ORANGE CITY, Iowa -- Staples Promotional Products announced it will add 40 to 50 new jobs to Northwest Iowa over the next six months. The jobs will be in customer service, distribution and decoration, which involves embroidery and screen printing.

Larry Sanson, Orange City-based vice president of operations, said the bulk of the new jobs will be in Orange City and the rest will be at the company's facility in Marcus, Iowa, where cutting and embroidery is done. The new positions will be gradually phased in.

Orange City Mayor Les Douma called the new jobs "very exciting for our community" and said they will help the area and all of Northwest Iowa. He said new jobs are "encouraging in an economy when the president is talking about jobs and more jobs. We've been very fortunate in northwest Iowa."

Assistant City Administrator Gary Blythe said it was nice to see economic good news. "The strength of Staples lends a lot to what is happening in Orange City and Marcus," he said.

Staples Promotional Products, a division of office supply giant Staples Inc., was created in 2008 when Staples bought Overland Park, Kan.-based American Identity and its warehouse and manufacturing facilities in Northwest Iowa, including the former K-Products headquarters in Orange City.

The company counts a number of Fortune 500 companies as customers. Sanson said its accounts include Anheuser-Busch, Nike, Ping, John Deere, Snap-On, Coca-Cola and HP, among many others.

Staples Inc. is headquartered in Framingham, Mass., near Boston.

How to apply

* Call 712-737-4925 to have an application form mailed to you or;

* Pick one up between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. at the Orange City office, 1520 Albany Place SE, just off Sioux County Road K-64; or at the Marcus, Iowa, location at State Highways 143 and 3; or at Hawarden, Iowa, 505 Industrial Road. Applications may be filled out at the site or mailed in later. Office positions are already posted online at Staples.com\jobs.