Elite Dealers: $20-$50 Million

Access Systems

Waukee, IA

www.accesssystems.com

Year Founded: 1986

President/Owner: Shane Sloan

Number of Employees: 130

Primary Vendors: Sharp, Ricoh, Konica Minolta, HP, Lexmark, Dell, Lenovo, Unifi, SonicWall, Avaya

Primary Solutions Offerings: Microsoft, VMWare, Notable Solutions, PaperCut, Drivve, and Square 9

Primary Supplies Vendors: Sharp, Ricoh, Konica Minolta, HP, Lexmark

Primary Leasing Partners: GreatAmerica, DLL

Approximate Yearly Revenues: $32 million

Fastest Growing Segments of Access Systems’ Business: IT Solutions and Services, Telecommunications, Print Solutions

Biggest Accomplishment of the Past Year: Revenue growth of more than $10 million in 2015

Why We Consider Access Systems Elite:

• Its astounding growth over the past year.
• The dealership’s Print and Information Technology teams provide a comprehensive assessment early in the sales process to analyze the client’s current configuration and discover the health and proficiency of its output strategy or network. This is a co-authored process between Access and the client and the foundation to the proposed solution – meeting their needs today and providing growth options that align with business goals. It is a hugely positive experience for the customer and has increased Access’ close ratio to 50-85 percent.
• Employees are rewarded multiple times throughout the year for their hard work either through department outings to sporting events or trips to exotic locations for the President’s Club.
• In September 2015 it was named by The Des Moines Register as one of the Top 100 Best Places to Work.
• It has earned numerous awards from Sharp (Hyakuman Kai Dealer 2007-2014 and Hyakuman Kai Elite Dealer 2015) as well as Ricoh (Mid-Market Revenue Growth Award 2015).

 

Advance Business Systems

Cockeysville, MD

www.advancestuff.com

Year Founded: 1964

President: Jeff Elkin

Number of Employees: 170

Primary Vendors: Ricoh, Savin, Canon, KIP, Kyocera, Samsung, Panasonic

Primary Solutions Offerings:  Treeno, DocuWare, eCopy, Lincware, MBM, PaperCut, Dell, EFi, Objectif Lune

Primary Supplies Vendors: Savin, Ricoh, Canon

Primary Leasing Partners: ABSSCO (Advance Business Systems & Supply Company)

Approximate Yearly Revenues: $35-$40 million

Fastest Growing Segments of Advance’s Business: Managed IT Services (200%), Mobile Print, and Document Management Tools

Biggest Accomplishment of the Past Year: Finalizing the building plans for its new Network Operations Center (NOC), which will function as a state-of-the-art command center for the dealership’s network services and Managed IT Services teams.

Why We Consider Advance Business Systems Elite:

• Its holistic marketing strategy aimed at increasing awareness among customers and prospects of all the offerings available, from the latest hardware technology to Managed IT Services.
• Its thought leadership events that provide added value and education to customers and prospects. These include panel discussions featuring industry experts, new technology showcases, and workshops.
• It was honored by Ricoh with a 2014-2015 Service Excellence Award in recognition of its technical and service operational efficiency.
• To ensure its tradition of a positive work culture, recruitment and retention is a primary focus. All candidates go through a rigorous interview process to ensure a good fit and once on board, Advance is committed to developing each employee.
• Its manufacturer certified on-site training center allows technical staff to train on site rather than scheduling time to travel to manufacturer training centers.

Cell Business Equipment (CBE)

Irvine, CA

www.kopiers.com

Year Founded: 1992

Owner/President: Tarek Hafiz

Number of Employees: 110

Primary Vendors: Sharp, Ricoh, Canon, Samsung, FP

Primary Solutions Offerings: Nuance, Equitrac, eCopy, Notable Solutions, Print Audit, Webiplex, DocuPeak, Laserfiche, Prism Software, UniFlow, PaperCut

Primary Supplies Vendors: Clover, LMI, Imagestar

Primary Leasing Partners: DLL, Wells Fargo, Canon Finance

Approximate Yearly Revenues: $30+ million

Fastest Growing Segments of CBE’s Business: Production equipment and government contracts have become its fastest area of growth as has MPS.

Biggest Accomplishment of the Past Year: Hiring a production specialist, two seasoned mailing equipment reps, and effectively expanding its IT services has enabled CBE to maintain double digit machine population growth.

Why We Consider Cell Business Equipment Elite:

• Last year annual revenue averaged $272,000 per employee. Overall, the company increased its total revenue by $5 million with a net add of only three new employees.
• CBE has successfully become a one-stop solutions provider of front and back office business needs. In most cases, a client only has to provide CBE with an end desired resolution or the base problem. The CBE sales and/or integration staff is able to offer a labor-saving solution that will normally pay for itself in 6 to 12 months of usage.
• CBE allows its sales staff to customize client enticements. Long-term clients know CBE has a history of offering special sales promotions that can be used at home or in the office. This can include gift cards, entertainment tickets, or a CBE-sponsored event of the client’s choice. CBE’s most popular client sales incentive is the CBE logoed Apple iWatch.
• The rich mixture of socio-economical background, race, religion, ethnicity, age, culture, and country of birth among CBE’s employees.
• Five percent of all profits are donated back into the local community, including Angels on the Frontline, Arch of Southern California, Habitat for Humanity, Share for SELVES, Orange County Mission, and the Southern California chapter of Easter Seals. CBE also aggressively supports youth sports teams, community endeavors, local food banks, and donates equipment to non-profit organizations.

 

Centric Business Systems, Inc.

Owings Mills, MD

www.centricbiz.com

Year Founded: 1990

President/Owner: Rick Bastinelli

Number of Employees: 200

Primary Vendors: Sharp, Ricoh, Kyocera, HP

Primary Solutions Offerings: Nuance eCopy, AutoStore, and Equitrac, PaperCut, HotSpot; PPDM, Lantronix, RightFax, and Sharp AIP, Sharp Desk, and SmartSearch

Primary Supplies Vendors: Ricoh, Sharp, West Point

Primary Leasing Partners: DLL, U.S. Bank

Approximate Yearly Revenues: $45-$50 million

Fastest Growing Segments of Centric’s Business: When combining organic growth, new products and services, geographic expansion, and acquisitions, Centric has experienced a 37.6 percent increase in revenue over the past three years.

Biggest Accomplishment of the Past Year: Its ability to maintain significant growth in all aspects of its dealership as well as finalizing its fourth acquisition. In addition, its geographic expansion as a result of the acquisition, allowing Centric to blanket the Mid-Atlantic region as a sole source provider.

Why We Consider Centric Business Systems Elite:

• Its total rebranding project. Centric committed more than $250,000 to repositioning the dealership as the leading document management and workflow technology solutions company in the Mid-Atlantic region. Additionally, it wanted to reinforce, in a new and exciting way, the solutions-based approach and outstanding support offered to clients. As part of this process, it developed a new logo, new website, new collateral materials, and new advertising campaigns.
• Its vertical market approach to developing net new business in the marketplace. Centric has recruited, hired, and trained members of its sales staff to become experts and focus on specific vertical markets. All their efforts are directed to prospecting, presenting, supporting, and building business relationships in their vertical assignments. Key areas of vertical market focus are healthcare, legal, religious, government, education, and production.
• The Centric Help Desk located in its high-tech Call Center. This program allows all customers to receive immediate service and support. A Centric Help Desk technician can remotely access a customer’s network for real-time support sessions over the web (via WebEX). It also enables the company to view and remotely control a customer’s application to analyze and resolve issues. This latest service greatly reduces downtime for the customers.
• A company culture based on commitment to customer satisfaction. Named the CustomerFIRST program, it consists of three major principles: responsiveness, communication, and ownership. This program has been very successful because Centric employees are motivated by them and they benefit customers with outstanding service.
• Its “Quick View” Process within its MPS program. This process walks the customer through an eight-step, consultative approach to gather information and effectively present recommendations to maximize efficiency in a print environment.

 

Commonwealth Digital Office Solutions

Sterling, VA

www.commonwealthdigital.com

Year Founded: 1977

President: Michael Sarelson

Number of Employees: 74

Primary Vendors: Konica Minolta

Primary Solutions Offerings: Konica Minolta, Square 9, All Covered

Primary Supplies Vendors: Konica Minolta

Primary Leasing Partners: First Fidelity (Company Owned), DLL, EverBank

Approximate Yearly Revenues: $20+ million

Fastest Growing Segments of Commonwealth’s Business: Production Print (up 124%)

Biggest Accomplishment of the Past Year: In July, Commonwealth was awarded a Top Workplace 2015 by the Washington Post.

Why We Consider Commonwealth Digital Office Solutions Elite:

• Its amazing success in selling Konica Minolta production print devices, including a commitment to two-hour service response time for these customer-critical devices.
• Its quarterly Production Print Shows.
• It openly and routinely reviews financial results with employees during quarterly corporate meetings so that everyone understands the extent of Commonwealth’s profitability and how it generates income.
• After a minimal amount of profit is earned, profits are shared by tenure with employees, management excluded.
• Its annual sales incentive cruise trips that also include administrative and service employees who have been with the company for more than 20 years.

 

Document & Network Technologies, Inc. (DNT)

Fenton, MO

www.dntstl.com

Year Founded: 2000

President/Owner: Mike Golinvaux, Dave Wilson

Number of Employees: 90

Primary Vendors: Toshiba, Konica Minolta, Lexmark, Dell, Microsoft, VMWare, Fortinet, HP

Primary Solutions Offerings: Managed IT Services, Managed Print Services, Document Management, Production Services, Document Destruction, Digital Signage, Facilities Management

Primary Supplies Vendors: United Stationers, Supplies Network, Ink Cycle

Primary Leasing Partners: DLL, GE Capital, U.S. Bank

Approximate Yearly Revenues: $20 million

Fastest Growing Segments of DNT’s Business: IT Services, Facilities Management, Document Destruction

Biggest Accomplishment of the Past Year: To provide a high-quality offering of Managed IT services to an expanding customer base, DNT needed to pursue additional internal resources and vendor partnerships. After an extensive vetting process, the company chose a Managed Services provider featuring a robust platform of products to serve as the foundation for a comprehensive customer offering. DNT also completed a vast personnel search, which culminated in hiring additional personnel with considerable IT experience. Once these pieces were in place, DNT then executed several large capital projects to upgrade its internal IT infrastructure. With all these components now integrated with DNT’s operations, the Managed IT Services division continues to grow with each passing month.

Why We Consider DNT Elite:

• Its aforementioned commitment to growing its Managed IT Services division.
• Its ability to provide customers with assessments that detail holistic views of the customer’s current workflows and cash outlay. DNT then collaboratively develops tailored, flexible solutions that make sense economically as well as logistically.
• Its focus on re-engaging and leveraging social media as a tool, not just a digital/online presence.
• Training and cross-team building is a priority at DNT as the company continues to successfully maintain relevance in the ever-changing needs of its industry.
• It has cultivated an environment that supports, encourages, and provides mentorship for the personal and professional growth of every member of its team. Every morning, a daily motivational message is distributed to all employees.

 

Donnellon McCarthy Enterprises (An ABS Technology Company)

Cincinnati, OH

www.donnellonmccarthy.com

www.absproducts.com

Year Founded: 1980

Owner/President: James W. Donnellon

Number of Employees: 125

Primary Vendors: Toshiba, Ricoh/Savin, Sharp

Primary Solutions Offerings: Toshiba (Re-Rite), ACDI, Equitrac, Intact, Smart Search, Ricoh Solutions, Toshiba (Drivve)

Primary Supplies Vendors: Toshiba, Ricoh, Sharp

Primary Leasing Partners: DLL, U.S. Bank, Wells Fargo, EverBank

Approximate Yearly Revenues: $20+ million

Fastest Growing Segments of Donnellon McCarthy’s Business: Color-enabled devices have seen significant growth over the past three years while software solutions, including tracking software, workflow, and document management have seen a steep double-digit growth. MPS is also growing.

Biggest Accomplishment of the Past Year: After merging its two operations, the dealership enjoyed a 20 percent year-over-year revenue increase.

Why We Consider Donnellon McCarthy Enterprises Elite:

• The successful merger of Donnellon McCarthy Enterprises, Inc. and ABS Business Products, which has resulted in an organization that now leverages each company’s best practices enabling ABS Business Products to handle large projects yet still remain competitively nimble enough to react quickly to its customers’ special needs and requests.
• Its quarterly lottery sales promotion that includes a drawing for cash, laptops, electronic devices, weekend getaways, ballgames, and dinners to winning recipients.
• It has developed a “War Chest” of funds that it strategically uses to target the replacement of competitive equipment.
• It has been honored by U.S. Bank with a 2014 Elite Dollar Gold Award; by DLL with a 2012, 2013, 2014 Preferred Vendor Award; by Ricoh/Savin with a Top Percentage of Growth Elite Dealer Award, Northeast Region 2014-2015; and as a Toshiba ProMaster Service Award Winner for the past 10 years.
• Its amazing success in driving software solutions sales.

 

Edwards Business Systems, Inc. (EBS) & Virginia Business Systems, Inc. (VBS)

Bethlehem, PA

www.edwardsbusiness.com

Year Founded: 1954

President/Owners: James B. Edwards, Chairman of EBS and VBS; Raymond Fuentes, President of EBS; James Dotter, President of VBS

Number of Employees: 172

Primary Vendors: Konica Minolta, Xerox, Ricoh, Muratec, Lexmark

Primary Solutions Offerings: Square 9, Objectif Lune, Adobe Systems, Nuance Equitrac and AutoStore

Primary Supplies Vendors: Supplies Network

Approximate Yearly Revenues: $38 million

Fastest Growing Segments of EBS’s & VBS’s Business: MPS, Solutions Software + Professional Services that accompany the software sale, and Production Print

Biggest Accomplishment of the Past Year: Continued growth and profitability. Each year, EBS/VBS has grown its business.

Why We Consider Edwards Business Systems and Virginia Business Systems Elite:

• This year, it is celebrating its 60th year in business. The EBS/VBS leadership has always valued the family approach to building careers and opportunities for its employees. Jim Edwards, Chairman of EBS and VBS has made sure the year has been full of surprises and celebrations for the employees and also for its clients.
• It grew 10 percent over the past year.
• EBS and VBS are committed to making the communities in which it operates successful, vibrant, and caring. Each office undertakes different initiatives to fulfill this mission. Some of the endeavors are sponsorships, underwriting, and participating in events in the community. Employees also volunteer at various events and for charitable causes. Additionally, it has sponsored the VCU Massey Cancer Center Concert; the EBS Annual Derby Day event, which benefits the Boy Scouts of America camping program; Historic Bethlehem’s Rooms to View House Tour; and PBS Ch. 39’s new building, among many other events and charitable campaigns.
• EBS/VBS staff is divided into three core groups – service/implementation, administration, and sales/marketing – all of which work together as a team to move the business of its clients forward. The focus is on selling process improvement, security and compliance, cost of ownership, and sustainability. Once it determines what processes need to be improved, it crafts a solution.
• In September, Edwards Business Systems was named an official approved partner in the Xerox Authorized Dealer Program, joining Virginia Business Systems in the handling of Xerox products and services. Within the first year of being a Xerox Dealer, Virginia Business Systems was presented the Dealer of the Year Award at Xerox’s 2014 Channel Partner of the Year Awards. EBS has also won the 2015 Pro-Tech Service Award from Konica Minolta for the 10th consecutive year.

 

EO Johnson Business Technologies

Wausau, WI

www.eojohnson.com

Year Founded: 1957

CEO/President: Mary Jo Johnson, Owner/CEO; Roger King, President/COO

Number of Employees: 260

Primary Vendors: Canon, Destroy It, Duplo, Fortinet, HP, Kodak, Lanier, Océ, Ricoh, RISO, PHSI, PSI, Samsung, Standard, Toshiba

Primary Solutions Offerings: eCopy, EFI, Fabsoft, Fusion Pro, MBM, MSI, Nuance, Objectif Lune, Paper Cut, Print Fleet, PSigen, RF IDeas, Square 9

Primary Supplies Vendors: Canon, Lanier, Océ, Ricoh, RISO, Samsung, Toshiba, LMI

Primary Leasing Partners: GreatAmerica, Gordon Flesch

Approximate Yearly Revenues: $45-$50 million

Fastest Growing Segments of EO Johnson’s Business:  Managed IT Services has increased sales by more than 20 percent each year since 2012 (when the company advanced its presence in this space through an acquisition); Production Printing has consistently grown 25-30 percent every year since 2007; EO Johnson Business Technologies software solutions business has averaged 24 percent growth in the last three years; service business increased 7 percent in 2014.

Biggest Accomplishment of the Past Year: “100% sold,” which has been a major focus and accomplishment for EO Johnson in 2014. This means deepening the relationships the dealership has with its current customers by introducing and providing additional products and services. Deepening the relationship and attaining this achievement was accomplished through sales representatives making focused efforts to talk to customers about product offerings (employing a very successful marketing tool they call the Product Wheel) and then generating sales leads for the product specialists. The result was a record number (631) of “sold” leads by sales representatives in 2014. Also, special efforts to get service technicians to turn in sales leads produced results. A contest in the second half of the year contributed to “sold” leads by service technicians that totaled $1.5 million. During the contest period, leads increased by 50 percent.

Why We Consider EO Johnson Elite:

• It is a forward thinking and innovative dealership that has consistently been at the front end of taking new products/services to market and meeting customer needs.
• Its marketing tool Product Wheel, which was designed to support the company’s strategic sales goal of 100% sold. This tool provides a talk track where sales representatives can confidently introduce each of EO Johnson’s product offerings and raise “pain point” questions that uncover lead opportunities.
• The acquisition of a back file scanning business established EO Johnson as a credible service provider in this arena.
• The longevity of EO Johnson Business Technologies employees. Customers work with the same people year after year and get to know them, which helps build long-term relationships.
• Ownership and management’s appreciation of its employees, treating them as the most important part of its culture. Owner Mary Jo Johnson states, “We hire good people with the right qualifications, provide training, and then get out of the way and let them become leaders in their position. Regardless of what place in our company, employees own their position, and each and every one of them make a difference in our business to both our customers and their co-workers.” 

Fraser Advanced Information Systems 

West Reading, PA

www.fraser-ais.com

Year Founded: 1971

President/Owner: Bill Fraser

Number of Employees: 150+

Primary Vendors: Sharp, Canon, Muratec, HP, 3D Systems

Primary Solutions Offerings:  Axcient, Intact, Océ Prisma, N-Able, ConnectWise, VMWare, MaaS360, Equitrac, PaperCut, Kodak Capture Pro, ScanShare, PrintFleet, PDF Pro, Sharpdesk Mobile, SharePlus, Fingerprint, Sharp OSA

Primary Supplies Vendors: Sharp, Canon, West Point Products, Muratec, HP

Primary Leasing Partners: Wells Fargo, U.S. Bank, DLL

Approximate Yearly Revenues: $33+ million

Fastest Growing Segments of Fraser’s Business: Managed Network Services

Biggest Accomplishment of the Past Year: Fraser’s 3D Printing Pavilion at INTERPHEX 2015 in New York City, one of the premier global pharmaceutical and biotechnology events in the world with more than 12,000 professionals in attendance. Fraser set up and staffed a 50’ x 60’ first-of-its kind 3D Printing Pavilion at the trade show and provided 12 industry leading experts to introduce attendees to 3D printing equipment, materials, and applications.

Why We Consider Fraser Advanced Imaging Systems Elite:

• Its Global Support Center that allows Fraser to provide customers with some of the highest quality support in the industry.
• Its willingness to evolve the business into new segments such as IT and Managed Services, including disaster recovery and backup solutions as well as 3D printing.
• Its annual customer appreciation and networking events, which are often co-sponsored by Fraser AIS’ vendors. These events represent a great opportunity for Fraser’s staff to enjoy more face time with customers who use its products every day, but more importantly the events are critical for building personal and professional relationships.
• Its emphasis on promoting the internal growth of its employees. No matter what department or position, the first 90 days at Fraser has each new employee following the same process. Once employees are established in their role, Fraser helps employees develop a career path that allows them to meet with their supervisors and the dealership’s HR manager to set goals for where they would like to go within the company and action plans to help them reach their goal.
• Each year Fraser budgets dollars from revenue toward the Educational Improvement Tax Credit Program. Through these significant donations, Fraser handpicks educational institutions to support within the community. 

Impact Networking

Waukegan, IL

www.impactmybiz.com

Year Founded: 1999

President/CEO: Frank Cucco

Number of Employees: 220

Primary Vendors: Konica Minolta, Kyocera, Muratec, KIP America, Bowe Bell & Howell

Primary Solutions Offerings:  DocuWare, Objectif Lune, Nuance, Smart Search, PaperCut, Darwin VDP Software, Planet Press Suite, Printshop Mail, ViaWorks, Square 9, Kofax

Primary Supplies Vendors: Kyocera, Konica Minolta

Primary Leasing Partners: GE Capital, Key Leasing, EverBank

Approximate Yearly Revenues: $45-$50 million

Fastest Growing Segments of Impact Networking’s Business: MPS (80% year over year growth), Managed IT (Projected 72% year over year growth)

Biggest Accomplishment of the Past Year: The acquisition of Northshore Business Technology, a Konica Minolta dealership headquartered in Kenosha, WI. The Northshore acquisition adds about $5 million of annual revenue for Impact, and three additional branches located in Kenosha, WI, Rockford, IL and Peru, IL. These additions bring Impact’s branch total to 11 locations.

Why We Consider Impact Networking Elite:

• Its successful transition into a ‘one source’ company, offering services from business automation to marketing, to web development as well as its ambitious plan to grow Managed IT Services so that it’s overall business is at $100 million by 2017, with $5 million organic growth and $15 million of small IT business acquisitions by the end of 2015.
• Its employee perks and recognition programs that provides employees with incentives to strive while encouraging them to challenge and outperform themselves. The primary company-wide incentive is based on its All Company Revenue Goal. If Impact surpasses this goal, the entire company travels to a certain location for an all expenses paid vacation. In addition, during Quarterly Meetings gift cards are handed out to employees who have been exceptionally outstanding and have received compliments from clients and other coworkers.
• All of its entrepreneurial-minded employees receive ongoing training when hired so they can make important decisions on the spot. This has lead to multiple certifications, honors and awards that Impact has received from its partners, such as Konica Minolta’s Technician of the Month.
• Its sustainable technology venture. After a successful trial run at one of its previous technology showcases, Impact has partnered with Tesla Motors for select Fall Technology Showcases at each of its branches. Impact’s Technology Showcases will showcase not only its solutions and technology, but also a select amount of Tesla vehicles for clients to test drive.
• Impact has been involved with Letters to Santa since 2005, and eventually ‘adopted’ an entire school in 2009. This charity uses deductions from voluntary employees in order to support Impact’s adopted Chicago Public School, Pickard Elementary, during the holiday season. During a three-month span, select employees use the contributions in order to buy a personalized ‘want’ and ‘need’ gift for each student and wrapping paper. After holding a wrapping party to organize each student’s gifts, employees volunteer to dress up as Santa and his elves to hand them out at the school, where there will also be an annual pizza party. 

 

Kelley Imaging Systems

Kent, WA

www.kelleyimaging.com

Year Founded: 1974

President/Owner: Aric Manion

Number of Employees: 85

Primary Vendors: Toshiba, Pitney Bowes, Sharp, Lexmark, Muratec, Formax, Kyocera

Primary Solutions Offerings:  DocuWare, Square 9, Re-Rite, PaperCut, Adobe Lean Print, Satori, Flex Systems

Primary Supplies Vendors: Toshiba, Supplies Network

Primary Leasing Partners: Great America, U.S. Bank, EverBank

Approximate Yearly Revenues: $20-$25 million

Fastest Growing Segments of Kelley Imaging Systems’ Business: Managed Print Services, Managed Network Services, Major Account Sales, Mailing Equipment and Solutions

Biggest Accomplishment of the Past Year: Increasing equipment and solutions revenues with a smaller sales force than the previous year. Focusing on training and working with customers for their benefit resulted in higher revenue per rep than at any time in Kelley history.

Why We Consider Kelley Imaging Systems Elite:

• It has implemented an in-house customer service team that provides a hands-on approach to customer service. Their objective is to measure customer satisfaction through quarterly, semi-annual, and annual reviews, allowing Kelley to proactively address any concerns before they result in an unhappy customer.
• It has invested in its sales force to standardize the sales process, providing formal persuasive sales skills training to all sales personnel.
• Its Customer Communication Strategy (CCS). Defining and working with customers on their CCS has resulted in many companies understanding that print is a part of an overall solution, not a standalone solution. As part of an overall strategy, it makes more sense to see how their print strategy fits in with the overall communication spectrum, and the result is a consistent message to the customer base, lower overall print and distribution costs, and more engaged customers. More importantly, this also allows clients to more easily measure their customer engagements to see what is working.
• Since becoming an authorized Pitney Bowes dealership, Kelley has started offering other solutions in document distribution.
• It was named one of Washington’s Top Corporate Philanthropists for 2014-2015. The program honors 75 companies that make the expanded Corporate Philanthropist lists based on cash giving to charities.

 

Modern Office Methods (MOM)

Cincinnati, OH

www.momnet.com

Year Founded: 1957

President/Owner: Kevin McCarthy

Number of Employees: 192

Primary Vendors: Canon, Lanier/Ricoh, Samsung, HP

Primary Solutions Offerings:  MPS, Document Management, Mobile Workforce & Cloud Printing, Production Print Environment Solutions, Document Capture Solutions, Cost Recovery & Security Software, and Electronic Form Solutions

Primary Supplies Vendors: Supplies Network, LMI

Primary Leasing Partners: U.S. Bank, Wells Fargo, DLL

Approximate Yearly Revenues: $40+ million

Fastest Growing Segments of MOM’s Business: Document Solutions, Production Print, MOM’s FleetCare™ MPS program (growing between 110-145%)

Biggest Accomplishment of the Past Year: In 2014, MOM was awarded the 2014 Corporate Community Service Award at the Blue Ash Awards. Most recently, at the beginning of 2015, MOM was awarded the Pillar Award for Community Service from Medical Mutual, and Kevin McCarthy was awarded the CEO Leadership Award.

Why We Consider MOM Elite:

• Its ability to manage accounts and provide clients with a document strategy. MOM reps follow a four-step process when they become engaged with a new prospect. The four key words that are associated with this consultative process are “Clarify, Simplify, Implement, Review.”
• Its Jump START Your Nonprofit program, which is not only MOM’s largest yearly marketing campaign, but its largest community involvement program. Jump START is a contest in which area nonprofits in Cincinnati, Columbus, and Dayton, OH apply for a chance to win one of three office technology makeovers worth up to $10,000.
• Its client events that help educate clients that MOM is more than just a company that sells office equipment, but that it’s a company that can manage every aspect of their document lifecycle.
• Its focus on social media, which has been a part of MOM’s marketing and branding effort since early 2008 when it joined Facebook. During the past seven years the dealership has added Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Google+, Pinterest, and a company blog on Blogger to its efforts.
• Its work culture. MOM is a great place to work because of its family-owned feel and sense of camaraderie among all its employees. MOM has developed this culture through years of Casual/Fun Fridays, Carnival Days, community involvement projects, corporate days at Kings Island or Reds games, and close out cookouts. 

Nauticon Imaging Systems

Gaithersburg, MD

www.nauticon.com

Year Founded: 1997

Owners: Tom Cunningham & Gary Scokel

Number of Employees: 110

Primary Vendors: Toshiba, Lexmark, KIP, HP, Dell

Primary Solutions Offerings: Square 9, PaperCut, Drivve

Primary Supplies Vendors: LMI, Toshiba

Primary Leasing Partners: DLL, U.S. Bank, EverBank

Approximate Yearly Revenues: $20-$25 million

Fastest Growing Segments of Nauticon’s Business: MNS continues to grow year over year.

Biggest Accomplishment of the Past Year: A $240K sale to a government agency.

Why We Consider Nauticon Imaging Systems Elite:

• With an average employee tenure of over 10 years, Nauticon’s customers experience outstanding service from its professional sales staff, factory trained technicians, and support staff. Plus owners are involved in the day-to-day operations and insist on a live friendly voice answering all incoming calls.
• Its successful Managed Network Services offerings, including Help Desk, hosted e-mail/file-sharing, BDR (backup + disaster recovery), unified threat management, as well as managed antivirus and automated patching/update service, which is selected by nearly all clients.
• Its Door Hanger Program. The main idea behind the program is to deliver Nauticon’s message to either a decision maker or influencer who has a key to the business. The most effective times for distribution are prior to opening or after they have left for the day. Door hangers have proven to be an effective way to reach the people who have the ability to say yes. Of the last 10 calls one rep received from this program, eight were from door hangers placed after hours.
• It is actively involved in social media, including Tweeting often and proactively searching for followers who would directly benefit from Nauticon’s services. Twitter has resulted in more web views while keeping Nauticon’s name in front of the local business community
• The open door policy between the owners and staff creates a sense of employee ownership.

 

Northern Business Machines (NBM)

Burlington, MA

www.nbminc.com

Year Founded: 1985

Owner/President: William Tracia

Number of Employees: 75

Primary Vendors: Sharp, Konica Minolta, HP, OKI, KIP, FP Mailing, Dell

Primary Solutions Offerings: Infodynamics, Equitrac, FM Audit, LabTech, PaperCut

Primary Supplies Vendors: Katun, Densi, Synnex

Primary Leasing Partners: CIT, GreatAmerica

Approximate Yearly Revenues: $21+ million

Fastest Growing Segments of NBM’s Business: Mailing Solutions, Managed IT (up 150% year over year), MPS

Biggest Accomplishment of the Past Year: Celebrating its 30th year in business under the same ownership.

Why We Consider Northern Business Machines Elite:

• In a market dominated by direct branches, NBM has found it can successfully compete and differentiate itself by targeting SMBs and leveraging its ability to provide better service than the direct branches.
• It successfully added a new product line, mailing equipment, in early 2015.
• The 18th Annual NBM Open Golf Tournament in May, which clients describe as “the finest event of its kind that they attend all year.”
• It has been recognized by Sharp as a Hyakuman Kai Elite Dealer, is a Sharp Platinum Service Dealer, and has earned a Pro-Tech service award from Konica Minolta.
• Individual employee accomplishments are routinely noticed and rewarded. NBM recognizes a salesperson of the month, technician of the month, and administrative employee of the month. The salesperson gets a commission bonus while the technician and administrative employee can either choose a cash bonus or an extra paid personal day. 

Prosource

Cincinnati, OH

www.totalprosource.com

Year Founded: 1985

President/CEO: Brad Cates/Owner: Ben Russert

Number of Employees: 250

Primary Vendors: Konica Minolta, Lexmark

Primary Solutions Offerings:  Hyland, Equitrac, OpenText, Kofax, Nuance AutoStore

Primary Supplies Vendors: Supplies Network, Densi, Pinnacle, LMI, Katun, Carolina Wholesale

Primary Leasing Partners: U.S. Bank, GE Capital, DLL

Approximate Yearly Revenues: $40-$50 million

Fastest Growing Segments of Prosource’s Business: Since the beginning of 2015, Prosource has experienced 32 percent growth in office equipment, 47 percent growth in document automation, and 92 percent growth in technology solutions, contributing to an overall company growth of 25 percent.

Biggest Accomplishment of the Past Year: Winning three major local and national awards, including imageSource Dealer of the Year, Award of Excellence from Konica Minolta, and a Finalist for the Cincinnati Business Courier’s Best Places to Work Award.

Why We Consider Prosource Elite:

• Its aggressive acquisition strategy, encompassing other dealerships as well as the 2013 acquisition of an IT solutions company that expanded Prosource’s portfolio to providing information technology services to customers.
• The revamping of its Managed Services offerings and the 2014 launch of CompleteIT, an individually tailored technology approach that fits any business strategy. This comprehensive offering gives customers access to resources that help their businesses excel.
• Its “You Know the Companies We Keep” marketing campaign for driving sales in Louisville and Lexington. This campaign included a flyer, direct mail postcard, a series of e-mails, and telemarketing. The campaign also included an aggressive 25 percent cost reduction guarantee – if Prosource cannot reduce print costs by 25 percent it will write that business a check for the cost difference.
• Its commitment to being recognized as the best place to work in the Midwest, which includes a comprehensive and strategic “Flight Plan” with actionable steps to achieve this objective by 2017.
• Its commitment to providing the best on-boarding experience possible. All team members, regardless of role, attend training sessions that teach Prosource history, mission, values, and culture. Tailored training that is specific to each role within the company is also provided, ensuring that everyone receives the appropriate training needed to be successful.

 

Stargel Office Solutions

Houston, TX

www.stargel.com

Year Founded: 1987

President/Owner: Jack Stargel

Number of Employees: 96

Primary Vendors: Toshiba, Lexmark, HP, Océ, KIP

Primary Solutions Offerings: DocuWare, PaperCut, Fasoo, eCopy

Primary Supplies Vendors: Supplies Network, Katun, Synnex

Primary Leasing Partners: Toshiba, GreatAmerica, U.S. Bank

Approximate Yearly Revenues: $25 million

Fastest Growing Segments of Stargel’s Business: Managed Services, a division that incorporates Managed Network Services, MPS, and software. The total growth year over year has been about 22 percent, with Managed Network Services being the leader with around 35 percent growth year over year.

Biggest Accomplishment of the Past Year: Implementation of top-down strategy meetings where every employee has been empowered to have a voice. Each department has small meetings one to two times per month for 30-45 minutes where all employees participate with new ideas and problem solving. The goal of these new meetings is to reduce employee turnover and foster more productive employees.

Why We Consider Stargel Office Solutions Elite:

• The growth of its Managed Services division.
• Its three-hour service guarantee that guarantees a service tech onsite within three hours or 100 percent of the client’s service bill is free.
• To foster a great work environment, Stargel runs a quarterly contest and schedules fun activities throughout the year such as crawfish boils, bowling tournaments, quarterly breakfasts, and baseball games.
• It’s a solid community citizen, supporting organizations like Texas Children’s Hospital Ambassador Club, Texas Children’s Bad Pants Open Sponsor, and Boys and Girls Club of Houston.
• It has been recognized with numerous awards over the years from its vendors and business partners, including Toshiba, DocuWare, and GreatAmerica. 

United Imaging

Woodland Hills, CA

www.unitedimaging.com

Year Founded: 1986

President: Michael Cohen

Number of Employees: 65

Primary Vendors: Toshiba, HP

Primary Solutions Offerings:  PaperCut, Square 9

Primary Supplies Vendors: Toshiba, HP, MSE

Primary Leasing Partners: CIT, Leaf, U.S. Bank, GE Capital

Approximate Yearly Revenues: $25+ million

Fastest Growing Segments of United Imaging’s Business: Overall sales revenues have increased by eight percent within the last six months.

Biggest Accomplishment of the Past Year: Implementation of its IT Services group.

Why We Consider United Imaging Elite:

• It continues to closely collaborate with clients via frequent face-to-face visits, ensuring that it is more of a business partner than vendor.
• It has successfully positioned itself as a one-stop shop to fulfill all office needs while eliminating the need for clients to use multiple vendors.
• In the past year it has successfully rolled out a new IT Services group.
• It regularly donates equipment and services to area charitable organizations.
• It has earned the Toshiba ProMasters’ Award.

Usherwood Office Technology

Syracuse, NY

www.usherwood.com

Year Founded: 1976

President/Owner: Louis Usherwood

Number of Employees: 114

Primary Vendors: Canon, Samsung, HP, Lexmark, FP

Primary Solutions Offerings: Managed IT Services, Pharos, Uniflow, PaperCut, Square 9, Microsoft Exchange Server

Primary Supplies Vendors: Canon, Samsung, HP, Lexmark

Primary Leasing Partners: U.S. Bank

Approximate Yearly Revenues: $23 million

Fastest Growing Segments of Usherwood’s Business: Managed IT Services and Facilities Management Biggest Accomplishment of the Past Year: Renewing and upgrading one of its Facilities Management contracts for another six years. This partnership validated Usherwood’s business model and it remains the only provider with which the client has ever renewed.

Why We Consider Usherwood Office Technology Elite:

• Its objective of tripling Managed IT Services revenues by 2020 as well as adding a new Facilities Management client every year for the next five years, generating $25 million in revenue.
• By incorporating multiple service solutions into what it refers to as its Odyssey Global suite, Usherwood is well positioned to support its Managed IT Services and Print Management clients in all of their service needs.
• It was voted “One of the Best Places to Work in Central New York” for the last two years. This award is based on employee submissions and reflects its positive work environment.
• It has received the Canon Top Dealer Award, U.S. Bank Platinum Award, and the Canon Lasting Impressions Dealer Award.
• It successfully fosters a family-oriented work culture where employees are loyal to the company and to each other. Aside from having a positive energy in its work place, management encourages team building experiences outside of work such as bowling, participating in community 5Ks, and playing in volleyball summer leagues.

 

Word Processing Services, Inc.

Hagerstown, MD

www.wpssolutions.com

Year Founded: 1973

President: Debra Dellaposta/COO: Joseph Dellaposta

Number of Employees: 95

Primary Vendors: Savin, Sharp, Lexmark, 3D Systems

Primary Solutions Offerings:  Netsurance Managed IT Services, Content Central, Ademero

Primary Supplies Vendors: Ricoh, Sharp, Lexmark, 3D Systems

Primary Leasing Partners: GreatAmerica, DLL, EverBank

Approximate Yearly Revenues: $20 million

Fastest Growing Segments of WPS’s Business: MPS and Major Accounts as well as its MNS portfolio, which has achieved double-digit growth for the past three years.

Biggest Accomplishment of the Past Year: This past year WPS launched an internal campaign focusing on individual achievement and accountability within the family business. Each of its 95 employees are part of the WPS family and regardless of position, location, or role, everyone is considered equally important and are an integral component to the success of the business. Its “Raise the Sails, It’s Your Ship” campaign has allowed the dealership to organically grow by more than 7 percent this year while increasing hardware margins by 13 percent, aftermarket margins by 6 percent, reducing operating expenses by 6 percent, and resulting in a net profit margin increase of 135 percent.

Why We Consider WPS Elite:

• Its MITS (Managed IT Services) program, which includes a Virtual CIO, real-time and fully managed remote diagnostics, a fully staffed help desk, proactive planning, and on-site support, enables customers to have a full IT department working for their business while only incurring a fraction of the cost.
• A focus on Business Process Optimization. By taking the time to really learn its customers, their people, and the way they are currently conducting business, WPS is able to help them remove bottlenecks and unnecessary redundancies. Then it applies technology to further enhance efficiencies and quality.
• An internal campaign focusing on individual achievement and accountability within the family business. Each of WPS’ 95 employees are part of the WPS family and regardless of position, location, or role, all are equally important and are an integral component to the success of the business.
• Its “Raise the Sails, It’s Your Ship” campaign.
• Its annual President’s Club trip where all employees are eligible (not just sales) along with an annual bonus for all employees based on WPS’ Key Performance Indicators.