Applied Imaging
Grand Rapids, MI
www.appliedimaging.com
Year Founded: 1987
President/Owner: John Lowery
Number of Employees: 450
Primary Vendors: Ricoh, Canon, Kyocera
Primary Solutions Offerings: Microsoft, DocuWare, Brainware, Hyland, Kofax, PaperCut, HP, Datto
Primary Leasing Partners: GreatAmerica, U.S. Bank, Canon Financial Services, Wells Fargo
Approximate Yearly Revenue:
$100+ million
Fastest-Growing Business Segments: ShredHub document destruction business
Biggest Accomplishment of the Past Year: In addition to selling more than a million dollars’ worth of temperature-screening kiosks and establishing a facilities management division called WISE, Applied Imaging acquired a business in the Tampa, Florida, market that will ultimately create the biggest opportunity moving forward.
Why We Consider Applied Imaging Elite:
- Client feedback. The dealer has long valued the testimonials its client base has provided for its radio commercials. Whether it’s the Detroit Lions NFL franchise, the Children’s Healing Center or Hinton Transportation Investments, there’s a common denominator throughout the feedback: the dedicated people and quality service delivered by Applied Imaging has enabled them to forge solid, lasting relationships.
- Biggest score. Applied Imaging enjoyed several large wins in the past year, including a 70-piece installation for a professional sports franchise and 30-plus temperature-screening kiosk installations in several school districts.
- Top accolades. Applied Imaging continues to be recognized by its manufacturer partners, garnering the Ricoh Circle of Excellence award and Elite status from Canon. Two of the dealer’s key personnel, Janet Langerak and Joe Greene, were honored as Difference Makers by this publication.
- Helping hands. Paying it forward is a keystone Element within the Applied Chemistry culture. Many employees and virtually the entire management team sit on non-profit boards and are active members. From sponsoring sports teams, golf tournaments and an entire professional baseball league, Applied Imaging seeks to strengthen its community ties.
Atlantic Tomorrow’s Office
New York, NY
www.tomorrowsoffice.com
Year Founded: 1959
President/Owner: Larry Weiss (president)
Number of Employees: 400
Primary Vendors: Ricoh/Savin, Toshiba, Konica Minolta, HP, Kyocera
Primary Solutions Offerings: DocuWare, EFI, ACDI, Datto, UniTrend, Microsoft, DataBank
Primary Leasing Partners: DLL, Wells Fargo, U.S. Bank, CIT, HP
Approximate Yearly Revenue:
$146 million (six months post-COVID)
Fastest-Growing Business Segments: MPS (22%)
Biggest Accomplishment of the Past Year: Despite the pandemic, Atlantic Tomorrow’s Office was able to maintain 80%-90% of its hardware sales.
Why We Consider Atlantic Tomorrow’s Office Elite:
- Finishing strong. The dealer’s annual December Toshiba Sales Blitz in 2019 generated more than $5.3 million in revenue, an effort that included 433 unit placements. COVID-19 didn’t dampen sales reps’ enthusiasm, either; the salesforce conducted more Zoom/Teams calls after the pandemic than in-person meetings prior to the outbreak.
- Top grades. Atlantic Tomorrow’s Office was awarded a contract with a large school district valued at $10 million.
- Pandemic playbook. In an effort to help steer its client base in the right direction during the pandemic, Atlantic Tomorrow’s Office created a webinar series for its clients, covering a wide range of topics including work from home, document management, remote learning tools, managed services MPS and production print, with a focus on wide-format solutions.
- Product expansion. The dealer expanded its product and service catalog with a trio of new offerings. One is a temperature verification kiosk with facial recognition. The second, EduScape, is designed to provide school districts with a continuity-of-learning solution that maintains sound instructional design and supports exemplary remote teaching practices. A third, BioProtect, is a cleaning solution that effectively inhibits the growth of bacteria and viruses while providing antimicrobial protection on surfaces for 90 days.
Gordon Flesch Company (GFC)
Madison, WI
www.gflesch.com
Year Founded: 1956
President/Owner: Thomas Flesch
Number of Employees: 700
Primary Vendors: Canon, Lexmark, Sharp, Ricoh
Primary Solutions Offerings: Laserfiche, Continuum, Canon, PaperCut, Microsoft, Kofax
Primary Leasing Partners: GFC Leasing (in house)
Approximate Yearly Revenue:
$159 million
Fastest-Growing Business Segments: Managed IT services (10%), hardware (10%), MPS (10%)
Biggest Accomplishment of the Past Year: The dealer acquired and integrated ITPros into its organization and relaunched its IT services as Elevity, with a new brand, website and focus.
Why We Consider Gordon Flesch Company (GFC) Elite:
- Continued growth. Even during the challenging economic period, Gordon Flesch Company continued to make strategic acquisitions that fortified its overall holdings. In addition to ITPros, the dealer added ASI of Iowa, along with Jim Gordon Inc. and IBS, both located in Indiana, expanding its geographic reach in the process.
- Site refresh. The dealer recently relaunched its gflesch.com website, increasing inbound marketing while frequently updating with fresh content, downloadable materials and twice-weekly blog posts that help drive leads to the sales team. By employing modern inbound marketing strategies and leveraging social media and search engine optimization, GFC has been able to realize millions in sales through its site.
- Vertical excellence. In addition to capturing deals with the largest health care provider in its region, GFC has enjoyed success with major universities, including Marquette and several Big Ten schools, to provide hundreds of machines.
- Family atmosphere. The dealer encourages friendly competition among its sales associates in vying for a spot on the annual team trip that visits exotic locations. GFC holds an annual bean bag tournament that encompasses hundreds of employees from across the network to win bragging rights and the company championship. And during the pandemic, the company provided extra time off and ensured employees with school-aged children learning from home were afforded flexible remote work options.
Impact Networking, LLC
Lake Forest, IL
www.impactmybiz.com
Year Founded: 1999
President/Owner: Frank Cucco (CEO), Dan Meyer (president)
Number of Employees: 600
Primary Vendors: Konica Minolta, Kyocera, Ricoh
Primary Solutions Offerings: DocuWare, Kofax, Mendix, Microsoft, Objectif Lune, Catalytic
Primary Leasing Partners: GreatAmerica, DLL, CIT, Wells Fargo, U.S. Bank
Approximate Yearly Revenue:
$140 million
Fastest-Growing Business Segments: ES99 design and marketing division (381%), managed IT (68%)
Biggest Accomplishment of the Past Year: Even in the midst of the pandemic, Impact Networking was able to move forward with several major projects, including a unified call center; an addition to its Bollingbrook, Illinois, facility that will create state-of-the-art space; and groundbreaking for a new building dedicated to cybersecurity.
Why We Consider Impact Networking Elite:
- Video stars. With continued emphasis on its digital and visual presence, Impact Networking hired a second in-house junior video producer to help film and create content in-house that can be promoted across all channels. These videos feature client testimonials, culture, recruitment, service and solutions, and thought leadership. The company churned out 150 videos in 2019 and is on track to double that output by the end of 2020.
- Managed success. During the past year, Impact Networking secured the largest managed IT agreement in company history, shattering the previous standard. That sector continues to be one of the fastest-growing divisions for the dealer.
- Pandemic guidance. Considering client needs in a work-from-home environment, the dealer’s marketing team devised a webinar campaign titled “Coffee with Impact.” The campaign began with a 10-episode work-from-home series that drew more than 1,000 registrants. More webinars have followed, including a Business Agility & Lean Operations series.
- Giving back. In 2020, Impact Networking implemented a new paid holiday, Make an Impact Day, to encourage employees to give back to their communities. This year, more than $1,000 was made in monetary donations, 7,700 meals/bags of food were provided to people in need and 10-plus pints of blood were donated.
Loffler Companies, Inc.
Bloomington, MN
www.loffler.com
Year Founded: 1986
President/Owner: Jim Loffler
Number of Employees: 525
Primary Vendors: Canon, Konica Minolta, Xerox, Océ, HP, Lexmark, NEC, 8×8, RingCentral, Mitel, GBC, Duplo, FP Mailing Solutions
Primary Solutions Offerings: ABBYY, Square 9, Jim LofflerCanon, PaperCut, Y Soft, Dell EMC, Datto, SonicWall, HPE, Ruckus Wireless, WatchGuard, Arctic Wolf
Primary Leasing Partners: U.S. Bank, GreatAmerica
Approximate Yearly Revenue:
$124 million
Fastest-Growing Business Segments: Imaging, IT solutions
Biggest Accomplishment of the Past Year: The dealer prides itself in its pandemic response by both the executive leadership team and its employees. Loffler Companies focused on three primary objectives: positioning the company to maintain its industry leadership, protecting its employees and providing industry-leading support to clients pre-and post-sale.
Why We Consider Loffler Companies Elite:
- Total package. Loffler Companies provides single-source business technology to make clients’ work processes more efficient. From printers and copiers to managed print services, IT services, physical security/video surveillance, on-site managed services, unified communications, document management and workflow solutions, client technology and services needs are met by one company, on one invoice.
- Product pivot. The executive team was quick to recognize its clients’ need for temperature-screening solutions as they safely returned to on-premise work. The dealer’s product team identified the best products to distribute and its marketing team created an online repository of educational materials, translating into strong local and national sales.
- • Recognized excellence. The dealer garnered numerous awards in recent years, including Top Workplace/Best Places to Work honors from the Minneapolis Star-Tribune and the Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal. A Konica Minolta Pro-Tech Dealer and an Elite Status Canon Advanced Partner, Loffler was also named an Elite 150 Managed Service Provider by CRN Magazine.
- Charitable efforts. The dealer established a Loffler Helping Hands Team to conceptualize, develop and facilitate projects related to the company’s commitment to the community and its role as a valued neighbor. A longtime supporter of organizations such as the American Cancer Society, Minnesota Vikings Foundation, Ronald McDonald House, Susan G Komen Race for the Cure, Feed My Starving Children, Catholic Charities and Memorial Blood Centers, Loffler Companies also rallies around its employees when they experience illness, death or other hardships. This takes the form of donations, silent auctions, cards and other gestures of support.
RJ Young
Nashville, TN
www.rjyoung.com
Year Founded: 1955
President/Owner: Chip Crunk
Number of Employees: 578
Primary Vendors: Ricoh, Canon, HP, Lexmark, Mimaki, Océ
Primary Solutions Offerings: Sophos, Verkada, Microsoft
Primary Leasing Partners: In-house leasing
Approximate Yearly Revenue:
$140 million
Fastest-Growing Business Segments: MNS (212%)
Biggest Accomplishment of the Past Year: RJ Young continued to see significant growth in all of its facilities management areas. The firm also landed the single-largest account in company history.
Why We Consider RJ Young Elite:
- Product expansion. The dealership is now carrying Verkada video cameras and sold more than $1 million worth in the first quarter alone. RJ Young is also seeking to expand its horizons beyond the copier with the launch of The Modern Office concept, which allowed it to rebrand as a full technology partner.
- Top takedown. The dealer garnered a significant takedown with a major Florida university, a deal that included 430 A3 units, nearly 300 printers and campus-wide software.
- Corporate philanthropy. With 30 branches, RJ Young sought to devise a giving program representative of all the communities in which it conducts business. Each region selected a charity, and the dealer contributed 10% of profits from that region’s copier sales to the chosen organization. In addition, the company’s Hands and Hearts committee coordinates enjoyable fundraisers that help foster unity among employees while benefitting the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
- Fostering loyalty. RJ Young is an employee-first organization, built on the premise that when you take care of your people, they will take care of the customer. That spirit was evident in 2020, when tornadoes and a hurricane left damage in their wake. The company mobilized and provided two PTO days to allow employees to volunteer in the community cleanup effort.
TGI Office Automation
Brooklyn, NY
www.tgioa.com
www.goipower.com
Year Founded: 1964
President/Owner: Frank Grasso (CEO)
Number of Employees: 400
Primary Vendors: Toshiba, Ricoh, Lexmark, HP, FP Mailing, Dell, Cisco
Primary Solutions Offerings: DocuWare, PaperCut, Kofax, Square 9, Drivve, LincWare, EzeScan, Continuum, M-Files, GoldFax, Carbonite, Datto, FabSoft, Gravic, GoFormz, EFI, Scanoptics
Primary Leasing Partners: DLL, CIT, Wells Fargo, HP Finance
Approximate Yearly Revenue:
$110+ million
Fastest-Growing Business Segments: Equipment (35%), MPS (35%), document management (15%), network services (15%)
Biggest Accomplishment of the Past Year: TGI acquired a large network integrator and managed IT services provider, iPower Technologies, with a goal of expanding upon its current technology offerings to include enterprise IT resources.
Why We Consider TGI Office Automation Elite:
- Pandemic refocus. The dealer hosted biweekly webinars aimed at showing clients how to remain productive during the challenging business climate. The presentations stressed solutions including cloud document management, temperature verification kiosks, electronic signatures, cloud fax, IT services, security, backup and disaster recovery.
- Biggest takedown. TGI secured and implemented a solution with one of the premier academic medical centers in the Northeast. The package included an MPS agreement for 5,000-plus printers, along with the installation of more than 1,200 MFPs.
- OEM kudos. Several technology partners recognized TGI for top performance, including Ricoh (RFG Circle of Excellence Certified Dealership and RFG Eco Excellence Member), Toshiba (ProMasters Elite Certified Dealer) and DocuWare (Diamond Club Member). HP also cited TGI as Partner of the Year-U.S. Print Hardware Reseller of the Year.
- Giving back. TGI’s community outreach program is geared toward supporting organizations that have entrusted them with their business. The company supports client fundraising efforts by allocating up to $500,000 per year to donate to their causes. TGI was also instrumental in assisting a New York City hospital in setting up two emergency warehouses as well as 10 COVID-19 temporary treatment sites. The dealer assisted a network of Big Apple hospitals with emergency equipment deliveries.
