When Cindi and Greg Gondek purchased Northeast Copy in 1999, they weren’t afraid to make big changes. Renaming the company as Advanced Copy Technologies, they shrunk down the geographic area they covered to improve their response time and serve their customers better. Since then, they’ve gone far beyond traditional office equipment, diversifying into five different divisions and rebranding as ACT Group. They were early adopters of MPS as well as document management software, and have been investing in 3D printing since 2011. They are always keeping an eye out for the next disruptive technology.
As any dealer that’s tried to expand its offerings can tell you, 3D printing is not for the faint of heart. ACT Group has managed to become an expert in the field, building a strong, self-supporting infrastructure as well as focusing on client education. Now the company serves as a resource center for OEM 3D Systems for all of New England, including Maine, Rhode Island, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts, as well as parts of New York and New Jersey, with office equipment placements in Connecticut and Western Massachusetts.
Greg and Cindi Gondek
Anyone can sell a machine, but it’s what you do after that makes a difference with the customer. CEO Cindi Gondek and President Greg Gondek have made strategic decisions regarding the clients they take on and the geographic area they serve. Their first priority is their customer, and ensuring that with any new technology, the end user never feels the pain of transition. With a unique MPS program that puts their customers 100 percent in control of a non-stagnant environment, original document management software, and an engaging and meaningful social media presence, ACT Group embraces technology and what it can offer.
Nick Gondek, Director of Additive Manufacturing & 3D Service
ACT Group sells the entire 3D Systems line, from the professional and the production machines, right up to the metal machines. Nick Gondek, Director of additive manufacturing, and the director of 3D service even went to the metal factory in France and became certified. ACT Group’s commitment to innovation and technical expertise is one of the reasons they’ve enjoyed 20 percent growth year over year, most of that organic. We sat down with Cindi, Greg, and Nick Gondek to talk in depth about their experience with 3D printing, staying competitive in an ever-changing market, and Purps the Penguin.
What does ACT Group pride itself on?
Greg: We’re proudest of our reputation. We can go up against anybody in any of the areas of expertise that we’ve chosen to represent, whether it’s document management, where we’re writing customized software for clients that other companies couldn’t do, or our MPS program, which every time someone sees what we have to offer, they can’t believe it. Our reputation is hard and well earned, and we won’t jeopardize that for anything.
Where do you see your greatest opportunities for growth?
Greg: The customized software that we’re doing, including document management and archiving. Our software division is working on some large-scale projects right now for national companies. We’re a small, Connecticut company, but we’re involved in transactions that can place software all over the U.S.
Cindi: I would say our greatest opportunities for growth are in additive manufacturing. We’re seeing much more companies looking at it.
Why did you decide to get into 3D printing? What has that journey been like?
Cindi: Our director of IT had brought it to me. At that time, no one had heard about it, so I was very interested. We contacted 3D Systems and we decided to become a dealer. That was before it was mainstream. It started out as an add-in value for the company, but once Greg and I realized the potential of this market, that’s when we brought in Nick, a physics and mechanical engineer, for his expertise. It’s been a tough journey, as far as getting it to be more mainstream.
Nick: One of the initial challenges was trying to understand the technology and what different companies will benefit from the use of it, internally. It was about getting our sales team proficient in the technology and then for us to really understand the marketplace and build a niche where we’re finding our opportunities within our territory.
Who are your biggest clients in 3D printing?
Nick: Right now our backbone of 3D is the shoe industry. We have a large number of shoe companies that we service and provide equipment for, including New Balance, Reebok, and Puma. They use it for rapid prototyping. From there, another vertical is education, for rapid tooling, but there’s widespread interest in this technology and the type of companies that utilize it.
How do you identify 3D opportunities?
Nick: Our sales team is very attuned to the industry and what people are doing with the technology, and they identify potential prospects, given what has been tried and true in this industry. We’ve sent a couple of our sales team to MIT’s professional education course to connect with the industries using this technology, and to understand at a high level the benefits and types of applications where this technology makes sense.
Greg: We learned very quickly that it’s a whole different ball game. We have a team of 10 people where that’s all they do. We have 3D salespeople that don’t sell anything else, 3D technicians, and a 3D service manager that eat, breathe and live 3D printing. There’s a certain proficiency level that’s required in order to be successful. You’re not dealing with typical buyers, but heads of engineering in companies, so you’re on a whole different level.
What percentage of your business is 3D vs. traditional office equipment? How long did it take to become profitable?
Greg: I would say we will become profitable 10 years from now [laughs]. We got into it as a long-term investment. We’re profitable now, but we still have a couple of years before all our investment comes back ten-fold. If you look at it revenue-wise, they’re almost equal, because with 3D we’re working on higher ticket numbers, but that can be deceiving. If we’re looking at this year, it would be 60-40, with 60 in our traditional market, which we do very well in, and 40 percent on the 3D hardware end, but it’s getting pretty close.
Your document management business is growing. What’s driving that?
Greg: We started four years ago, and we have hired high-level expertise in that area. We’re expecting that to grow 25-30 percent plus a year for the next three years. Last year we doubled that revenue.
Cindi: I think what’s helping our growth in both 3D and document management is the change of attitude of our customers of this new software. They’re seeing the abilities of the technology. A lot of our driving force is through education and knowledge of those industries, and our customers being receptive to it.
Speaking of which, how do you view the industry changing in the future and what are you doing to adapt?
Cindi: Greg and I strategize on that together. People say, “What’s your five year plan?” Six years ago, I’d never even heard of 3D printing, and now that’s a huge part of our industry. So we’re constantly looking into the next things and what we feel would be great. We’re open to new technology and staying on the cutting edge.
Greg: We recently launched another new product based on what we’re seeing as the future needs of the mid-sized market, called Easy Forward, a scanning, archiving and indexing service, where we partnered with the best IT company in the state. We look for good collaborations and new products to bring to market that make sense and fill a void.
What was your dealership’s most significant accomplishment last year?
Greg: To me, it’s not the size of the deals, because we’ve won some big deals, but it’s the fact that in a very competitive environment, where we’re up against major manufacturers, we’re winning, not just on hardware, but also on the software side, including MPS.
Cindi: We’ve also won Ricoh’s top service award, a 27th consecutive Kyocera Service Excellence Award, and Elite Dealer of the Year. We don’t just win one award; we want to do that every year.
What was one of the biggest challenges of last year?
Greg: From an operational sense, trying to keep up. We represent multiple manufacturers and there’s been a leapfrog effect, where they’re too busy trying to jump over each other with new products. So the biggest challenge is keeping up our expertise level. We have to be more self-sufficient now than we have in the past.
Cindi: But our customers don’t feel a lag in support or service, because we’re filling that in. We absorb that pain for our customers.
What was one of your biggest wins in the past year?
Purps the Penguin Project
Nick: We did a project with a local middle school and a local aquarium. Our team trained students in 3D software and helped them design a boot for an injured penguin named Purps the Penguin. We’re trying to promote the technology discreetly in education and have them feel comfortable with the technology, and it was a great marketing opportunity for us as well. You can see it on Youtube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-J8lO_1S2k).
Who do you see as your biggest competition, and how do you differentiate your company from the rest?
Greg: The biggest competition isn’t based on expertise anymore; it’s based on price points. We’ve seen price points from some manufacturers that don’t make sense if you want to take proper care of a customer. As far as 3D competition, the infrastructure we’ve built gives us a huge advantage. We see people trying to get into 3D without making the investment to take care of the customer’s needs. We have that, from the engineering support to same or next day service, which we don’t see in our market.
What do you look for in your employees? How do you recruit and retain good ones?
Greg: The two main things are honesty and integrity. We won’t jeopardize either in our organization. We bring in people that have no prior sales experience, like in our 3D department, and they do fantastic, but they are highly intelligent, and have honesty and integrity, which is not something you can train.
What keeps you motivated and excited about the work that you do?
Cindi: All the new innovations, with office equipment, software, and 3D. We love all the new technology.
Nick: For me, it’s being involved with something different every day. In this industry we get to work with a lot of different companies. Every day brings something new and different, and it keeps it exciting.
Greg: Seeing brilliant young people who work for us, and the people that we interact with. All these innovations shaping up and being put into place, and the way the world is changing and how we’re fitting in.
What is your least favorite thing about your job?
Greg: Not being out in the field as much. Unfortunately we have a lot of checks and balances that need to be taken care of. I love being out with reps and interacting with the customers, to make sure they’re happy, and I find sometimes I’m at my desk too often.
Cindi: I’m one of the rare people in the world that doesn’t dread going to work.
Nick: I’m on the same page. Nothing comes to mind.
Outside of work, what do you do for fun?
Cindi: Now that you say that, I like to golf, so maybe my least favorite thing about my job is that I don’t have enough time to golf.
Greg: What I like to see is Cindi hit a long perfect drive.
Cindi: And Nick likes to golf too.
What are you looking forward to the most for the year ahead and beyond?
Cindi: Watching this new technology make a difference in our world. Additive manufacturing is disruptive technology, and just to be part of that evolution is exciting.
Greg: Seeing our hard work and everything we’ve done long-range pay off. We’re growing at a great pace and we have the infrastructure to handle it, with a national reputation in 3D, so I’m excited about this year.
Nick: I’m looking forward to how this industry is evolving. We’re developing a niche in this market, and our intuition led by lot of education is leading us in the right direction.
