April 20, 2021
Five score and two years ago, Frank Addis founded
Ohio Displays Incorporated, which notably created early signs for Cleveland’s original Home and Flower Show a precursor to modern trade shows.
The company, based in Elyria, Ohio, has lasted long enough to come full circle. Way back in 1919, when Addis launched the business, the country was mired in a health crisis we now know as the Spanish Flu. So in 2021, overcoming a little thing like COVID-19 is old hat.
“We’re in our second pandemic and the doors are still open,” said Bob Miller, ODI’s senior vice president and Addis’ great grandson.
If there’s a secret to keeping a business open for more than a century, Ohio Displays Incorporated has it figured out. The Northeast Ohio company first opened its doors for business during the first pandemic - the Spanish Flu of 1918.