Paine & Associates Wins Iomega Account

Zip-drive maker Iomega Corp. on Tuesday awarded its public relations account to Paine & Associates, becoming the Costa Mesa-based firm’s largest client.

The deal is expected to be worth $2 million to $3 million for Paine, which brings in about $7 million in fees annually. Other clients include Hyundai Motor America; GTE superpages.com Bausch & Lomb and Miller Brewery Co.’s Foster’s and Molson brands.

Paine expects to hire up to 10 employees at its headquarters as a result of signing up Iomega, a Utah-based manufacturer of portable data storage solutions. Paine has 40 employees in Costa Mesa and 12 at an office in Beverly Hills, said President David Paine.

Paine said the addition of Iomega is a “significant boost” for the company, which is seeking to add technology clients.