

 

Exhibit Index

 

Exhibit
Number
  Description
     
3.1   Third Restated Certificate of Incorporation of CTI Industries Corporation (incorporated by reference to Exhibit A contained in Registrant’s Schedule 14A Definitive Proxy Statement for solicitation of written consent of shareholders, as filed with Commission on October 25, 1999).
     
3.2   By-laws of CTI Industries Corporation (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1  contained in Registrant’s Form SB-2 Registration Statement (File No. 333-31969) effective November 5, 1997).
     
10.1   Third Amendment to Loan Agreement between BMO Harris Bank, N.A. and the Company dated July 17, 2012 (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 contained in Registrant’s Report on Form 10-Q dated August 14, 2012).
     
10.2   Replacement Revolving Note between BMO Harris Bank, N.A. and the Company dated July 17, 2012 (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 contained in Registrant’s Report on Form 10-Q dated August 14, 2012).
     
10.3   Note and Warrant Purchase Agreement between BMO Private Equity, Inc. and the Company dated July 17, 2012 (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.3 contained in Registrant’s Report on Form 10-Q dated August 14, 2012).
     
10.4   Warrant Agreement between BMO Private Equity (U.S.), Inc. and the Company dated July 17, 2012 (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.4 contained in Registrant’s Report on Form 10-Q dated August 14, 2012).
     
10.5   Senior Secured Subordinated Promissory Note between BMO Private Equity (U.S.), Inc. and the Company dated July 17, 2012 (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.5 contained in Registrant’s Report on Form 10-Q dated August 14, 2012).
     
10.6   Employment Agreement between Howard W. Schwan and the Company dated September 24, 2012.
     
10.7   Consulting Agreement between Schwan Flexible Packaging, L.L.C, Howard W. Schwan, and the Company dated January 1, 2013.
     
10.8   Lease Agreement between Schultz Bros. Co. and the Company dated September 19, 2012.
     
31.1  

Certification of Chief Executive Officer pursuant to Rule 13a-14(a) and rule 15d-14(a) of the Securities Exchange Act, as amended (filed herewith).

 

31.2   Certification of Chief Financial Officer pursuant to Rule 13a-14(a) and rule 15d-14(a) of the Securities Exchange Act, as amended (filed herewith).
     
32   Certification of Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer pursuant to 18 U.S.C. 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (filed herewith).
     
101   Interactive Data Files, including the following materials from the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2012, formatted in XBRL: (i) the Consolidated Balance Sheets, (ii) the Consolidated Statements of Income, (iii) the Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows, and (iv) the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.

 

26

 

 

Exhibit 10.6

 

EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT

 

THIS EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT (this “ Agreement ”) is made and entered into this 24th day of September, 2012 effective for the term provided herein, by and between CTI Industries Corporation, an Illinois corporation (hereinafter referred to as the “ Company ”) and Howard W. Schwan (hereinafter referred to as the “ Employee ”).

 

WHEREAS , the Employee is presently, and for some time has been, employed as an executive for the Company; and

 

WHEREAS , the Company desires to be assured of the continued association and services of Employee and Employee desires to continue in the employment of the Company on the terms provided herein.

 

NOW, THEREFORE , in consideration of the continued employment or retention of Employee by the Company, and the terms, covenants and conditions hereinafter contained, the parties hereto agree as follows:

 

1.             Employment, Duties .

 

1.1           The Company hereby employs Employee and Employee hereby accepts employment by the Company on the terms, covenants and conditions herein contained.

 

1.2           The Employee is hereby employed by the Company as Executive Vice President. During the term of this Agreement, the principal duties of Employee shall be to maintain, promote and enhance the business relationship among the Company and Dollar Tree Stores and Rapak, L.L.C. Employee shall also utilize reasonable commercial efforts to develop and enhance the sales by the Company of its current lamination product lines as shall be requested or directed by the Company from time to time. Employee shall report to John H. Schwan, Chief Executive Officer of the Company, and Stephen M. Merrick, President of the Company.

 

1.3           During the term of Employee’s employment hereunder, and subject to the other provisions hereof, Employee shall, for the time provided herein, devote his energies, interest, abilities and productive time to the performance of his duties and responsibilities hereunder and will perform such duties and responsibilities faithfully and with reasonable care for the welfare of the Company. During the term of Employee’s employment hereunder, Employee shall devote approximately 40 hours per month to the performance of his duties hereunder.

 

1.4           During the term of Employee’s employment hereunder, Employee shall be entitled to engage in activities and to perform services for, and receive compensation from, persons or entities other than the Company subject to the limitations and restrictions provided in paragraph 8 hereof.

 

1
 

 

2.             Compensation and Benefits .

 

2.1           The Company shall pay to Employee during the term of employment hereunder a basic salary at the rate of Sixteen Thousand One Hundred Twenty-five ($16,125.00) Dollars per month, payable bi-weekly. Such basic salary shall be paid by the Company to Employee, less amounts which the Company may be required to withhold from such payments by applicable federal, state or local laws or regulations.

 

2.2           If Employee shall be absent from work on account of personal injuries or sickness, he shall continue to receive the payments provided for in paragraph 2.1 hereof.

 

2.3            Benefits; Expense Reimbursement .

 

2.3.1           The Employee shall be entitled to, and shall receive, all other benefits of employment available to other employees of the Company generally, including, without limitation, participation in any hospital, surgical, medical or other group health plans or accident benefits, life insurance benefits, pension, profit sharing or retirement plans (including 401(k) plan participation and receipt of Company matching contributions thereunder), or vacation plans or benefits as shall be instituted and maintained by the Company.

 

2.3.2           During the term of the Agreement, the Company shall pay or reimburse Employee for the premiums on the life insurance policy covering Employee and in effect on the date hereof.

 

2.3.3           Employee shall accrue vacation time through December 31, 2012 and be entitled to receive payment for all accrued but unused vacation time at the expiration of the term.

 

2.3.4           During the term hereof, the Company shall reimburse Employee for all reasonable and necessary expenses incurred by Employee in the performance of his duties hereunder, including without limitation, travel, meals, lodging, office supplies or equipment subject to such reasonable limitations, restrictions and reporting standards as the Employee’s supervisor or the Company may from time to time establish. Employee shall provide to the Company promptly after incurring any such expenses a detailed report thereof and such information relating thereto as the Company shall from time to time require. Such information shall be sufficient to support the deductibility of all such expenses by the Company for federal income tax purposes.

 

2.3.5           During the term of the Agreement, the Company shall reimburse Employee for club dues for up to two clubs at an aggregate annualized rate of not to exceed $10,000.00.

 

2.3.6           Employee shall participate in the Company’s Incentive Compensation Plan and shall receive bonus payments for 2012 (even if such bonus payments are scheduled to be paid after his termination date) as determined under the Incentive Compensation Plan at such levels as shall be approved in good faith by the Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors consistent with past practice.

 

2
 

 

2.3.7        The Company will (i) provide an office for the use of Employee at a location mutually selected by Employee and the Company and (ii) the Company will provide administrative support to Executive as necessary for Executive to perform the services provided for hereunder

 

3.             Term . The employment of Employee hereunder shall be for a term commencing on September 24, 2012 and expiring on December 31, 2012.

 

4.             Termination .

 

4.1         The Company shall be entitled to terminate the Employee’s employment under this Agreement by written notice to Employee prior to the expiration of its term in the event of an Event of Default with respect to Employee as provided herein.

 

4.2         For purposes of this Agreement, an Event of Default with respect to Employee shall include:

 

4.2.1        An intentional and material breach by Employee of the obligations of Employee under this Agreement that is not cured by Employee after 30 days’ notice thereof from the Company; or

 

4.2.2        Commission by Employee of any act of theft, fraud or embezzlement against the Company.

 

4.3         Employee shall be entitled to terminate his employment with the Company under this Agreement prior to the expiration of its term upon the occurrence of an Event of Default with respect to the Company.

 

4.4         For purposes of this Agreement an Event of Default with respect to the Company shall include:

 

4.4.1       Any failure by the Company to perform its obligations to Employee under this Agreement and (if such failure can be cured) the failure by the Company to cure such failure within 30 days after written notice thereof shall have been given to the Company by Employee;

 

4.4.2       During the term of the Agreement or thereafter, the Company:

 

(a)          making an admission in writing of its inability to pay its debts generally as they become due,

 

(b)          filing a petition for relief under any chapter of Title 11 of the United States Code or a petition to take advantage of any insolvency under the laws of the United States of America or any state thereof,

 

(c)          making an assignment for the benefit of its creditors,

 

3
 

 

(d)          consenting to the appointment of a receiver of itself or of the whole or any substantial part of its property,

 

(e)          suffering the entry of an order for relief under any chapter of Title 11 of the United States Code, or

 

(f)          filing a petition or answer seeking reorganization under the Federal Bankruptcy Laws or any other applicable law or statute of the United States of America or any state thereof.

 

4.5           In the event of termination of this Agreement and Employee’s employment hereunder by the Company pursuant to Section 4.1 or by the Employee pursuant to Section 4.3 hereof, all rights and obligations of the Company and Employee hereunder shall terminate on the date of such termination, except for (i) Employee’s right to receive all salary, additional compensation and benefits which shall have accrued prior to the date of such termination, (ii) rights of the Company or Employee which shall have accrued hereunder prior to the date of such termination and (iii) rights and obligations of the Company or Employee under provisions of this Agreement provided herein to survive termination of employment of Employee hereunder, which rights and obligations shall survive expiration or termination hereof and the Company and Employee shall continued to be bound thereby in accordance with the terms thereof.

 

5.             Confidential Information .

 

5.1           “ Confidential Information ” for purposes of this Agreement means any and all information disclosed by the Company to Employee, whether provided or received orally or in writing, relating to or concerning the business, projects, products, processes, formulas, know-how, techniques, designs or methods of the Company, whether relating to research, development, manufacture, purchasing, accounting, engineering, marketing, merchandising, selling or otherwise. Without limitation, Confidential Information shall include all know-how, technical information, inventions, ideas, concepts, processes and designs relating to products of the Company, whether now existing or hereafter developed, and all prices, customer or distributor names, customer or distributor lists, marketing and other relationships, whether contractual or not, between the Company, its suppliers, customers, distributors, employees, agents, consultants and independent contractors.

 

5.2           Employee agrees that he will not disclose any Confidential Information to any person and will not use any Confidential Information for any purpose other than in the performance of his duties for the Company, in the course of business dealings with the Company, as authorized by the Company or as required by law. Confidential Information shall not include information, which, at the time, Employee can show (i) is generally known to the public other than as a result of disclosure by the Employee or by other wrongful disclosure or (ii) became known to the Employee from a source other than the Company or any of its employees, agents or representatives in a communication not involving a wrongful disclosure.

 

4
 

 

5.3           Employee agrees that, during the term hereof or while Employee shall receive compensation hereunder and after termination of his employment with the Company for so long as the Confidential Information shall not be generally known or generally disclosed (except by Employee or by means of wrongful use or disclosure), Employee shall not use any Confidential Information, except on behalf of the Company, or disclose any Confidential Information to any person, firm, partnership, company, corporation or other entity, except in the course of his duties for the Company or as authorized by the Company or as required by law.

 

5.4           Employee acknowledges and agrees that the obligations under this Section 5 shall survive expiration or termination of this Agreement and Employee shall continue to be bound by this provision as provided herein.

 

6.             Inventions .

 

6.1           “ Inventions ” shall mean discoveries, concepts, ideas, designs, methods, formulas, know-how, techniques or any improvements thereon, whether patentable or not, made, conceived or developed, in whole or in part, by Employee.

 

6.2           Employee covenants and agrees to communicate and fully disclose to the Company any and all Inventions made or conceived by him during the performance of his duties for the Company with respect to Conflicting Products and further agrees that any and all such Inventions with respect to Conflicting Products which he may conceive or make, during the term hereof or while receiving any compensation or payments from the Company, shall be at all times and for all purposes regarded as acquired and held by him in a fiduciary capacity and solely for the benefit of the Company. The provisions of this Section 6.2 shall not apply to an invention for which no equipment, supplies, facilities, Confidential Information or trade secret information of the Company was used and which was developed entirely on the Employee’s own time, unless (a) the invention relates (i) to the business of the Company, or (ii) to the Company’s actual or demonstrably anticipated research or development, or (b) the invention relates from any work performed by Employee for the Company.

 

6.3           Employee acknowledges and agrees that the obligations under this Section 6 shall survive termination of this Agreement and Employee shall continue to be bound by this provision as provided herein.

 

7.             Writings and Working Papers .

 

7.1           Employee covenants and agrees that any and all letters, pamphlets, drafts, memoranda or other writings of any kind written by him for or on behalf of the Company or in the performance of Employee’s duties hereunder, Confidential Information referred to in Section 5.1 hereof and all notes, records and drawings made or kept by him of work performed in connection with his employment by the Company shall be and are the sole and exclusive property of the Company and the Company shall be entitled to any and all rights relating thereto. Employee also agrees that upon request he will place all such notes, records and drawings in the Company’s possession and will not take with him without the written consent of a duly authorized officer of the Company any notes, records, drawings, blueprints or other reproductions relating or pertaining to or connected with his employment of the business, books, textbooks, pamphlets, documents work or investigations of the Company.

 

5
 

 

7.2           Employee acknowledges and agrees that the obligations under this Section 7 shall survive termination of this Agreement and Employee shall continue to be bound by this provision as provided herein.

 

8.             Restrictive Covenants .

 

8.1         For purposes of this paragraph:

 

8.1.1           “ Conflicting Organization ” means any person, firm, company, partnership, business, corporation, or other entity engaged in, or intending to engage in, research, development, production, marketing or selling a Conflicting Product.

 

8.1.2           “ Conflicting Product ” includes any balloon product, including without limitation, latex, foil or clear plastic balloon product.

 

8.1.3           “ Conflicting Film Product ” means any film product (i) incorporating a zipper closure, (ii) incorporating embossed film or (iii) constituting a pouch or bag and utilizing evacuation means, to the extent such product competes with, or is reasonably interchangeable as a substitute for, any product produced, marketed or sold by the Company.

 

8.1.4            Related Film Product ” means and includes any and all film products of the kind currently produced by the Company, and, in general, includes any film product which competes with, or is reasonably interchangeable as a substitute for, any film product which is currently produced or marketed by the Company.

 

8.1.5           “ Territory ” shall mean the United States of America and its possessions and territories.

 

8.2         Employee acknowledges and agrees:

 

8.2.1           That the Company has developed, and is developing and establishing, a valuable and extensive trade in its services and products, including without limitation, latex, foil and clear balloons, bags and pouches and printed and laminated films.

 

8.2.2           That the Company has developed, and is developing, at great expense, technical information concerning its products, production and methods of marketing and sale which are kept and protected as Confidential Information and trade secrets and are of great value to the Company;

 

8.2.3           That, during the course of his employment with the Company and during the term of this Agreement, Employee has acquired and will acquire, possession of Confidential Information.

 

6
 

 

8.2.4           That the conduct covered by the restrictive covenant in this paragraph includes only a percentage of the total number of entities and individuals who are customers or distributors or potential customers or distributors of products with respect to which Employee has knowledge or expertise, that Employee will be able to utilize his knowledge, experience and expertise for an employer or otherwise while fully complying with the terms of this paragraph and that the terms and conditions of this paragraph are reasonable and necessary for the protection of the Company’s business and assets.

 

8.3           Employee agrees that, during the term of this Agreement, for so long as Employee shall be receiving compensation hereunder, and for a period of 24 months from and after the date of expiration or termination of this Agreement (unless a different period is provided below), directly or indirectly, whether as an employee, independent distributor, agent, officer, consultant, partner, owner, shareholder or otherwise,

 

(i)          he will not, in the Territory, solicit for the sale of, or participate with, provide services to, or be employed by any Conflicting Organization which shall produce, market or sell, any Conflicting Product;

 

(ii)         during the term of the Consulting Agreement entered into between Employee and the Company of even date herewith (the “Consulting Agreement”), he will not, in the Territory, represent or provide services to any person, firm, company or organization other than the Company in connection with the development, production or sale of any Conflicting Film Product ;

 

(iii)        during the term of the Consulting Agreement, Consultant and Schwan will not offer or solicit any current customer or business relationship of the Company, for the sale of any products which are Conflicting Products, Conflicting Film Products or Related Film Products; and

 

(iv)         during the term of the Consulting Agreement, he will first offer to the Company, with any prospective customer, the opportunity to provide and sell any Related Film Product (which offer the Company shall respond to within 15 days of its receipt thereof, and, if the Company fails to so timely respond, the Company shall be deemed to have declined such offer).

 

Subject to the terms of this paragraph and the other provisions of this Agreement, the Company acknowledges and agrees that, during the term of this Agreement, and thereafter, Employee may provide services to persons or entities other than the Company, including, without limitation, (i) the development of products including film products and (ii) solicitation for the sale of, marketing and distribution of film products.

 

8.4           Employee acknowledges and agrees that the obligations under this Section 8 shall survive termination of this Agreement and Employee shall continue to be bound by this provision as provided herein. Notwithstanding the foregoing, or anything herein to the contrary, upon the occurrence of an Event of Default with respect to the Company or a Change in Control (as defined below), the Company acknowledges and agrees that Employee shall no longer be bound by the obligations under this Section 8 and may immediately thereafter provide services to persons or entities other than the Company without any limitation.

 

7
 

 

8.5          For purposes of this Agreement, a Change in Control shall mean any one of the following events during the term of this Agreement or thereafter:

 

8.5.1           any “person” (as such term is used in Sections 13(d) and 14(d)(2) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”)) becomes, after the date of this Agreement, a “beneficial owner” (as such term is defined in Rule 13d-3 promulgated under the Exchange Act) (other than a person presently owning 20% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the Company, the Company, any trustee or other fiduciary holding securities under an employee benefit plan of the Company, or any corporation owned, directly or indirectly, by the stockholders of the Company in substantially the same proportions as their ownership of stock of the Company), directly or indirectly, of securities of the Company representing fifty percent (50%) or more of the combined voting power of the Company’s then outstanding securities; or

 

8.5.2           the stockholders of the Company approve a merger or consolidation of the Company with any other corporation or other entity, other than a merger or consolidation which would result in the voting securities of the Company outstanding immediately prior thereto continuing to represent (either by remaining outstanding or by being converted into voting securities of the surviving entity) more than fifty percent (50%) of the combined voting power of the voting securities of the Company or such surviving entity outstanding immediately after such merger or consolidation; or

 

8.5.3           individuals who constitute the Board of Directors of the Company (the “Board”) as of immediately following date of this Agreement (the “Incumbent Board”) cease for any reason other than their deaths to constitute at least a majority of the Board; provided that any individual who becomes a director after the the date of this Agreement whose election or nomination for election by the Company’s stockholders was approved by a vote of at least a majority of the directors then comprising the Incumbent Board shall be considered as though such individual were a member of the Incumbent Board, but excluding, for this purpose, any such individual whose initial assumption of office is in connection with an actual or threatened election contest relating to the election of the directors of Company (as such terms are used in Rule 14a-12(c) under the Exchange Act); or

 

8.5.4           the stockholders of the Company approve a plan of complete liquidation of the Company or an agreement for the sale or disposition by the Company of all or substantially all of the Company’s assets.

 

9.             Survival . All provisions of this Agreement provided herein to survive expiration of the term or termination of employment of Employee hereunder, shall survive such expiration or termination and the Company and Employee shall continue to be bound by such provisions in accordance with the terms thereof. Without limiting the foregoing, the obligations of Employee pursuant to Sections 5, 6, 7 and 8 provided herein shall survive such expiration or termination and the Employee shall continue to be bound by such provisions in accordance with their terms.

 

8
 

 

10.           Assignment . The rights and duties of a party hereunder shall not be assignable by that party, except that the Company may assign this Agreement and all rights and obligations hereunder to, and shall require the assumption thereof by, any corporation or any other business entity which succeeds to all or substantially all the business of the Company through merger, consolidation or corporate reorganization or by acquisition of all or substantially all of the assets of the Company.

 

11.           Binding Effect . This Agreement shall be binding upon the parties hereto and their respective successors in interest, heirs and personal representatives and, to the extent permitted herein, the assigns of the Company.

 

12.           Severability . If any provision of this Agreement or any part hereof or application hereof to any person or circumstance shall be finally determined by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid or unenforceable to any extent, the remainder of this Agreement, or the remainder of such provision or the application of such provision to persons or circumstances other than those as to which it has been held invalid or unenforceable, shall not be affected thereby and each provision of this Agreement shall remain in full force and effect to the fullest extent permitted by law. The parties also agree that, if any portion of this Agreement, or any part hereof or application hereof, to any person or circumstance shall be finally determined by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid or unenforceable to any extent, any court may so modify the objectionable provision so as to make it valid, reasonable and enforceable.

 

13.           Notices . All notices, or other communications required or permitted to be given hereunder shall be in writing and shall be delivered personally or mailed, certified mail, return receipt requested, postage prepaid, to the parties as follows:

 

If to the Company: Stephen M. Merrick
  President
  CTI Industries Corporation
  22160 N. Pepper Road
  Lake Barrington, IL 60010
   
If to Employee: Howard W. Schwan
  (at the address most recently on file with the Company)

 

Any notice mailed in accordance with the terms hereof shall be deemed received on the third day following the date of mailing. Either party may change the address to which notices to such party may be given hereunder by serving a proper notice of such change of address to the other party.

 

14.           Entire Agreement . This Agreement constitutes the entire agreement between the parties hereto with respect to the subject matter hereof and supersedes all prior written or oral negotiations, representations, agreements, commitments, contracts or understandings with respect thereto, including without limitation any agreements providing for compensation of any kind including deferred compensation or salary continuation, and no modification, alteration or amendment to this Agreement may be made unless the same shall be in writing and signed by both of the parties hereto.

 

9
 

 

15.           Waivers . No failure by either party to exercise any of such party’s rights hereunder or to insist upon strict compliance with respect to any obligation hereunder, and no custom or practice of the parties at variance with the terms hereof, shall constitute a waiver by either party to demand exact compliance with the terms hereof. Waiver by either party of any particular default by the other party shall not affect or impair such party’s rights in respect to any subsequent default of the same or a different nature, nor shall any delay or omission of either party to exercise any rights arising from any default by the other party affect or impair such party’s rights as to such default or any subsequent default.

 

16.                         Governing Law . For purposes of construction, interpretation and enforcement, this Agreement shall be deemed to have been entered into under the laws of the State of Illinois and its validity, effect, performance, interpretation, construction and enforcement shall be

 

IN WITNESS WHEREOF , the parties hereto have executed this Agreement as of the day and year first above written.

 

EMPLOYEE   CTI INDUSTRIES CORPORATION
     
/s/ Howard W. Schwan   By: /s/ Stephen M. Merrick
Howard W. Schwan     Stephen M. Merrick
      President

 

10

 

 

Exhibit 10.7

 

CONSULTING AGREEMENT

 

THIS AGREEMENT is entered into effective as of January 1, 2013 by and among CTI Industries Corporation, an Illinois corporation (the “ Company ”), having its principal office in Lake Barrington, Illinois and Schwan Flexible Packaging, L.L.C, an Illinois limited liability company (“ Consultant ”) and Howard W. Schwan, an individual residing in Crystal Lake, Illinois (“ Schwan ”).

 

WHEREAS , the Company desires to retain Consultant to provide consulting services to the Company and Consultant is willing to, and desires, to provide consulting services to the Company pursuant to the terms hereof;

 

WHEREAS , Schwan is the sole shareholder of Consultant.

 

NOW, THEREFORE , in consideration of the premises and of the terms, covenants and conditions hereinafter contained, the parties hereto agree as follows:

 

1.             Engagement of Consultant .

 

1.1           The Company does hereby appoint and engage the Consultant as its consultant to provide services to the Company as provided herein for the compensation and the term provided herein.

 

1.2           The Consultant hereby accepts the appointment and engagement by the Company as a consultant and advisor to the Company with respect to the matters specified herein for the compensation and the term provided herein.

 

2.             Services of Consultant .

 

2.1           Consultant shall provide services to the Company with respect to the following matters:

 

(a)          Representation of the Company in connection with sales of products by the Company to Dollar Tree Stores and Rapak, L.L.C.;

 

(b)          Representation of the Company in connection with efforts to obtain, build and maintain sales of products and services by the Company to others;

 

(c)          Consulting and advice to the Company with respect to its products, sources, materials, production, production methods, customers and markets as the Company shall reasonably request from time to time.

 

 
 

 

2.2         The services of Consultant provided for herein shall be performed principally by Schwan on behalf of Consultant. Consultant shall use commercially reasonable efforts to maintain and enhance the sales of the Company to Dollar Tree Stores and Rapak, L.L.C. during the term of this Agreement. Consultant shall provide such written reports concerning Consultant’s services, customers of the Company for whom Consultant has responsibility and transactions with such customers, as the Company shall request from time to time.

 

2.3         In general, Consultant shall determine the time and location of the services to be provided hereunder. During the term hereof, Consultant shall devote such time and effort to the performance of the services provided for herein so as to effectively perform such services and to accomplish the purposes thereof; provided, however, that the parties agree Consultant shall perform services hereunder for no more than 20 hours per month. Consistent with Consultant’s other commitments, Consultant, through Schwan, shall travel to such locations and provide services at such locations as the Company shall reasonably request.

 

2.4         Consultant shall not be authorized to, and shall not make or enter into, any contract or commitment for or on behalf of the Company.

 

3.             Compensation; Benefits .

 

3.1         As compensation for the services of Consultant hereunder, the Company shall pay to Consultant:

 

3.1.1           The sum of $10,000 per month (the “ Base Compensation ”) each month during the term hereof, such amount to be paid on the first day of each month during the term;

 

3.1.2           An amount equal to .27% (.0027) of Net Sales of the Company to Dollar Tree Stores during the term hereof;

 

3.1.3           An amount equal to .64% (.0064) of Net Sales of the Company to Rapak, L.L.C. during the term hereof; and,

 

3.1.4           An amount equal to 2.5% (.025) of Net Sales of the Company to customers obtained during the term hereof through the efforts of Consultant.

 

3.2         For purposes of this paragraph, the term Net Sales shall mean and include the invoice amount for all product sold and invoiced by the Company to the designated customer (i) excluding any amount invoiced for shipping, handling, taxes or other services or expenses, (ii) less any and all amounts for returns, discounts, allowances, service fees or charges.

 

3.3         The amounts payable to Consultant pursuant to paragraphs 3.1.2, 3.1.3 and 3.1.4 hereof shall be determined and paid on a calendar quarterly basis each calendar quarter during the term hereof. Within 30 days after the last day of each calendar quarter during the term hereof, the Company shall (i) calculate and determine for such quarter (A) the amount of the Net Sales of the Company to Dollar Tree Stores, Rapak L.L.C. and to each other customer covered by Section 3.1.4 hereof and (B) the amount due to Consultant for such quarter pursuant to paragraphs 3.1.2, 3.1.3 and 3.1.4, (ii) provide to Consultant a report setting forth, separately with respect to each such customer, the amount of the Net Sales and the amount due to Consultant for such quarter, and (iii) make payment to Consultant for the amount due for such quarter.

 

 
 

 

3.4           Consultant, and his authorized representatives shall have the right, upon request, during the term of this Agreement and for one year following the date of expiration of the term of this Agreement, upon reasonable advance notice, to inspect the records of the Company relating to sales of the Company to customers with respect to which amounts may be payable to Consultant hereunder. In the event that the amounts determined to be due to Consultant for any calendar quarter shall be more than the amounts reported and paid by the Company for such calendar quarter, the Company shall pay to Consultant the difference between the amounts due and the amounts actually paid within 30 days of such determination. In the event that the amounts determined to be due to Consultant for any calendar quarter shall be more than 10% greater than the amount reported and paid by the Company, the Company shall reimburse Consultant for his reasonable expenses related to the inspection of records and audit of the amount due.

 

3.5           During the term of the Agreement, Schwan shall be entitled to participate in the Company’s medical insurance coverage and the Company shall pay the full cost of such coverage. The Company shall provide COBRA continuation coverage to commence at the end of the term of this Agreement. If Company’s insurer does not permit Schwan’s continued participation in the Company’s medical insurance coverage during the term of the Agreement, or allow the Company to provide COBRA continuation coverage commencing at the end of the Agreement term, the Company shall purchase for Schwan during the Agreement term and/or the COBRA continuation coverage period, as applicable, individual medical insurance coverage substantially similar in all respects to the Company’s medical insurance coverage.

 

3.6            During the term of the Agreement, the Company shall pay or reimburse Schwan for the premiums on the life insurance policy covering Schwan as of the date hereof.

 

3.7           During the term of the Agreement, the Company will reimburse Consultant for the club dues of Schwan for up to two club memberships, up to an aggregate annualized maximum amount of $10,000.

 

3.8           During the term of the Agreement, the Company shall provide an office for the use of Consultant at a location mutually selected by the Company and Consultant and shall provide administrative support for Consultant as necessary to enable Consultant to perform the services provided for herein.

 

4.             Expenses . The Company shall reimburse Consultant for all authorized expenses incurred by Consultant in the performance of services hereunder, including expenses incurred for travel, meals during travel and lodging. Consultant shall obtain prior authorization from the Company for any travel expenses and for any single or related series of expenses in excess of $500. Consultant shall maintain proper records of all expenses incurred for which reimbursement is sought and shall provide expense reports, in the form required by the Company, and copies of expense records to the Company.

 

 
 

 

5.             Independent Contractor . The Consultant shall at all times be an independent contractor, and not a co-venturer, agent or employee of the Company. In general, Consultant shall determine the location and time of services to be performed by Consultant.

 

6.             Term and Termination .

 

6.1           The term of this Agreement shall commence on January 1, 2013 and continue to December 31, 2014 at which time the consulting term of this Agreement shall expire and terminate. At the expiration of the initial term of this Agreement and each renewal term, the term of the Agreement automatically shall be renewed for an additional term of 12 months, unless 30 days or more prior to the expiration of such initial term or any renewal term either party shall give notice to the other party of the termination of the Agreement at the expiration of such initial term or renewal term. If such notice of termination shall be given, the Agreement shall terminate at the expiration of the initial term or renewal term for which such notice is given.

 

6.2           The Company shall be entitled to terminate this Agreement at any time, by written notice, (i) in the event of an Event of Default by the Consultant or (ii) without an Event of Default by the Consultant, provided that the Company shall pay to Consultant, within 10 days of any termination without an Event of Default, a lump sum payment equal to the remaining Base Compensation due to Consultant for the initial term (or renewal term, as applicable). An Event of Default with respect to Consultant shall mean and include (i) an intentional and material breach by Consultant of the obligations of Consultant under this Agreement that is not cured by Consultant after 30 days’ notice thereof from the Company; or (ii) commission by Consultant of any act of theft, fraud or embezzlement against the Company.

 

6.3           The Consultant shall be entitled to terminate this Agreement at any time, by written notice, (i) in the Event of Default by the Company or a Change in Control (each as defined below) or (ii) for any reason during any renewal term upon 30 days notice.

 

7.             Confidentiality.

 

7.1           “ Confidential Information ” for purposes of this Agreement means any and all information disclosed by the Company to Consultant, whether provided or received orally or in writing, relating to or concerning the business, projects, products, processes, formulas, know-how, techniques, designs or methods of the Company, whether relating to research, development, manufacture, purchasing, accounting, engineering, marketing, merchandising, selling or otherwise. Without limitation, Confidential Information shall include all know-how, technical information, inventions, ideas, concepts, processes and designs relating to products of the Company, whether now existing or hereafter developed, and all prices, customer or distributor names, customer or distributor lists, marketing and other relationships, whether contractual or not, between the Company, its suppliers, customers, distributors, employees, agents, consultants and independent contractors.

 

7.2           Consultant agrees that he will not disclose any Confidential Information to any person and will not use any Confidential Information for any purpose other than in the performance of his duties for the Company, in the course of business dealings with the Company, as authorized by the Company or as required by law. Confidential Information shall not include information, which, at the time, Consultant can show (i) is generally known to the public other than as a result of disclosure by the Consultant or by other wrongful disclosure or (ii) became known to the Consultant from a source other than the Company or any of its Consultants, agents or representatives in a communication not involving a wrongful disclosure.

 

 
 

 

7.3           Consultant agrees that, during the term hereof or while Consultant shall receive compensation hereunder and after termination of his employment with the Company for so long as the Confidential Information shall not be generally known or generally disclosed (except by means of wrongful use or disclosure), Consultant shall not use any Confidential Information, except on behalf of the Company, or disclose any Confidential Information to any person, firm, partnership, company, corporation or other entity, except in the course of his duties for the Company, as authorized by the Company or as required by law.

 

7.4           Consultant acknowledges and agrees that the obligations under this Section 7 shall survive expiration or termination of this Agreement and Consultant shall continue to be bound by this provision as provided herein.

 

8.             Inventions.

 

8.1           “ Inventions ” shall mean discoveries, concepts, ideas, designs, methods, formulas, know-how, techniques or any improvements thereon, whether patentable or not, made, conceived or developed, in whole or in part, by Consultant.

 

8.2           Consultant and Schwan covenant and agree to communicate and fully disclose to the Company any and all Inventions made or conceived by either of them during the performance of services for the Company with respect to product development projects, if any, in which Consultant or Schwan are engaged on behalf of the Company, and further agree that any and all such Inventions with respect to product development projects on behalf of the Company which either may conceive or make, during the term hereof, shall be at all times and for all purposes regarded as acquired and held by them in a fiduciary capacity and solely for the benefit of the Company. The provisions of this Section 8.2 shall not apply to an invention for which no equipment, supplies, facilities, Confidential Information or trade secret information of the Company was used and which was developed entirely on the Consultant’s own time, unless the invention relates to the product development projects, if any, in which Consultant or Schwan are engaged on behalf of the Company.

 

8.3           Consultant acknowledges and agrees that the obligations under this Section 8 shall survive termination of this Agreement and Consultant shall continue to be bound by this provision as provided herein.

 

9.             Writings and Working Papers .

 

9.1           Consultant covenants and agrees that any and all letters, pamphlets, drafts, memoranda or other writings of any kind written by him for or on behalf of the Company or in the performance of Consultant’s duties hereunder, Confidential Information referred to in Section 7.1 hereof and all notes, records and drawings made or kept by him of work performed in connection with Consultant’s retention by the Company shall be and are the sole and exclusive property of the Company and the Company shall be entitled to any and all rights relating thereto. Consultant also agrees that upon request he will place all such notes, records and drawings in the Company’s possession and will not retain with him without the written consent of a duly authorized officer of the Company any notes, records, drawings, blueprints or other reproductions relating or pertaining to or connected with his employment of the business, books, textbooks, pamphlets, documents work or investigations of the Company.

 

 
 

 

9.2           Consultant acknowledges and agrees that the obligations under this Section 9 shall survive termination of this Agreement and Consultant shall continue to be bound by this provision as provided herein.

 

10.           Restrictive Covenants .

 

10.1       For purposes of this paragraph:

 

10.1.1           “ Conflicting Organization ” means any person, firm, company, partnership, business, corporation, or other entity engaged in, or intending to engage in, research, development, production, marketing or selling a Conflicting Product.

 

10.1.2           “ Conflicting Product ” includes any balloon product, including without limitation, latex, foil or clear plastic balloon product.

 

10.1.3           “ Conflicting Film Product ” means any film product (i) incorporating a zipper closure, (ii) incorporating embossed film or (iii) constituting a pouch or bag and utilizing evacuation means, to the extent such product competes with, or is reasonably interchangeable as a substitute for, any product produced, marketed or sold by the Company.

 

10.1.4            Related Film Product ” means and includes any and all film products of the kind currently produced by the Company, and, in general, includes any film product which competes with, or is reasonably interchangeable as a substitute for, any film product which is currently produced or marketed by the Company.

 

10.1.5           “ Territory ” shall mean the United States of America and its possessions and territories.

 

10.2       Consultant and Schwan acknowledge and agree:

 

10.2.1           That the Company has developed, and is developing and establishing, a valuable and extensive trade in its services and products, including without limitation, latex, foil and clear balloons, bags and pouches and printed and laminated films.

 

10.2.2           That the Company has developed, and is developing, at great expense, technical information concerning its products, production and methods of marketing and sale which are kept and protected as Confidential Information and trade secrets and are of great value to the Company;

 

 
 

 

10.2.3           That, during the course of his employment with the Company and during the term of this Agreement, Consultant has acquired and will acquire, possession of Confidential Information.

 

10.2.4           That the conduct covered by the restrictive covenant in this paragraph includes only a percentage of the total number of entities and individuals who are customers or distributors or potential customers or distributors of products with respect to which Consultant has knowledge or expertise, that Consultant will be able to utilize his knowledge, experience and expertise for an employer or otherwise while fully complying with the terms of this paragraph and that the terms and conditions of this paragraph are reasonable and necessary for the protection of the Company’s business and assets.

 

10.3         Consultant agrees that, during the term of this Agreement, whether as an employee, independent distributor, agent, officer, consultant, partner, owner, shareholder or otherwise,

 

(i)          Consultant and Schwan will not, in the Territory, solicit for the sale of, or participate with, provide services to, or be employed by any Conflicting Organization which shall produce, market or sell, any Conflicting Product;

 

(ii)         Consultant and Schwan will not, in the Territory, represent or provide services to any person, firm, company or organization other than the Company in connection with the development, marketing or sale of any Conflicting Film Product;

 

(iii)        Consultant and Schwan will not offer or solicit any current customer or business relationship of the Company, for the sale of any products which are Conflicting Products, Conflicting Film Products or Related Film Products;

 

(iv)         Consultant and Schwan will first offer to the Company, with any prospective customer, the opportunity to provide and sell any Related Film Product (which offer the Company shall respond to within 15 days of its receipt thereof, and, if the Company fails to so timely respond, the Company shall be deemed to have declined such offer); and

 

(v)         Consultant and Schwan will not solicit any current supplier of the Company to become a supplier for any third party for Conflicting Products without prior Company approval.

 

Subject to the terms of this paragraph and the other provisions of this Agreement, the Company acknowledges and agrees that, during the term of this Agreement, and thereafter, Consultant may provide services to persons or entities other than the Company, including, without limitation, (i) the development of products including film products and (ii) solicitation for the sale of, marketing and distribution of film products.

 

 
 

 

10.4       Notwithstanding the foregoing, or anything herein to the contrary, upon the occurrence of an Event of Default with respect to the Company or a Change in Control (each as defined below), the Company acknowledges and agrees that Consultant and Schwan shall no longer be bound by the obligations under this Section 10 and may immediately thereafter provide services to persons or entities other than the Company without any limitation.

 

10.5       For purposes of this Agreement an Event of Default with respect to the Company shall include:

 

10.5.1           Any failure by the Company to perform its obligations to Consultant or Schwan under this Agreement and (if such failure can be cured) the failure by the Company to cure such failure within 30 days after written notice thereof shall have been given to the Company by Consultant or Schwan;

 

10.5.2           During the term of the Agreement or thereafter, the Company:

 

(a)          making an admission in writing of its inability to pay its debts generally as they become due,

 

(b)          filing a petition for relief under any chapter of Title 11 of the United States Code or a petition to take advantage of any insolvency under the laws of the United States of America or any state thereof,

 

(c)          making an assignment for the benefit of its creditors,

 

(d)          consenting to the appointment of a receiver of itself or of the whole or any substantial part of its property,

 

(e)          suffering the entry of an order for relief under any chapter of Title 11 of the United States Code, or

 

(f)          filing a petition or answer seeking reorganization under the Federal Bankruptcy Laws or any other applicable law or statute of the United States of America or any state thereof.

 

10.6          For purposes of this Agreement, a Change in Control shall mean any one of the following events during the term of this Agreement or thereafter:

 

10.6.1           any “person” (as such term is used in Sections 13(d) and 14(d)(2) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”)) becomes, after the date of this Agreement, a “beneficial owner” (as such term is defined in Rule 13d-3 promulgated under the Exchange Act) (other than a person presently owning in excess of 20% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the Company, the Company, any trustee or other fiduciary holding securities under an employee benefit plan of the Company, or any corporation owned, directly or indirectly, by the stockholders of the Company in substantially the same proportions as their ownership of stock of the Company), directly or indirectly, of securities of the Company representing fifty percent (50%) or more of the combined voting power of the Company’s then outstanding securities; or

 

 
 

 

10.6.2           the stockholders of the Company approve a merger or consolidation of the Company with any other corporation or other entity, other than a merger or consolidation which would result in the voting securities of the Company outstanding immediately prior thereto continuing to represent (either by remaining outstanding or by being converted into voting securities of the surviving entity) more than fifty percent (50%) of the combined voting power of the voting securities of the Company or such surviving entity outstanding immediately after such merger or consolidation; or

 

10.6.3           individuals who constitute the Board of Directors of the Company (the “Board”) as of immediately following date of this Agreement (the “Incumbent Board”) cease for any reason other than their deaths to constitute at least a majority of the Board; provided that any individual who becomes a director after the the date of this Agreement whose election or nomination for election by the Company’s stockholders was approved by a vote of at least a majority of the directors then comprising the Incumbent Board shall be considered as though such individual were a member of the Incumbent Board, but excluding, for this purpose, any such individual whose initial assumption of office is in connection with an actual or threatened election contest relating to the election of the directors of Company (as such terms are used in Rule 14a-12(c) under the Exchange Act); or

 

10.6.4           the stockholders of the Company approve a plan of complete liquidation of the Company or an agreement for the sale or disposition by the Company of all or substantially all of the Company’s assets.

 

11.            Survival . All provisions of this Agreement provided herein to survive expiration or termination of this Agreement, shall survive such termination and the Company and Consultant shall continue to be bound by such provisions in accordance with the terms thereof. Without limiting the foregoing, the obligations of Consultant pursuant to Sections 7, 8 and 9 provided herein shall survive such expiration or termination and during the term hereof and thereafter Consultant and Schwan, individually, shall be bound, and continue to be bound by such provisions in accordance with their terms.

 

12.            Benefit; Assignment . This Agreement shall be binding upon and inure to the benefit of the parties hereto and to the successors in interest of the Company and to the successors or assignees of Consultant. No rights or obligations under this Agreement may be assigned by either party and any attempted assignment thereof by a party shall be void.

 

13.            Severability . If any provision of this Agreement or any part hereof or any application hereof to any person or circumstance shall be finally determined by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid or unenforceable to any extent, the remainder of this Agreement, or the remainder of such provision or the application of such provision to persons or circumstances other than those as to which it is be held invalid or unenforceable, shall not be affected thereby and each provision of this Agreement shall remain in full force and effect to the fullest extent permitted by law. The parties also agree that, if any portion of this Agreement, or any part hereof or application hereof, to any person or circumstance shall be finally determined by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid or unenforceable to any extent, any court may so modify the objectionable provisions so as to make it valid, reasonable and enforceable.

 

 
 

 

14.            Notices . All notices, or other communications, required or permitted to be given hereunder shall be in writing and shall be delivered personally or mailed, certified mail, return receipt requested, to the party, as follows:

 

If to the Company: Stephen M. Merrick
  President
  CTI Industries Corporation
  22160 N. Pepper Road
  Barrington, IL 60010
   
If to Consultant or Schwan:  
   
  Howard W. Schwan
  (at the address most recently
  on file with the Company)

 

Any notice mailed in accordance with the terms hereof shall be deemed received on the third day following the date of mailing. Either party may change the address to which notices to such party may be given hereunder by serving a proper notice of such change of address to the other party.

 

15.          Entire Agreement . This Agreement constitutes the entire agreement between the parties hereto with respect to the subject matter hereof and supersedes all prior written or oral negotiations, representations, agreements, commitments, contracts or understandings with respect thereto and no modification, alteration or amendment to this Agreement may be made unless the same shall be in writing and signed by both of the parties hereto.

 

16.          Waiver . No failure by either party to exercise any of such party’s rights hereunder or to insist upon strict compliance with respect to any obligation hereunder and no custom or practice of the parties at variance with the terms hereof shall constitute a waiver by either party to demand exact compliance with the terms hereof. Waiver by either party of any particular default by the other party shall not affect or impair such party’s rights in respect to any subsequent default of the same or of a different nature, nor shall any delay or omission of either party to exercise any rights arising from any default by the other party affect or impair such party’s rights as to such default or any subsequent default.

 

17.          Governing Law . For purposes of construction, interpretation and enforcement, this Agreement shall be deemed to have been entered into under the laws of the State of Illinois and its validity, effect, performance, interpretation, construction and enforcement shall be governed by and subject to such laws.

 

 
 

 

IN WITNESS WHEREOF , the parties hereto have executed this Agreement as of September 24, 2012.

 

 

SCHWAN FLEXIBLE PACKAGING, L.L.C   CTI INDUSTRIES CORPORATION
     
By: /s/ Howard W. Schwan   By: /s/ Stephen M. Merrick
  Howard W. Schwan     Stephen M. Merrick
  Managing Director     President

 

HOWARD W. SCHWAN  
(Individually)  
   
/s/ Howard W. Schwan  

 

 

 

 

EXHIBIT 10.8

 

 

 

  LEASE

To

 

CTI Industries Corporation

800 North Church Street

Lake Zurich, IL 60047

 

September 19, 2012

 

 

 

Page 1 of 25
 

 

 

 

REFERENCE PAGE OF LEASE

 

DATE OF LEASE: September 19, 2012
BUILDING: as shown on Exhibit “A”
   
LESSOR: Schultz Bros. Co.
   
LESSOR’S ADDRESS: 815 Oakwood Road Unit I
  Lake Zurich, IL 60047
   
LESSOR’S PHONE : (847)438-3900
LESSOR’S FAX: (847)438-3987
LESSOR’S CONTACT : M. C. Schultz
   
LESSEE: CTI Industries
   
LESSEE'S ADDRESS: 22160 N. Pepper Road
  Lake Barrington Illinois 60010
   
LESSEE’S PHONE: (847)382-1000
LESSEE’S FAX: (847-382-1219)
LESSEE’S E-MAIL ADDRESS smerrick@ctiindustries.com
LESSEE’S CONTACT: Stephen M. Merricks
   
PREMISES: 800 North Church Street
  Lake Zurich, IL  60047
TERM OF LEASE:  
Occupancy Date: 10/15/12
Commencement Date: 11/01/12
Termination Date: 02/28/17
RENT:    
Minimum Annual Rent: 11/01/12 - 02/28/13 $ 00,000.00
  03/01/13 - 10/31/13 $200,000.00
  11/01/13 - 10/31/14 $332,500.00
  11/01/14 - 10/31/15 $365,000.00
  11/01/15 - 10/31/16 $397,500.00
  11/01/16 - 02/28/17 $143,333.33
OPTION PERIOD:    
Minimum Annual Rent: 03/01/17 - 02/28/18 $450,000.00
  03/01/18 - 02/28/19 $475,000.00
  03/01/19 - 02//29/20 $500,000.00
     
SECURITY DEPOSIT: $50,000.00  
     
PERMITTED USE: SIC# 2673 Manufacturing plastics, foil, and coated paper bags
  SIC# 3081 Manufacturing unsupported plastics film and sheet
  SIC# 5199 Wholesale nondurable goods. not elsewhere classified
     
EXHIBITS TO LEASE: Exhibit “A”     (Site Plan)
  Exhibit “B”     (Estoppel Certificate)
  Exhibit "C"      (Lessor's Work)
SQUARE FEET:    
Leased Premises 116,925 sq. ft.  
Premises 116,925 sq. ft.  
Prorata Share 100.00%  
     
REAL ESTATE BROKER: Van Vlissingen & Co. / CTK Chicago Partners

 

Page 2 of 25
 

  

Agreement of Lease made this 19th day of September, 2012 by and between SCHULTZ BROS. CO. licensed and authorized to do business in Illinois hereinafter called "Lessor" and CTI INDUTRIES CORPORATION , licensed and authorized to do business in Illinois hereinafter called "Lessee", WITNESSETH:

 

Lessor, in consideration of the rents and covenants hereinafter set forth, hereby leases to Lessee, and Lessee hereby leases from Lessor, the property, outlined in red on Exhibit "A" attached hereto and incorporated herein, commonly known as 800 North Church Street, in the City of Lake Zurich, County of Lake, State of Illinois, which is hereinafter referred to as the "Premises".

 

TO HAVE AND TO HOLD the Premises unto the Lessee for a term which shall begin on the "Occupancy Date" as shown on the Reference Page and hereinafter defined, and shall continue for a period of four (4) years and Four (4) months following the "Commencement Date" as shown on the reference page, on the following terms and conditions:

 

RENTAL ARTICLE I.

 

Lessee agrees to pay Lessor, Schultz Bros. Co. , 815 Oakwood Road Unit I, Lake Zurich, IL 60047, or such other place as Lessor may from time to time designate, rental for the Premises as follows:

 

Lessee agrees for the period of 11/01/12 to 02/28/13 if all the other terms and conditions of this lease are met the guaranteed and “fixed minimum annual rent” shall abate.

 

Lessee agrees for the period of 03/01/13 to 10/31/13 to pay a guaranteed and “fixed minimum annual rent” of two hundred thousand dollars and no cents ($200,000.00) for each eight (8) month period payable in advance in successive monthly installments of twenty-five thousand dollars and no cents ($25,000.00) each, on or before the first day of each consecutive calendar month during said period.

 

Lessee agrees for the period of 11/01/13 to 10/31/14 to pay a guaranteed and “fixed minimum annual rent” of three hundred thirty-two thousand five hundred dollars and no cents ($332,500.00) for each twelve (12) month period payable in advance in successive monthly installments of twenty-seven thousand seven hundred eight dollars and thirty- three cents ($27,708.33) each, on or before the first day of each consecutive calendar month during said period.

 

Lessee agrees for the period of 11/01/14 to 10/31/15 to pay a guaranteed and “fixed minimum annual rent” of three hundred sixty-five thousand dollars and no cents ($365,000.00) for each twelve (12) month period payable in advance in successive monthly installments of thirty thousand four hundred sixteen dollars and sixty - seven cents ($30,416.67) each, on or before the first day of each consecutive calendar month during said period.

 

Lessee agrees for the period of 11/01/15 to 10/31/16 to pay a guaranteed and “fixed minimum annual rent” of three hundred ninety - seven thousand five hundred dollars and no cents ($397,500.00) for each twelve (12) month period payable in advance in successive monthly installments of thirty - three thousand one hundred twenty - five dollars and no cents ($33,125.00) each, on or before the first day of each consecutive calendar month during said period.

 

Lessee agrees for the period of 11/01/16 to 02/28/17 to pay a guaranteed and “fixed minimum annual rent” of one hundred forty - three thousand three hundred thirty - three dollars and thirty - three cents ($143,333.33) payable in advance in four (4) successive monthly installments of thirty - five thousand eight hundred thirty - three dollars and thirty - three cents ($35,833.33) each, on or before the first day of each consecutive calendar month during said period.

 

Page 3 of 25
 

 

The term "Lease Year" shall mean a period of twelve consecutive calendar months, the first of which Lease Years shall commence on the Commencement Date. The words "Occupancy Date" whenever used in this Lease shall be deemed to refer to the date as shown on the reference page of this Lease at which time the terms of this Lease shall become effective except as set forth below. The words "Commencement Date" whenever used in this Lease shall be deemed to refer to the date as shown on the reference page of this Lease as the commencement of minimum rent being due and owing.

 

Any and all sums due Lessor by the terms of this Lease shall be deemed as “rent” and shall be paid without any setoff or deduction for any reason whatsoever.

 

Rent for any period less than one month shall be prorated on the basis of a thirty (30) day month.

 

Lessee shall pay a penalty of ten dollars ($10.00) per day from the date when the same is first due, on each and every installment of rent which shall not be paid when due under the terms of this Lease or if a check for same is returned. Until the same has been paid including penalty, all shall constitute “rent” due hereunder.

 

All rent shall be paid without any setoff or deduction for any reason whatsoever.

 

USE ARTICLE II.

 

The Premises shall be used and occupied by Lessee for the permitted use shown on the reference page of this lease and for no other purpose. The permitted use is sometimes referred to herein as a “use or Lessee’s use”. Lessee's use and occupancy shall be in compliance with all applicable laws, ordinances, rules, and government regulations. Lessee shall not store, display, distribute or sell any alcohol, liquors or intoxicating beverages without first receiving Lessor’s written consent at its sole discretion.

 

Lessee at its sole cost shall procure any and all licenses, permits and the like and maintain same in good standing, as may be required for Lessee to lawfully conduct its business and occupy the Premises according to any and all applicable laws, rules, regulations and/or ordinances.

 

Lessee covenants not to do or suffer any waste or damage, disfigurement or injury to any improvements now or hereafter forming a part of the Premises and indemnifies and holds Lessor harmless from any and all costs, fees including but not limited to reasonable attorneys fees and/or expenses associated with same. Lessee shall, during the entire term, continuously use the Premises for the purpose stated in this Lease carrying on therein Lessee’s business undertaking in a reputable manner, diligently and energetically.

 

CONDITION ON POSSESSION ARTICLE III.

 

Lessor agrees to provide Lessee with the Premises in an “as is” condition.

 

Lessee has examined and knows the condition of the Premises and has received the same in good order and repair, and acknowledges that Lessee is accepting same in “as is” condition, and no agreements or promises to decorate, alter, repair or improve the Premises, have been made by Lessor or its agent(s) if any, prior to or at the execution of this Lease, that are not herein expressed in Exhibit "C" Lessor's Work attached hereto and made a part hereof.

 

Page 4 of 25
 

 

Lessee agrees that on or before taking possession of the Premises it will comply with all the terms and conditions of this Lease and Lessee’s obligation for Real Estate Tax Reimbursement and Proof of Insurance shall begin as of the Occupancy Date. Lessor reserves the right to withhold Lessee’s right to occupancy if any or all conditions required of Lessee prior to or after its occupancy are not timely met without changing the dates, terms, conditions and/or obligations of this Lease.

 

CERTIFICATE OF ESTOPPEL ARTICLE IV.

 

Lessor and Lessee agree at the commencement of the term hereof, and thereafter, at any time during the term hereof, upon notice as defined herein, to execute, acknowledge and deliver the certificate of estoppel attached hereto as Exhibit “B” within five (5) days of such notice without charge or fee.

 

TAXES ARTICLE V.

 

As of and following the Commencement Date. Lessee shall pay, in advance of the first month and each month thereafter, as additional rent, an amount equal to one-twelfth (1/12) of Lessor's estimation of real property taxes, assessments, and similar charges, " impositions" which may be levied or assessed by taxing authorities against the land and building and all other improvements (hereinafter collectively called "taxes") against the Premises. If the actual taxes and impositions exceed the sum already paid by Lessee, Lessee shall pay the excess to Lessor within (30) days after receipt of an invoice therefore and documentation of the actual amount paid by Lessor. If the actual taxes and impositions are less than that already paid by Lessee, Lessor shall, at Lessee's option, credit the difference to future payments of taxes and impositions owed by Lessee hereunder or refund it to Lessee.

 

If at any time during the Term of this Lease the method of taxation prevailing at the commencement of the Term hereof shall be altered so that any new tax, assessment, levy, imposition, or charge, or any part thereof, shall be measured by or be based in whole or. in part upon the Lease or Premises, or the rent, additional rent or other income therefrom and shall be imposed upon the Lessor, then all such taxes, assessments, levies, impositions or charges, or the part thereof, to the extent that they are so measured or based, shall be deemed to be included within the term impositions for the purposes hereof, to the extent that such impositions would be payable if the Premises were the only property of Lessor subject to such impositions. There shall be excluded from impositions all federal, state, and local income taxes, federal excess profit taxes, franchise, capital stock and federal or state estate or inheritance taxes of Lessor.

 

LANDSCAPING ARTICLE VI.

 

The parking areas, drives, walkways and landscaped areas (all the foregoing being hereinafter referred to as "Landscaping"), shall be available to Lessee and its employees, customers and invitees, subject to the following:

 

Lessee shall not make any alterations or additions to the Landscaping without first procuring Lessor’s written consent, which in Lessor’s sole discretion may be withheld. All work and/or alterations shall fully comply with all applicable laws, ordinances, rules and regulations as well as drawings submitted to and approved by Lessor and shall be performed in a good and workmanlike manner.

 

Page 5 of 25
 

 

As of and following the Occupancy Date. Lessee shall maintain the Landscaping in a good, clean, orderly and workmanlike first class manner using new materials and or healthy plantings of first rate quality (as applicable) and cause all driveways and sidewalks to be snow plowed and kept free of debris and snow and ice. All costs incurred in the operation and maintenance of all Landscaping, including, without limiting the generality of the foregoing; the cost of lighting, cleaning, security, removing snow and ice, maintenance, care and replacement of trees, shrubbery, policing, repairing, and insuring Lessee, and Lessee's agents and employees for activities relating to the Leased Premises and Landscaping shall be at Lessee’s sole cost and expense.

 

If Lessee fails to comply with the terms of this provision, Lessor may, after thirty (30) days written notice, undertake the maintenance and charge Lessee the costs thereof plus an additional 10% for the management of such maintenance and upkeep, repairs and replacements.

 

UTILITIES ARTICLE VII.

 

As of and following the Occupancy Date. Lessee shall pay for all utility services used by Lessee including but not limited to heat, gas, water, sewer, electricity, data lines and telephone used in the Premises, said services are hereinafter referred to as "utilities". Lessee shall at all times keep the Premises at a temperature sufficiently high to prevent the freezing of water in pipes and fixtures. Lessee shall pay directly any sums which are due to any utility company or governmental body furnishing utilities to the Premises, throughout the term of this Lease. Lessee shall indemnify Lessor and save it harmless against any costs, liability or damages on such account.

 

CARE AND MAINTENANCE OF THE PREMISES ARTICLE VIII.

 

Lessee covenants not to perform any acts which may suffer any waste, damage, disfigure, injure any improvements now or hereinafter forming a part of the Premises, or any invitees, or persons at, in or around, the Premises, or be a nuisance or menace to nearby businesses and/or neighboring property owners. Lessee shall keep the Premises, including the roof, sidewalks, parking areas, drives, service and delivery areas of the Premises, clean and free from rubbish, dirt, ice and snow at all times, keeping the Premises in a good clean and healthy condition and free from any and all refuse discharged by Lessee in the operation of its business and store all trash and garbage as directed by Lessor and/or applicable governmental statute, code, rule, or regulation and arrange for the regular removal thereof at Lessee’s cost.

 

Lessee at all times during the term of this Lease shall have and keep in force a maintenance contract (in form and with a contractor reasonably satisfactory to Lessor) providing for inspection and necessary repairs at least once each six months of the heating, air conditioning and ventilating equipment. The inspection shall include a check of the performance of major components, lubricating moving parts, check of refrigerant charges, inspect for oil and refrigerant leaks, check operating and safety controls, check pressures and temperatures, inspect condensers, inspect fans, motors and starters, check electrical connections amperages, and voltages, check belts and drives and change oil, filters, or dryers. Said contract shall not be cancelable by either contractor and/or Lessee without a prior thirty (30) day written notice to Lessor.

 

Page 6 of 25
 

 

Lessee at all times during the term of this Lease shall have and keep in force a maintenance contract (in form and with a contractor reasonably satisfactory to Lessor) providing for inspection and necessary repairs, not less than once each six months , of the sprinkler " fire suppression" systems. keeping the fire suppression systems in good working order, code, regulation and ordinance compliant. Lessee shall provide any and all required inspection and performance reports to the Insurance company and or governmental agency requiring same with copies to Lessor. Said contract shall not be cancelable by either contractor and/or Lessee without a prior thirty (30) day written notice to Lessor.

 

Lessee shall not burn any trash or garbage nor shall Lessee dispose of and/or store any toxic and/or hazardous materials in, on, or about the Premises. Lessee shall not obstruct the sidewalks, fire lanes or areaways of the Premises.

 

The Lessee at its sole cost and expense shall regularly clean all waste, and garbage from the Premises which shall be thrown away in receptacles appropriate for the handling of such refuse and the Lessee shall keep the Premises in a good clean and healthy condition and free from any and all refuse discharged by Lessee in the operation of its business.

 

REPAIRS ARTICLE IX.

 

Lessee shall at all times, at its own cost and expense, keep the Premises, including, but not limited to, all interior and/or exterior, nonstructural, plumbing, electrical, building fixtures, walls, ceilings, floors, lighting, doors, windows, foundations, downspouts, gutters, heating, air conditioning, signs and any and all other building systems, whether ordinary or extra ordinary, in good order, condition, and repair, normal wear and tear excepted.. If Lessee fails to maintain, replace, portions of the Premises requiring same promptly and/or properly, and if such failure is not cured within thirty (30) days after Lessees receipt of Lessors written notice, Lessor may at its option perform such maintenance, repairs, and/or replacements on behalf of Lessee and Lessee will upon demand, pay to Lessor, as rent, the cost plus ten percent (10%) thereof for Lessor’s administrative costs associated with same.

 

Lessor shall at all times at its own cost and expense keep the structural and roof portions of the Premises in good order, condition and repair. Lessee shall immediately give Lessor written notice of any defect or need for repairs, after which Lessor shall have a reasonable opportunity to repair the same or cure such defect.

 

Lessor's liability with respect to any defects, repairs or maintenance for which Lessor is responsible under any of the provisions of this Lease shall be limited to the cost of such repairs or maintenance or the curing of such defect, provided however, that if such repairs, replacements, or maintenance become necessary by reason of any act of negligence or construction by Lessee, its agents, contractors, or employees, then Lessee shall pay the total cost of such repairs, replacements or maintenance.

 

At all times all such maintenance, repairs, and/or replacements shall be performed in a good and workmanlike manner using new materials of high quality.

 

ALTERATIONS AND INSTALLATIONS ARTICLE X.

 

Lessee shall not make any alterations in or additions to the Premises without first procuring Lessor's Prior written consent, which consent shall not unreasonably be withheld. All alterations, additions and improvements, shall remain and be surrendered with the Premises at the termination of the Term of this Lease, whether by lapse of time or otherwise, all without credit to Lessee, unless such removal has been consented to or required at the time of Lessor's consent to the alteration.

 

Page 7 of 25
 

 

Lessee shall make all of the alterations and installations at Lessee's sole cost and expense. All work and materials shall be furnished and conducted in a good and workmanlike manner. If a permit is required for any alteration and/or installation Lessee agrees to give Lessor copies of any all applications, inspection reports and approvals.

 

If Lessor shall not allow an alteration or improvement to remain after termination, Lessee shall remove the alterations, improvements and installations placed in the Premises by Lessee and repair any damage occasioned by such removals. All removals and repairs are to be performed in a good and workmanlike manner, no less than 10 days prior to the termination of this Lease, all at Lessee's sole cost and expense.

 

The foregoing shall not apply to any of Lessee's personal property, furniture, trade fixtures, machinery, equipment or production facilities, all of which shall at all times remain the property of Lessee and Lessee shall have the right to install and/or remove all of Lessee’s trade fixtures, machinery, equipment, and production facilities without Lessor’s written consent. For any installations and/or removals Lessee agrees that all work will be compliant with all applicable laws, ordinances, rules and regulations and that any adverse condition “Damage” will be repaired and the premises restored by Lessee at the termination of the Lease, at Lessee’s sole cost and expense.

 

UNTENANTABILITY ARTICLE XI.

 

In the event the Premises shall be destroyed, or so damaged by fire, explosion, windstorm or other casualty so as to be untenantable, Lessor may restore the Premises within a reasonable time after such destruction or damage, or may terminate the Lease and the term demised as of the date of the destruction or damage, in either case by giving Lessee notice within one hundred eighty (180) days after the date of the destruction or damage, and rent shall abate on a per diem basis during the period of restoration.

 

In the event the Premises shall be damaged as aforesaid but are not thereby rendered untenantable, Lessor shall restore the Premises with reasonable dispatch, and while such damage is being repaired, Lessee shall be entitled to an equitable abatement of rent as reasonably and equitably determined by Lessor. Lessor shall not be liable or responsible for any delays in rebuilding or repairing due to labor controversies, riots, acts of God, national emergency, acts of a public enemy, government laws or regulations, inability to procure materials or labor, or any other cause or causes beyond its control.

 

If Lessee is inconvenienced but its business is not interrupted, there shall be no abatement of rent.

 

EMINENT DOMAIN ARTICLE XII.

 

In case all of the Premises is taken by the exercise of the power of eminent domain, this Lease shall terminate as of the date possession is taken, and Lessor shall refund any rent paid in advance in the ratio of thirty days to the number of days between the date possession is so taken and the first day of the next calendar month.

 

If thirty five per cent (35%) or more of the Premises is so taken, further provided that the taking of the portion of said Premises does materially affect the operation and conduct of Lessee’s business, then this Lease shall terminate at the election of either party upon notice to the other within thirty (30) days after the payment, or the deposit with the appropriate public officer, of the compensation awarded to Lessor, and in that event the term shall terminate on the date possession of the part condemned is taken by the condemning authority and the rent shall be paid to that date. In the event of a partial taking, rent shall equitably abate as of the effective date the government takes possession and/or such possession by Lessee is lost.

 

Page 8 of 25
 

 

If the Lease and term are not terminated, Lessor, at its expense and within thirty days after the payment or deposit of the compensation as aforesaid, shall commence to reconstruct the Premises not affected by the taking and with reasonable diligence proceed with such construction, and during the reconstruction and thereafter, the minimum rent shall be reduced in the proportion that the part taken bears to the Leased Premises.

 

In any event, the entire compensation awarded shall belong to Lessor without any deduction there from for any present or future estate or interest of Lessee, and Lessee hereby assigns to Lessor all of its right, title and interest in and to any and all such compensation together with any and all rights, estate and interest of Lessee now existing or hereafter arising in and to the same or any part thereof.

 

SIGNS ARTICLE XIII.

 

Lessee shall have the right at its sole cost to use sign "Standards" or structures presently existing on the Premises and to erect signs identifying Lessee's business. All such signs shall have Lessor’s prior written consent and be in conformance with all applicable laws, ordinances, rules and regulations applicable thereto. Lessee shall give Lessor copies of all applications, approvals and permits required for any signage. Lessee shall not use any advertising medium that shall be deemed objectionable to Lessor in its sole discretion.

 

Lessee shall remove all signage it has installed, repairing any damage caused by such removals returning the sign standards and the Premises to its original “blank” condition at its sole cost and expense at the end or termination of this Lease.

 

ASSIGNMENT OR SUBLETTING ARTICLE XIV.

 

Lessee shall not sublet, assign or permit the use or occupancy of the Premises or any part or parts thereof by anyone other than Lessee without the prior written consent of Lessor, which consent shall not unreasonably be withheld; provided, that Lessee shall be entitled to sublet or permit the use and occupancy of portions of the Premises by Associated Persons. For purposes of this Lease, the term “Associated Persons” shall mean and include (i) The Merrick Company LLC, (ii) Clever Container Company LLC, (iii) any subsidiary of Lessee and (iv) persons or entities with whom Lessee is engaged in a business relationship including without limitation as supplier, customer or co-venturer. No use by an Associated Person shall be outside the scope of permitted use under this lease and no use or occupancy by an Associated Person shall increase the risk to Lessor or increase Lessor’s insurance costs and no such Sublease or use by an Associated Person shall relieve the Lessee of its obligations under this Lease.

 

Should any Sublease, assignment, use or occupancy be consented to, all future subleases, assignments, uses or occupancies will still require Lessor's prior written consent. In the event of any subletting, assignment, use or occupancy Lessee shall remain liable for all the terms and conditions of this Lease.

 

Should Lessee attempt to sublease, assign or permit the use or occupancy, by anyone other than Lessee, except as provided herein, without Lessor's written consent, such sublease, assignment, use or occupancy shall be null and void and any options granted under this Lease shall be null and void.

 

Page 9 of 25
 

 

REMEDIES ARTICLE XV.

 

Lessor may terminate Lessee's right of possession and repossess the Premises without terminating this Lease and/or terminate the estate and term demised by giving ten (10) days written notice to Lessee upon the happening of one or more of the following events which are not cured within said period :

 

a) the making by Lessee of an assignment for the benefit of its creditors;

 

b) the levying of a writ of execution or attachment on or against the property of Lessee;

 

c) the taking of any action for the voluntary dissolution of Lessee or of consolidation with or merger into another corporation;

 

d) the doing, or permitting to be done by Lessee of any act which creates a mechanic's lien or claim therefore against the Premises;

 

e) the failure of Lessee to pay an installment of rent when due;

 

f) if proceedings are instituted in a court of competent jurisdiction for the reorganization, liquidation or involuntary dissolution of Lessee, or for its adjudication as bankrupt or insolvent, or for the appointment of a receiver of the property of Lessee, and said proceedings are not dismissed, and any receiver, trustee or liquidator appointed therein discharged within thirty days after the institution of said proceedings;

 

g) the recording of any document by Lessee against Lessor’s title without, first receiving Lessor’s written consent;

 

h) the failure of Lessee to perform any other of its covenants under this Lease for thirty (30) days or more after notice of such default or failure shall have been given to Lessee specifying the default..

 

Lessee shall not do any act which shall in any way encumber the title of Lessor in and to the Premises, nor shall the interest or estate of Lessor in the Premises be in any way subject to any claim by way of lien or encumbrance, whether by operation of law or by virtue of any express or implied contract by Lessee. Any claim to, or lien upon, the Premises arising from any act or omission of Lessee shall accrue only against the leasehold estate of Lessee and shall be subject and subordinate to the paramount title and rights of Lessor in and to the premises. Any lien or encumbrance caused by Lessee or its agents to Lessor's title which is not removed within the notice period set forth above shall constitute a default hereunder.

 

Upon the termination of the estate or Lessee's right to possession, Lessor may re-enter the Premises with process of law using such force as may be necessary, and remove all persons and chattels therefrom and Lessor shall not be liable for damages or otherwise by reason of re-entry or termination of the term of the Lease. Notwithstanding such termination, the liability of Lessee for the rent provided for hereinabove shall not be extinguished for the balance of the term remaining after said termination, and Lessor shall be entitled to recover immediately as liquidated damages an amount equal to the minimum rent for the said balance of the term less the fair rental value of the Premises for the said balance of the term. Alternatively, upon and after entry into possession without termination of this Lease, Lessor may, shall utilize reasonable commercial efforts to, relet the Premises or any part thereof for the account of Lessee for such rent, for such time and upon such terms as Lessor, in Lessor's sole discretion, shall determine, and Lessee shall be responsible for any resulting deficiency along with all costs of reletting including but not limited to brokerage commissions, decorating and/or rehabilitation of the Premises. At Lessor's election, Lessor may sue the Lessee for rent due and owing Lessor by Lessee under this Lease, as many times as is necessary to recover all rents and sums due hereunder, if the Premises are not relet or if eventually relet, for any deficiency which results by virtue of the default by Lessee and Lessor reletting the Premises for rental which is less than that which Lessee was required to pay hereunder. Lessee waives any defense of Res Judicata concerning any successive suits which are brought by Lessor pursuant to this provision unless Lessor has specifically received a judgment for the identical amount for an identical period in a previous suit of Lessor. Lessor and Lessee acknowledge and agree that all rent, common area maintenance charges and taxes, fees, expenses, penalties and/or any other sum payable hereunder or pursuant to the terms of this Lease sometimes referred to as "rent" shall be deemed rent which is due and payable as required under this Lease.

 

Page 10 of 25
 

 

In the event of any breach by Lessee of any of the provisions of this Lease, Lessor may immediately or at any time thereafter, without additional notice, cure such breach for the account of and at the expense of Lessee such expense to constitute additional rent. If Lessor at any time, by reason of such breach, is compelled to pay any sum of money or do any act which will require the payment of any sum of money, or incurs any expense, including but not limited to reasonable attorney fees, in instituting or prosecuting any action or proceeding to enforce Lessor's rights hereunder, the sum or sums so paid by Lessor, with interest thereon at the rate set forth below from the date of payment thereof, shall be deemed to be additional rent hereunder and shall be due from Lessee to Lessor on the first day of the month following the payment of such respective sums or expenses by Lessor.

 

If Lessee shall fail to pay to Lessor, when due, any installment of rent or other payment due hereunder, Lessee shall pay to Lessor interest on such rent or other payment at the rate of the greater of the prime rate ("prime rate" is defined as the monthly average of the daily rate published in the Wall Street Journal [eastern edition] or if none or said publication ceases to exist the monthly average of the daily interest rate announced by the Federal Reserve Bank with jurisdiction in New York, New York being the rate charged by the Federal Reserve to the banks and generally thought of as their cost of money) established and in force by the Federal Reserve plus three percent (3%) per annum or eighteen per cent (18%) per annum from the due date of such rent or payment until the date same is paid, whichever is greater, or, if for some reason the term and calculation of the term "prime rate" hereunder is deemed ambiguous, then eighteen per cent (18%) per annum shall be utilized.

 

Lessee will, at the expiration or termination of this Lease, yield up possession to Lessor, and failing so to do, at Lessor's option Lessee will pay as liquidated damages for each day possession is withheld, an amount equal to double the amount of the daily rent, computed on a thirty day month basis; provided, however, that Lessor's right to recover such liquidated damages shall not preclude Lessor from recovering any greater amount of damages sustained by it or as otherwise allowed by law.

 

No receipt of money by Lessor from Lessee after breach by Lessee or after the termination of this Lease or after the service of any notice or after the commencement of any suit, or after final judgment for possession of the Premises shall operate to waive any breach or to reinstate, continue or extend the term of this Lease or affect any such notice, demand or suit.

 

No waiver by one party of any default of the other party under this lease or any provision hereof shall be implied from any omission by a party to take any action on account of such default if such default persists or is repeated and no express waiver shall affect any default other than the default specified in the express waiver, and that only for the time and to the extent therein stated. One or more waivers of any condition of this Lease by either party shall not be construed as a waiver of a subsequent breach of the same covenant, term, or condition or as an amendment to this Lease’s terms, covenants and conditions.

 

Page 11 of 25
 

 

Upon a breach hereof by Lessee which results in a judgment for possession and/or rent in a court of competent jurisdiction, and when, after the entrance of such judgment Lessee remains in possession or control of the Premises as a tenant at sufferance, then Lessee shall also be liable for all rent, damages, costs, and expense which Lessor incurs during such period after judgment and Lessor shall be entitled to file an additional lawsuit for recovery of same without Lessee offering a defense of Res Judicata and such recovery and/or law suit shall not operate as a renewal of this Lease or Lessee's right of possession.

 

All rights and remedies of Lessor herein enumerated shall be cumulative and none shall exclude any other right or remedy allowed by law and/or in equity, and said rights and remedies may be exercised and enforced concurrently and whenever and as often as occasion therefore arises.

 

SURRENDER ARTICLE XVI.

 

Upon the termination of this Lease, whether by forfeiture, lapse of time or otherwise, or upon termination of Lessee's right to possession of the Premises, Lessee will at once surrender and deliver up the Premises, together with all improvements thereon, to Lessor in a fully operational, clean, safe, good condition and repair, reasonable wear and tear excepted. All improvements shall include but not be limited to all landscaping, plumbing, lighting, electrical, and equipment and other articles or personal property used in the operation of the Premises. Lessee shall also surrender all keys and inform Lessor of any combinations on any locks, safes and vaults, if any, on the Premises.

 

Lessee shall remove all of Lessee's personal property, equipment and signs other than such personal property and equipment as are referred to above; provided,

 

a) that Lessee at its sole cost shall repair any injury or damage to the Premises which may result from such removals

 

b) If Lessee does not remove Lessee's furniture, machinery, signs, and all other items of personal property of every kind and description from the Premises prior to the end of the term, however ended, Lessor may, at its option, remove the same and consider same to be abandoned and dispose of such property. Lessee shall pay to Lessor on demand the cost of removal, repair of any damage resulting from the removal and for disposal. Lessor may treat such property as having been conveyed to Lessor with the Lease as a Bill of Sale, without further payment or credit by Lessor to Lessee.

 

If Lessee retains possession of the Premises or any part thereof after the termination of the term by lapse of time or otherwise that such holding over constitutes renewal of this Lease on a month to month basis at a monthly rate equal to 150% of the monthly rental then in effect for the last month of the lease term. Lessee shall also pay all damages, consequential as well as direct, sustained by Lessor by reason of such retention.

 

All other additions, hardware, non-trade fixtures and all improvements, temporary or permanent, in or upon the Premises placed there by Lessee shall become Lessor's property and shall remain upon the Premises upon such termination of this Lease by lapse of time or otherwise, without compensation or allowance or credit to Lessee.

 

Page 12 of 25
 

 

If prior to said termination, or within fifteen days thereafter, Lessor so directs by written notice to Lessee, Lessee shall, at its sole cost, promptly remove the additions, improvements, fixtures, trade fixtures and installations which were placed in the Premises by Lessee, and repair any damage occasioned by such removals and should Lessee not remove all alteration as directed by Lessor, Lessee upon demand shall pay as rent all costs of removal and restoration of such alterations and additions together with and a management fee equal to 10% of such costs to Lessor.

 

INSURANCE ARTICLE XVII.

 

Prior to the Commencement Date of this Lease, Lessee shall procure from companies reasonably satisfactory to Lessor and maintain at Lessee’s own cost and expense, for the benefit of Lessee, its agents, employees and contractors, and Lessor, its beneficiaries, agents, employees, contractors and mortgagee, the following insurance:

 

a) public liability covering the Leased Premises and the use and operation thereof in broad form with limits of not less than $1,000,000.00 combined single limit per occurrence/aggregate for each person and $2,000,000.00 for each accident or bodily injury and $500,000.00 for property damage.

 

b) workman’s compensation in accordance with statutorily required limits.

 

c) fire and extended coverage insurance covering Lessee’s fixtures, personal property and contents of Lessee located in the Leased Premises in an amount equal to the 100% replacement cost of such property.

 

d) if directed by Lessor, fire and extended coverage insurance covering the building in the Leased Premises against loss from the risks normally covered by a policy with fire and extended coverage, loss or damage by boiler or internal explosion by boiler equal to one hundred percent (100%) of its replacement cost under Standard Fire and Extended Coverage Policy and all other risks of direct physical loss as insured against under Special Form (“all risk”) coverage. Such insurance shall be primary to and non-contributing to any insurance carried by Lessor. Endorsements for inflation and ordinance changes shall be included with such coverage. Loss by explosion will be covered. Loss of rents for up to one year will be provided to Lessor. Lessor may procure this coverage and have Lessee pay 100% of the cost thereof if Lessor does not request Lessee to procure this coverage. Where Lessor Permits Lessee to procure such coverage Lessor shall be a named insured.

 

If at any time during the term of this Lease, Lessee owns or rents more than one location, the policy shall contain an endorsement to the effect that the aggregate limit in the policy shall apply separately to each location owned or rented by Lessee. Lessee shall cause its liability insurance to include contractual liability coverage fully covering the indemnity hereinabove set forth. All of the aforesaid insurance shall be in responsible companies and written on an “occurrence” basis and not on a “claims made” basis.

 

Lessee at its sole cost and expense agrees to furnish certificates evidencing the insurance Lessee is required to procure and deliver them to Lessor without delay. Certificates for the renewal of such insurance shall be delivered by Lessee to Lessor at least thirty (30) days prior to their respective expiration dates.

 

Lessor, Lessor’s agent, and mortgagee (if the name of any such mortgagee is provided to Lessee) shall be named as an additional insured on the above mentioned policies called for in paragraph a and c of this article. Any insurance required hereunder shall not be subject to cancellation except after 30 days prior written notice to Lessor.

 

Page 13 of 25
 

 

Lessee shall not do anything which will in any way impair the obligation of any policy of insurance covering the Leased Premises or any part thereof nor shall Lessee take any action either by omission or commission which directly or indirectly causes the insurance costs to materially increase, and should Lessee take such action it shall be solely responsible for any and all excess or extraordinary premium or cost resulting therefrom.

 

Lessee shall cause each insurance policy carried to be written in a manner so as to provide that the insurance company waives all right of recovery by way of subrogation in connection with any loss or damage covered by any such policies. Neither party shall be liable to the other for any loss or damage caused by fire or any of the risks enumerated in the standard extended coverage insurance to the extent same is covered by insurance which actually pays the entire claim in question.

 

Companies having an A.M. Bests’ or Standard and Poors rating of A+ or better will be utilized. A certificate of insurance evidencing coverage is in place without disclaimer that such certificate is not evidence of in force coverage shall be furnished to Lessor prior to the Commencement Date and thereafter a current certificate of insurance evidencing coverage is in place without disclaimer that such certificate is not evidence of in force coverage shall be deposited with Lessor.

 

Lessee shall maintain at Lessee’s own cost and expense, for the benefit of Lessee, its agents, employees and contractors, and Lessor, its beneficiaries, agents, employees contractors and mortgagee the insurance called for herein.

 

Any moneys paid out from the standard fire and extended coverage policy on the building shall first be utilized to repair or replace the damaged portion of the Leased Premises or paid to Lessor, unless Lessor otherwise elects in writing.

 

ENVIRONMENTAL MATTERS ARTICLE XVIII.

 

In the event Lessee shall conduct or authorize the generation, transportation, storage, treatment, or disposal at the Premises of any substance regulated under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980, as amended, the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986, the Federal Water Pollution Control Act and all other federal, state, and local laws relating to emissions, discharges, releases, or threatened releases of industrial, toxic, or hazardous substances or wastes of other pollutants, contaminants, petroleum products or chemicals (collectively “Hazardous Substances”) into the environment (including, without limitation, ambient air, surface water, ground water, land surface, or subsurface strata) or otherwise relating to the manufacture, processing, distribution, use, treatment, storage, disposal, transport, or handling of Hazardous Substances (the “Environmental Laws”):

 

(a) Lessee shall, at its own cost, comply with all Environmental Laws.

 

(b) Lessee shall promptly provide Landlord with copies of all communications, permits, or agreements with any governmental authority or agency (federal, state, or local) or any private entity relating in any way to the presence, release, threat of release, placement on or in the Premises, or the generation, transportation, storage, treatment, or disposal at the Premises, of any Hazardous Substance.

 

Page 14 of 25
 

 

(c) Lessor and Lessor's agents and employees shall have the right to enter the Premises and/or conduct appropriate tests for the purpose of ascertaining that Lessee complies with all Environmental Laws relating in any way to the presence of Hazardous Substances on the Premises.

 

(d) Upon written request by Lessor, Lessee shall provide Lessor with the results of appropriate tests of air, water, or soil to demonstrate that Lessee complies with all Environmental Laws relating in any way to the presence of Hazardous Substances on the Premises.

 

If, as a result of Lessee's action, or the actions of Lessee's agents, employees, guests, invitees, or independent contractors, the presence, release, threat of release, placement on or in the Premises, or the generation, transportation, storage, treatment, or disposal at the Premises of any Hazardous Substance: (i) gives rise to liability (including, but not limited to, a response action, remedial action, or removal action) under RCRA, CERCLA, the IEPA, or any common law theory based on nuisance or strict liability, (ii) causes a significant public health effect, or (iii) pollutes or threatens to pollute the environment, Lessee shall promptly take any and all remedial and removal action necessary to clean up the Premises and mitigate exposure to liability arising from the Hazardous Substance, whether or not required by law.

 

Lessee hereby represents that the intended operation of Lessee's business on the Premises is not currently subject to reporting under Section 312 of the Federal Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act of 1986, and federal regulations promulgated thereunder , and in event Lessee's business at any time becomes subject to the afore-described Act and regulations, Lessee shall fully comply therewith and shall promptly provide Lessor with copies of all reporting materials filed or submitted under such Act and regulations.

 

Lessee shall indemnify, defend, and hold Lessor harmless from all damages, costs, losses, expenses (including, but not limited to, reasonable attorney's fees and engineering fees) arising from or attributable to any breach by Lessee of any of the provisions of this Section. Lessee's obligations hereunder shall survive the termination of this Lease.

 

SUBORDINATION TO MORTGAGE ARTICLE XIX.

 

Lessee will, upon written demand by Lessor, execute such instruments as may be required to subordinate the rights and interest of Lessee under this Lease to the lien of any mortgage at any time placed on the Premises provided that such subordination shall not affect Lessee's right to the possession of the Premises so long as Lessee is not in default hereunder.

 

NOTICES ARTICLE XX.

 

Any notice under this Lease shall be deemed sufficiently given if sent by registered mail, or certified return receipt mail, to Lessee, and/or to Lessor at the address as shown on the reference page of this Lease, and either party may by like notice designate a different address to which notices shall be sent. Notices shall be deemed received three (3) days from the date when mailed. Notice may also be given by overnight messenger service effective upon delivery with proof of delivery being available.

 

Page 15 of 25
 

 

Notices may also be given via electronic transmission including by e-mail and by facsimile transmission "fax". In the event of an e-mail or a fax transmission, notice shall be effective on the day of the e-mail or fax notification is received during normal business hours on a business day or if notice is sent at a time other than during normal business hours on a business day on the next business day immediately following the day of transmission. Copies of all electronic transmission including by e-mail and by fax transmissions shall also be forwarded on the same day by regular first class mail.

 

INSPECTION AND MARKETING ARTICLE XXI.

 

Lessor, or Lessor’s agent, may enter the Premises at any time for the purpose of making its repairs or repairs which Lessee may neglect or refuse to make in accordance with the covenants and agreements of this Lease without being deemed guilty of any eviction or disturbance of Lessee’s use or possession of the Premises, and without being liable in any manner to Lessee.

 

Lessor, or Lessor’s agent may at any time during normal business hours with a phone notice to Lessee, to the person and number shown on the reference page of this Lease, one hour prior thereto enter the Premises for the purpose of inspecting, marketing, and/or showing the Premises.

 

Lessor, or Lessor’s agent within twelve (12) months prior to the expiration of the lease term, may place the usual notice or sign of “For Sale” or “For Rent” on the Premises, such signs to remain thereon without molestation. Lessor, or Lessor’s agent may at any time during normal business hours with a phone notice to Lessee, to the person and number shown on the reference page of this Lease, one hour prior thereto enter the Premises for the purpose of inspecting, marketing, and/or showing the Premises to persons or representatives of entities wishing to Lease same.

 

OPTIONS ARTICLE XXII.

 

Lessor hereby grants to Lessee an option to renew this Lease for one additional term of three (3) years, beginning at the expiration of the original term of this Lease, on the same terms and conditions provided herein, except that the annual minimum rental will be changed as follows:

 

Lessee agrees for the period of 03/01/17 – 02/28/18 the guaranteed and “fixed minimum annual rental shall be four hundred fifty thousand Dollars and No cents ($450,000.00) payable in equal monthly installments of thirty- seven thousand five hundred dollars and no cents ($37,500.00). This option may be exercised once and no subsequent options shall be implied once exercised.

 

Lessee agrees for the period of 03/01/18 – 02/28/19 the guaranteed and “fixed minimum annual rental shall be to four hundred seven-five thousand Dollars and No cents ($475,000.00) payable in equal monthly installments of thirty- nine thousand five hundred eighty-three dollars and thirty-three cents ($39,583.33).

 

Lessee agrees for the period of 03/01/19 – 02/29/20 the guaranteed and “fixed minimum annual rental shall be five hundred thousand Dollars and No cents ($500,000.00) payable in equal monthly installments of forty-one thousand six hundred sixty-six dollars and sixty-six cents ($41,666.66).

 

This option may be exercised once and no subsequent options shall be implied once exercised.

 

Page 16 of 25
 

 

If Lessee elects to exercise said option, it shall do so by giving Lessor notice in writing of such election at least twelve (12) Months prior to the expiration of the original term of this Lease, or this Lease as extended. Lessee agrees to give Lessor peaceful possession of said premises at the end of the term of this Lease or any renewal thereof in accordance with the terms of the Lease.

 

In the event of a sublease, and/or a failure to timely notify Lessor as called for herein and/or a breach of this agreement then this option(s) shall be deemed terminated and shall be null and void.

 

COVENANT TO HOLD HARMLESS ARTICLE XXIII.

 

Lessee indemnifies and agrees to save Lessor harmless against any and all claims, liability, damages, costs and expenses of whatever nature, including but not limited to reasonable attorney's and accountant's fees, and/or costs of other consultants or experts arising from the conduct of the business and/or operation by Lessee or from any default on the part of Lessee in the performance or failure to perform any agreement, obligation and/or covenant to be performed pursuant to the terms of this Lease, or from any act of negligence whether by omission or commission of Lessee, its agent, contractor, employee, sublessee, concessionaire, licensee or invitee in or about the Premises or arising from or by virtue of Lessee's possession, use and/or control over the Premises or the conduct of its business in or therefrom. In the event Lessee has insurance, Lessor shall first look to Lessee’s insurance and to the extent Lessor is able to recover entirely under Lessee’s insurance, Lessee shall have no personal liability. However, to the extent Lessee’s insurance is inadequate (for any reason including the insurance companies refusal to pay) to reimburse Lessor for Lessor’s damages, Lessee shall be liable for same.

 

Except to the extent directly caused by the negligence of Lessor and/or its agents and/or resulting from Lessor or its agents failure to perform an act required of Lessor under this Lease, if any action, claim or proceeding is brought against Lessor by reason of any such action, claim or proceeding, Lessee covenants to defend such action, claim or proceeding at Lessee's sole cost and expense. Lessor shall not be liable, and Lessee waives and releases all claims for damage to person or property sustained by Lessee, Lessee's employees, invitees and customers, resulting from the Premises, or any equipment or appurtenance, becoming out of repair, or resulting from any accident in or about said building or the Premises. Lessor shall have the right to choose and appoint legal counsel should same become necessary as a result of the provisions hereof.

 

Lessor indemnifies and agrees to hold Lessee harmless against any claims, liability, damages, costs and expenses of whatsoever nature, including but not limited to, reasonable attorneys fees and/or costs of other consultants or experts arising from the negligent conduct of Lessor in connection with the Premises. In the event of a claim against Lessor, Lessee shall first look to Lessor’s insurance and to the extent Lessee is able to recover entirely under Lessor’s insurance, Lessor shall have no personal liability. However, to the extent Lessor’s insurance is inadequate to reimburse Lessee for Lessee’s damages, Lessor shall be liable for same. Any liability of the Lessor shall be limited to Lessor's interest in the Premises.

 

LESSOR'S LIEN ARTICLE XXIV.

 

Lessor shall have a first lien upon the interest of Lessee under this Lease, to secure payment of all rent or monies due under this Lease, which lien may be foreclosed in equity at any time when rent or money are overdue under this Lease; and the Lessor shall be entitled to name a receiver of said leasehold interest, to be appointed in any such foreclosure proceeding, who shall take possession of said Premises and who may relet the same under the orders of the court appointing him.

 

Page 17 of 25
 

 

SECURITY DEPOSIT ARTICLE XXV.

 

Lessee has deposited with Lessor fifty thousand dollars and no cents ($50,000.00) as security for the full and faithful performance of the terms, covenants and conditions of this Lease. In event default shall be made in the payment of rent or other sums required to be made by Lessee or default shall be made by Lessee in performance of any of the other covenants, agreements or conditions by it to be kept and performed hereunder, Lessor may, at its election without notice and without terminating this Lease, apply the funds so deposited in payment of rent or other sums due hereunder or in remedying any other default hereunder, Lessor may terminate this Lease by reason of any such default and retain the portion said funds which applies to damages Lessor sustained and if such funds are inadequate, Lessee shall be liable for the excess and if such funds are more than sufficient the amount in excess of Lessor’s actual damages shall be refunded to Lessee.

 

After Lessee surrenders the Premises, Lessor provided Lessee shall not be in default hereunder and shall have complied with all of the terms of this Lease, including the yielding up of the immediate possession of the Premises in a good and clean condition to Lessor, Lessor shall, upon being furnished with satisfactory evidence by Lessee that Lessee has paid all bills incurred by it in connection with its performance of the terms of this Lease, return to Lessee such portion of said deposit then remaining with Lessor hereunder, without interest. Lessor may withhold possession of the security deposit until all adjustments to rent have been finalized.

 

Should the Premises be conveyed by Lessor, the security deposit or any portion thereof, not previously applied, may be turned over to Lessor's grantee or new agent. The Lessee hereby releases the Lessor from any and all liability with respect to the security deposit. Lessor shall have no personal liability with respect to said sum and Lessee shall look exclusively to Agent or Lessor's successors for return of said sum on the expiration of this Lease; and that Agent or Lessor's successor shall not be obligated to hold said Security Deposit as a separate fund, but on the contrary may commingle the same with its other funds.

 

GENERAL ARTICLE XXVI.

 

Nothing contained in this Lease shall be deemed or construed by the parties hereto or by any third person to create a principal and agent relationship, a partnership, a joint venture, or any other association between Lessor and Lessee, it being expressly understood and agreed that neither the method of computation of rent nor any other provisions contained in this Lease nor any act of the parties hereto shall be deemed to create any relationship between Lessor and Lessee other than the relationship of Lessor and Lessee.

 

The consent or approval by Lessor to or of any act by Lessee requiring Lessor's consent or approval shall not be deemed to waive or render unnecessary Lessor's consent or approval to or of any subsequent similar act by Lessee.

 

Page 18 of 25
 

 

The invalidity or unenforceability of any provision hereof shall not affect or impair any other provisions. The necessary grammatical changes required to make the provisions of this Lease apply in the plural sense where there is more than one Lessee and to either corporations, associations, partnerships, sole proprietorship or individuals, males or females, shall in all instances be assumed as though in each case fully expressed. The headings of the articles contained herein are for convenience only and do not define, limit or construe the contents of such articles.

 

MISCELLANEOUS ARTICLE XXVII.

 

a) This Lease may not be altered, changed or amended except by an instrument in writing signed by both parties hereto.

 

b) The Individuals executing the terms of this Lease certify that they have authority to enter into this Lease, that it is binding and enforceable upon the party upon whose behalf they have signed and that the terms of this agreement do not and will not violate any other agreement between either of the parties and any third party.

 

c) All covenants, promises, representations and agreements herein contained shall be binding upon, apply and inure to the benefit of Lessor and Lessee and their respective heirs, legal representatives, successors and assigns.

 

d) Time is of the essence of this Lease, and all provisions herein relating thereto shall be strictly construed.

 

e) The words "Lessor" and "Lessee" wherever used in this Lease shall be construed to mean Lessors or Lessees in all cases where there is more than one Lessor or Lessee, and to apply to individuals, male or female, or to firms or corporations, as the same may be described as Lessor or Lessee herein, and the necessary grammatical changes shall be assumed in each case as though fully expressed.

 

f) Whenever any sum due hereunder, including but not limited to rent for a period of less than either or both a lease year or calendar month, then all such sums shall be prorated on a per diem basis, and shall be payable in accordance with the terms of this Lease.

 

g) Neither party shall record this Lease or a memorandum hereof without the prior written consent of the other party and the party seeking the recording shall pay all charges and taxes incident thereto. Recording this Lease without the prior written consent of Lessor shall be a default of this lease.

 

h) Each of the parties represents and warrants to the other that it has not dealt with any broker or finder in connection with this Lease except as designated on the Reference Page, and agrees to defend, indemnify and hold, the other completely harmless and free from any and all loss, liability, costs, damages or expenses (including but not limited to attorneys' fees) incurred as a result of any breach of the foregoing warranty. Lessor agrees to pay the broker, if any, listed above in accordance with its listing agreement.

 

i) The submission of this document for examination and negotiation does not constitute an offer to Lease, or a reservation of, or option for, the Leased Premises and this document shall become effective and binding only upon execution and delivery hereof by Lessor and by Lessee. All negotiations, considerations, representations and understandings between Lessor and Lessee are incorporated herein.

 

Page 19 of 25
 

 

j) This Lease shall be construed and enforced in accordance with the laws of the state where the Leased Premises are located.

 

k) Where more than one lessee is executing this Lease all Lessees shall be joint and severally liable.

 

L) To the best of Lessor’s actual knowledge In the last 12 months Lessor has not received notice, and has no knowledge of, any violation of applicable federal state or local laws or regulations, including without limitation zoning or environmental laws or regulations with respect to the Premises that have not been corrected and there are no pending or threatened claims, actions or proceedings with respect to the Premises.

 

Page 20 of 25
 

 

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have executed this Lease as of the day and year first above written.

 

LESSEE:

CTI INDUSTRIES

 

By: __________________________________________ Dated: ______________, 200___

 

LESSOR:

Schultz Bros. Co.

 

By: __________________________________________ Dated: _______________, 200___

M. C. Schultz, President

 

Page 21 of 25
 

 

STATE OF ____________________ )

                                              )SS:

COUNTY OF __________________ )

 

Before me, the undersigned, Notary Public in and for said county and state, this ______ day of , 20__, personally appeared ______________________________, and executed or acknowledged the execution of the above and aforementioned Lease for uses and purposes therein set forth.

 

WITNESS my hand and Official Seal. My Commission Expires:________________________
   
  Resident of The County of ________________________

 

Seal  
  _______________________________
  Signature of Notary Public

 

STATE OF   ILLONIS____________ )

                                              )SS:

COUNTY OF __________________ )

 

Before me, the undersigned, Notary Public in and for said county and state, this ______ day of , 20__, personally appeared M. C. Schultz, President, and executed or acknowledged the execution of the above and aforementioned Lease for uses and purposes therein set forth.

 

WITNESS my hand and Official Seal. My Commission Expires:________________________
   
  Resident of The County of _________________________
   
Seal
  _________________________________
  Signature of Notary Public

 

Page 22 of 25
 

 

Exhibit “A”

Site Plan

 

 

Page 23 of 25
 

 

EXHIBIT “B”

Estoppel Certificate

 

Lessee and Lessor , hereby state, represent and certified the following:

 

1. The undersigned are the Lessee and Lessor under that certain Lease dated ____________ for the Premises commonly known as 800 North Church Street, Lake Zurich, Illinois;

 

2. Lessee has accepted delivery of the premises and has entered into occupancy thereof;

 

3. The Lease represents the entire agreement between the parties as to the leasing, is in full force and effect and has not been assigned, modified, supplemented or amended in any way; except as follows (if none, so state);

 

4. The primary term of the Lease commenced on ________________ and continues to _____________________, and contains a _____ (__) year renewal option(s);

 

5. The monthly base rental and other charges are current and have not been paid more than one month in advance;

 

6. Except as stated below, as of this date neither Lessee nor Lessor is in default under any of the terms, conditions, provisions or agreements of the Lease and neither Lessee nor Lessor has any offsets, claims, defenses against the other with respect to the Lease:______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

The foregoing statements, representations, and certifications are delivered pursuant to Article IV of the Lease agreement, and may be relied upon by a prospective purchaser or mortgagee of the Leased Premises or their respective successors and assigns. The undersigned certifies that he or she has the authority to execute this Estoppel Certificate on behalf of Lessee and/or Lessor.

 

Lessee: Lessor:
CTI Industries Schultz Bros. Co.
   
By ____________________________________ By________________________________________
  M. C. Schultz, President

 

Page 24 of 25
 

 

EXHIBIT “C”

Lessor’s Work

 

The following is a list of items "Lessor's Work" that Lessor shall complete and/or provide at it's sole cost and expense. All of the heating, air conditioning, ventilating, plumbing and electrical systems and equipment in the Premises will be in good working order and condition as of the Occupancy Date

 

1) Paint (one color) in the office. Color to be chosen by Lessee from Lessors Building Standards.

 

2) Paint (white) the unpainted wall areas of the warehouse.

 

3) Carpet and install base board molding in the office. Color to be chosen by Lessee from Lessors Building Standards.

 

4) Clean the warehouse floor restoring it to a broom clean condition. Removing dust and debris from the demolition. Provide flat unfinished concrete surface including removal of any previous flooring and adhesive. Subject to Lessee's reasonable approval.

 

5) All restrooms, plumbing and fixtures are to be in good working order.

 

6) All existing 110 volt outlets to be made active and in working order.

 

7) Any unfinished electrical wiring to be made safe and brought to code.

 

8) Remove electrical conduit and wiring from previous phone/IT room; provide finished floor and walls in this room; wall with phone and data punch down blocks to be removed in this room.

 

END OF EXHIBIT

 

Page 25 of 25

 

EXHIBIT 31.1

CERTIFICATIONS

 

I, John H. Schwan, certify that:

 

1.          I have reviewed this quarterly report on Form 10-Q of CTI Industries Corporation.

 

2.          Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report;

 

3.          Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information included in this report, fairly present in all material respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this report;

 

4.          The registrant's other certifying officer and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) and internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f)) for the registrant and have:

 

a) Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those entities, particularly during the period in which this report is being prepared;

 

b) Designed such internal control over financial reporting, or caused such internal control over financial reporting to be designed under our supervision, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of the condensed consolidated financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles;

 

c) Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant's disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this report our conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of the end of the period covered by this report based on such evaluation; and

 

d) Disclosed in this report any change in the registrant's internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the registrant's most recent fiscal quarter (the registrant's fourth fiscal quarter in the case of an annual report) that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant's internal control over financial reporting; and

 

 
 

 

5.          The registrant's other certifying officer and I have disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, to the registrant's auditors and the audit committee of the registrant's board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions):

 

a) All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal control over financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant's ability to record, process, summarize and report financial information; and

 

b) Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the registrant's internal control over financial reporting.

 

Date: November 14, 2012

  /s/ John H. Schwan
  John H. Schwan,
  Chief Executive Officer

 

 

 

 

EXHIBIT 31.2

CERTIFICATIONS

 

I, Stephen M. Merrick, certify that:

 

1.          I have reviewed this quarterly report on Form 10-Q of CTI Industries Corporation.

 

2.          Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report;

 

3.          Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information included in this report, fairly present in all material respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this report;

 

4.          The registrant's other certifying officer and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) and internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f)) for the registrant and have:

 

a) Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those entities, particularly during the period in which this report is being prepared;

 

b) Designed such internal control over financial reporting, or caused such internal control over financial reporting to be designed under our supervision, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of the condensed consolidated financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles;

 

c) Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant's disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this report our conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of the end of the period covered by this report based on such evaluation; and

 

d) Disclosed in this report any change in the registrant's internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the registrant's most recent fiscal quarter (the registrant's fourth fiscal quarter in the case of an annual report) that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant's internal control over financial reporting; and

 

5.          The registrant's other certifying officer and I have disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, to the registrant's auditors and the audit committee of the registrant's board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions):

 

 
 

 

a) All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal control over financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant's ability to record, process, summarize and report financial information; and

 

b) Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the registrant's internal control over financial reporting.

 

Date: November 14, 2012

 

  /s/ Stephen M. Merrick
  Stephen M. Merrick
  President and Chief Financial Officer

 

 

 

 

Exhibit 32

 

CERTIFICATION PURSUANT TO

 

18 U.S.C. SECTION 1350,

 

AS ADOPTED PURSUANT TO

 

SECTION 906 OF THE SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002

 

In connection with the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q of CTI Industries Corporation (the “Company”) for the quarterly period ended September 30, 2012, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on the date hereof (the “Report”), John H. Schwan, as Chief Executive Officer of the Company, and Stephen M. Merrick, as President and Chief Financial Officer of the Company, each hereby certifies, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, that:

 

(1)           The Report fully complies with the requirements of Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934; and

 

(2)           The information contained in the Report fairly presents, in all material respects, the financial condition and results of operations of the Company.

 

/s/ John H. Schwan  
John H. Schwan  
Chief Executive Officer  

 

Date: November 14, 2012

 

/s/ Stephen M. Merrick  
Stephen M. Merrick  
President and Chief Financial Officer  

 

Date: November 14, 2012

 

The foregoing certification is being furnished solely pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, and is not being “filed” as part of the Form 10-Q or as a separate disclosure document for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), or otherwise subject to liability under that section. This certification shall not be deemed to be incorporated by reference into any filing under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Exchange Act except to the extent that this Exhibit 32 is expressly and specifically incorporated by reference in any such filing.

 

A signed original of this written statement required by Section 906 has been provided to the Company and will be retained by the Company and furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission or its staff upon request.