In the ultra-competitive business of supplying and servicing copiers, the leaders shuffle positions frequently, and it isn't unusual for a company to come from nowhere, shoot to the top, and then disappear quickly.
Given that, MT Business Technologies Inc., a Toledo firm with ties to Mansfield, Ohio, has not only beaten the odds by lasting 13 years, but it has bucked a trend by rising slowly to the top of local copier competition.
"In 2000, we did $4.5 million in sales. Last year we did $7.5 million, and we're projecting $8 million for 2006," said Chuck Rounds, company general manager.
John Fernyak of Mansfield, whose family founded Mansfield Typewriter Co. in 1918, owns the Toledo firm and similar businesses in seven Ohio cities. Each is independently incorporated and operated.
Mr. Fernyak buys products and services for all his companies. MT Business Technologies sells Ricoh copiers and color graphics machines made by Okidata and printers from Hewlett-Packard.
As with most firms in the business, service contracts are important.
Previously, Mr. Rounds said, customers used large copiers to distribute documents to employees. But now companies typically use small copiers, fax scanners, and software to distribute electronic copies across a network, allowing individuals to make their own printouts as needed.
"It's all become decentralized, instead of a centralized copier that handled most of the work," Mr. Rounds said.
The local firm employs technicians to repair copiers and experts who understand software and computer networks. "Copiers come with so much free software these days you have to understand both software and hardware," Mr. Rounds said.
The company has grown the last 10 years by chasing long-term contracts when they come open, and then ensuring it can deliver on its promises after winning a bid. To aid with that, Mr. Rounds hired Jim Kasch, who had owned MRPS Inc., a former top photocopier sales firm in Toledo, as a consultant.
Among MT Business Technologies' customers are the Toledo Mud Hens, Washington Local Schools, and Sylvania Schools. School systems are a quarter of the firm's business.
Dan Bringman, operations manager for Washington Local, said the schools first hired the firm because it submitted the lowest bid.
"But they have done everything they said they would do," he said.
There have been two keys to the company's sustained success, Mr. Rounds said.
First was hiring the best and keeping them. "There's an unusually high turnover rate in this industry, and we have tried to avoid that," he said. Its service technicians have worked for the firm for more than eight years on average.
Second, an incentive system helps to motivate technicians to fix copiers right the first time. The firm charges customers for each copy a copier makes. Under the incentive system, when a technician fixes a machine, he gets a percentage of that charge for 30 days after the repairs.
They also receive bonuses for having the right part on a repair job.
"It's worked well. If they fix it right, they know they're going to make money," Mr. Rounds said.
Contact Jon Chavez at: jchavez@theblade.com or 419-724-6128.
Small Business Profile is a weekly feature on local companies. To be considered, send information about your company to Small Business Profiles, Business News, The Blade, P.O. Box 921, Toledo, Ohio 43697-0921.
First Published January 30, 2006, 2:33 p.m.
