With the heat and hustle of Athens behind him, Ian MacDonald is already laying groundwork for the 2006 Olympic Winter Games in Torino, Italy.

Nor has he forgotten about the summer Olympics in Beijing, 2008.

“I’m working on Vancouver 2010, too,” chipped in MacDonald, head of a privately held Calgary corporation called Moving Products Inc. (MPI).

MacDonald is 99 per cent certain his company remains the only Canadian service provider that concentrates exclusively on the Olympic Games. MPI describes itself as a one-stop shop for outfitting official sponsors and broadcasters, a “broker” which supplies many of the International Olympics Committee’s (IOC) flagship sponsors with comprehensive service packages for the Games. Such a package can include everything from a logo-splashed, custom-tailored blazer to a fanny pack to ID tags to T-shirts and fancy headgear.

Shannon Oatway, Business Edge
Moving Products Inc. president Ian MacDonald has struck a goldmine as a supplier to Olympic Games sponsors.

For example, every employee and guest of sponsors such as VISA, Xerox and Kodak found carefully packed bags of goodies waiting when they checked into their Athens hotel rooms.

But in the unlikely event the recipients stopped to think about it, they couldn’t have imagined the logistical hoops that MacDonald and his small, specialized team jumped through to order, import, package and deliver the gear.

“We take a dozen different jobs and combine them into one seamless operation,” explained MacDonald, who has learned the subtleties of his craft through nine sets of summer and winter Games.

Far in advance of any given Games, MPI strategists help to design a sponsor’s look and logo. They line up manufacturers, establishing sizes and specs for clothing items. They negotiate a labyrinth of IOC and organizing committee approval processes for logos and graphics, particularly those featuring the five sacred rings.

Meanwhile, MacDonald has become a past master at untangling the impenetrable duty, tariff and tax regulations of host countries since he incorporated Moving Products Inc. 16 years ago.

During the Summer Games of 2000, the company scaled heights it wasn’t able to match in Athens. In Sydney, MPI dressed 57,000 corporate managers, broadcasters, technicians, service reps, security guards and VIP guests, while generating more than $10 million in revenues for the company.

Athens was good . . . but not THAT good.

“From our point of view, there weren’t as many sponsors or VIPs in attendance. A lot of sponsor companies either didn’t go or they sent very few people,” MacDonald said. “Many of our clients looked at the security issues, or they weren’t happy with the quality and style of accommodations.”

Result: MPI volumes were down almost 75 per cent from the standards established in Atlanta (’96) and Sydney.

“But we’re not complaining,” he added quickly. “We can’t pick and choose. The Olympics is our exclusive business and we’ll keep on doing the best job we can.”

MacDonald began staking out his niche during the mid-1980s, after successful careers as both a ski resort manager and Canadian marketing director for Salomon, the world’s largest ski equipment manufacturer.

After moving to Alberta from Montreal in 1983, he brought his expertise to the 1988 Winter Games bid committee, researching potential alpine sites in advance of the successful pitch for the Calgary Games.

Subsequently, he hooked up with Vic and Sylvia Rempel, the Calgary-based founders of Sun Ice. The one-time mom ’n’ pop clothing supply house peaked at $33 million in annual sales before the bubble eventually burst.

As Sun Ice sales and marketing VP, MacDonald masterminded the company’s successful bid to become official clothing supplier for the 1988 Winter Games. The strategy included bringing aboard influential international players such as DuPont, Gortex and 3M in a four-way partnership.

After leaving Sun Ice following the ’88 Games, MacDonald began to pitch American-based sponsors on the need for supplying staff and guests with uniform coats, vests and gloves for the Games (particularly the cold-weather variety.)

“We showed them what we could do with designs. It was also an issue of health and safety, with companies bringing in their best clients to winter climates from warm-weather places like California,” he said. “You want these people to be warm and comfortable.”

CBS, the U.S. broadcasting giant, was one of the first to bite, prior to the ’92 Albertville Games. MPI evolved from there, eventually developing the comprehensive service package it delivers today.

MacDonald’s plan of attack generally involves setting up an MPI subsidiary in each host country, years ahead of time.

Since he has no idea what to expect from Beijing in 2008, he’s taking no chances.

“I’ll make my first visit in about six months,” he grinned.

(Tom Keyser can be reached at tomk@businessedge.ca)