The Doves of Lillehammer

The Doves of Lillehammer

Twelve years ago in 1994 we were watching the opening ceremonies of the Winter Olympic games on television when suddenly the sky over Lillehammer was filled with a multitude of soaring white doves. Immediately the words of a favorite song came into my mind, “on the wings of a snow white dove.” Knowing those beautiful doves were only balloons was hard to believe. More incredible, the doves had been made in my home town of El Dorado, Kansas by the Pioneer Balloon Company.

I imagine everyone in El Dorado with connections to the Pioneer Balloon plant in the El Dorado Industrial Park were watching as the beautiful doves floated away into the cold, Norway night. We were watching because our granddaughter, Robin worked for the company and had helped make them. The balloons performed just as everyone hoped they would.

The journey to Lillehammer began many years ago. The Pioneer Balloon Company was initially founded in 1918 as the Pioneer Specialty Rubber Company in Willard, Ohio. In the early years the company produced a variety of rubber goods including balloons. In 1920 the company added a line of rubber gloves including the first surgical gloves ever made. Later they expanded operations and began making industrial and household gloves.

Balloon production was suspended during World War II because all available latex was needed in making equipment for the soldiers. The production of surgical and industrial gloves was switched to filling government orders. After the war they resumed making balloons. By 1970 Pioneer Rubber was turning out millions of balloons each year under the trade name of Qualatex. That same year Pioneer Rubber was bought out by Sherwood Medical Industries, a division of the Brunswick Corporation. Since Sherwood’s main focus was on medical and health-related products it was no surprise when they began to look for a buyer for the balloon division.

A buyer was found in 1979 and the contract was signed by Ted and Betty Vlamis and the Pioneer Balloon Company came into existence. At the time there were 85 employees at the Ohio plant plus the work force at their corporate headquarters in Wichita, Kansas. To be closer to the corporate offices, Pioneer Balloon chose El Dorado as the site for it’s home entertainment operations in February 1988.

Throughout it’s history Pioneer Balloon has been creative in the manufacture of balloons. By producing advertising and entertainment items for children and adults they generated substantial growth over past sixteen years. By October of the first year the company had built a 100,000 square-foot building and moved their micro-foil division in. Continued expansion allowed them to add another 1000,000 square-foot building to centralize packaging and distribution of the whole line of latex balloons.

Pioneer currently prints the micro-foil balloons on what they call rolling stock and then they are manufactured at the El Dorado plant. One of their products, the stress reliever, is a favorite of mine. It is a small latex balloon imprinted with advertising and then filled with sand-like mixture that is squeezable. Many commercial and industrial enterprises ordered them to give out like they used to do with paper matches and pencils. Many non-profit organizations like the El Dorado Senior Center benefit from the Viamis’ community spirit. Pioneer Balloon donates balloons for the center’s monthly birthday celebrations.

Later in October of 1995 Tim Vlamis, market development director of the Pioneer Balloon company, received the Crystal Award at the 11th annual International Balloon Arts convention held in Rosemont, Illinois. This award is the highest honor in the balloon industry and is presented annually to individuals who actively advance the industry through innovation, skill and dedication.

Since coming to El Dorado, Pioneer has moved the machine shop from Hamilton, Ontario and consolidated the Austin, Texas facility into the El Dorado Plant. In 1994 the company employed over 200 people and produced thirty million mylar balloons a year. They ship all over the world to over five thousand different customers.

Pioneer has spread it’s wings from the original headquarters in Ohio to nine locations world-wide. The Pioneer team includes facilities in Hamilton, Canada; Pueblo, Mexico; London, England and Sidney Australia. But only the Kansas plant had the capabilities to fill the order for Lillehammer.

Many photo-types were made to be sure the balloons would fly in the extreme cold weather of Norway. Pioneer shaped the dove balloons from a clear film with a white inner-coat. It took two weeks for the production department to fill the order. The doves were shipped flat to Lillehammer where they were inflated with helium. My granddaughter was in charge of shipping and she had to make sure the order for ten thousand balloons arrived in time for the Olympics opening ceremonies.

That is why El Dorado, Kansas made this headline “Lillehammer opening saw local balloons” and everyone held their breath as the dove-shaped balloons floated gracefully upward over ten thousand people gathered to watch the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics February 12, 1994. Who knows how many were watching on television. Definitely the employees of Pioneer Balloon’s plant were among the viewers along with all their friends and families.

Most of the same people were watching a week later at the Olympics closing ceremony as local performers of Lillehammer acted out a Norwegian fairy tale that ended in another dramatic release of the dove-shaped balloons from Kansas.

Story ID:	748
Written by:	Gail Lee Martin (bio, other stories)
Organization:	Kansas Authors Club
Story type:	Only Here
Location:	El Dorado Kansas USA
Year:	1994
Person:	Pioneer Balloon Factory