Innovation Vaults Veterans to the Forefront
BFL&S' 1999 inductees breathe life into the industry
By Jamie Heckleman
In terms of the size of the companies they run, this year's Business Forms, Labels & Systems Hall of Fame inductees represent the industry spectrum: from a total of three employees to nearly 100. All three men, however, share similar vision, leadership skills and innovation.
Rather than struggling with a maturing industry, these men have risen to the top of their field by offering value-added services, superior customer service and technological expertise.
This year's inductees, nominated by existing Hall of Fame members based on the merit of contributions to the business forms industry, respect of his or her peers and focus on quality or innovation, are Geoff Nichols, president of PSE Data Products in Hayward, Calif.; Peter Mattson, president of MHC Companies in Burnsville, Minn.; and Alastair Currie, owner of Abbey Business Products in Etobicoke, Ontario.
Moving With the Times
What motivates Alastair Currie, owner of Abbey Business Products in Etobicoke, Ontario, to continue to invest his time and resources in what has been labeled a maturing industry'? The answer is simple.
Currie, a Certified Sales Professional, knows that one doesn't invest his professional life into an industry, just to drop it like a hot potato when it begins to change. Instead, he believes in building a successful career by embracing those changes, and making them work for him rather than against him.
"You have to embrace industry changes rather than put your head in the sand," said Currie. "As customers' needs change, you must change with them."
Success Through Strategic Decisions
"I don't believe we are in a dying industry," said Geoff Nichols, president of PSE Data Products in Hayward, Calif., "but those who don't evolve, expand and change with the industry will die."
For Nichols, who heads an operation of 42 employees, success is the result of two, long-term, strategic decisions: embrace print and communications technology and diversify the company's emphasis away from products and toward services.
"If I could put my finger on any one thing that sets us apart," said Nichols, who served eight years on the NBFA Board of Directors, "it is that in 1982, we as a company made a philosophical change. We recognized that technology was going to have a fundamental impact on our business, so we made the change toward becoming a service organization with a focus on customer relationships and moved away from product-based sales.
"From an intellectual standpoint, this was the single biggest decision we made. It was early in the process, which allowed us to get way out in front and in many ways we are still out in front," he continued. "This decision has served us well."
An Investment in Technology Pays Off
"I think it's an honest industry and a fun industry, and it's rewarding to work with our customers, em-ployees and peers," said Peter Mattson, president of MHC Companies in Burnsville, Minn.. "If you work hard, there are lots of opportunities to make customers happy."
Mattson has effectively brought new technologies to his customers for more than 20 years. In 1980, he was one of the first distributors to offer pick-and-pack services for hospitals. Today, nearly 100 employees of the MHC Companies service the general business market with a broad product range. Its top three services include laser check printing software, image design and print fulfillment. The company's growth is clearly geared toward electronic forms solutions, digital printing and marketing solutions such as image development, branding and logos. "That's where we see a big area of growth for us," Mattson noted.
Currently, Mattson's focus is directed toward the new software his company developed specifically to sell laser check software called Document Express.
"Document Express has opened a whole new opportunity for us with nationwide customers. Now we have to figure out how to sell them more than just software," he noted.
- Companies:
- MHC Companies