WTSmedia: Our history
In 1996, WTSmedia purchased Daystar Audio Video, a successful media distributor owned by Rick and Sharon Hlubek, and expanded both their product line and distribution.
In 1999, WTSmedia once again needed additional space to expand and made the decision to add a modern 20,000-square-foot warehouse to the current facility. This addition doubled the size of the plant to 40,000 square feet and allowed room to grow into more direct manufacturing.
In 2001, Tom Salley decided to retire, and promoted his son, Michael Salley, as President. Michael, and his sister, Marianne Mankin, the company’s sales manager, along with their mother, Diane, continue to run the day-to-day operations of the company.
In 2005, WTSmedia made the single largest equipment investment in the history of the company, bringing in state-of-the-art CD and DVD replication, including the latest technology in disc molding, printing, and quality control. This new investment allowed the company to dramatically improve turn times for their customers, and to pass on significant price savings as a single source supplier.
In 2009, to keep up with increased demand, WTSmedia added additional replication capacity, along with new printing equipment allowing in-house printing of all inserts, cardboard sleeves and mailers, along with custom packaging and fulfillment of CDs, DVDs, and Blu-Ray discs.
In 2012, WTSmedia acquired NTS Pro Media in Nashville. The company supplied professional-grade hard drives, analog tape, and related media supplies to studios and businesses in the heart of Music Row in Nashville. This marked WTSmedia’s first expansion into a new city.
In 2015, WTSmedia invested in new printing equipment, significantly expanding its capacity to produce high-quality cardboard sleeves and digitally printed media. This expansion led to a significant increase in production capacity, driving higher revenue.
In 2017, WTSmedia acquired American Recordable Media, a large wholesaler based out of Lexington, Kentucky, primarily selling blank media, bulk packaging, and supplies to customers all over the country. This acquisition allowed WTSmedia to substantially expand the range and availability of blank media and related supplies.
In 2019, WTSmedia acquired VSG, a St. Louis-based, fully licensed CD and DVD replication facility. VSG provides end-to-end production capabilities, including authoring, glass mastering, injection molding, offset printing, automated packaging, shipping, and fulfillment services. This acquisition expanded WTSmedia’s footprint into St. Louis, the first location outside of Tennessee, and doubled both the overall plant size and headcount of the company.
In 2020-2021, WTSmedia acquired 3 more companies, expanding more into USB drives, and began printing and duplicating USB drives in-house. In addition, WTSMedia began stocking both bulk USB drives and many different packaging options for USB drives. USBs quickly gain traction and begin to take the place of CD/DVD media in some applications.
In 2023, WTSmedia built a brand new, 20,000 square foot addition, attached directly to their current 40,000 square foot plant. This new addition allows WTSmedia to stock a wider variety of inventory, and allows containers of products to arrive, saving both time and money. In addition, WTSmedia was able to greatly expand its production floor space in Chattanooga, allowing for more production and automated equipment.
In 2024, WTSmedia acquired US Digital Media, along with their website, PremiumUSB.com, the largest domestic seller of USBs. In addition to substantially increasing the sales of
USBs, US Digital Media had acquired licensing contracts with the NCAA for logo merchandise for the top D1 Universities in the country. These contracts have allowed WTSmedia to expand into many new opportunities and will continue to help WTSmedia grow for many years to come.
