NEW HARTFORD — With the formality and festivity of a ribbon-cutting ceremony — complete with a pair of larger-than-life scissors — Business Machines & Equipment, Inc. (BME) marked the start of 2016 by moving into its new corporate headquarters in New Hartford. Steve Mitchell, VP of sales and development, says the company has also been […]
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NEW HARTFORD — With the formality and festivity of a ribbon-cutting ceremony — complete with a pair of larger-than-life scissors — Business Machines & Equipment, Inc. (BME) marked the start of 2016 by moving into its new corporate headquarters in New Hartford.
Steve Mitchell, VP of sales and development, says the company has also been hiring, with two new employees with computer-science backgrounds joining BME’s workforce in the last year. One is a digital specialist and the other is a systems engineer. The hires brought the office-machine company’s employee count to 15.
Abigail Jenkins, a Morrisville State College graduate, and Ron Mitchell, Steve Mitchell’s son and a Clarkson University graduate, both bring Canon and Xerox certifications to the team, Mitchell says.
Jenkins and the younger Mitchell will be working on developing workflow technology — enhancing wireless communication between printers and other office machines.
BME is an authorized retailer and technician for both Canon and Xerox printers, and can establish wireless cloud communication between printers and computers, phones or tablets. BME’s clients are able to scan straight to apps like DropBox, Google Drive, and Microsoft Office 365.
“People want to store stuff on the cloud,” the elder Mitchell says. “Abby and Ronnie can write the code or the path, and then connect it to ConnectKey to see that icon right on the copier panel.”
ConnectKey is the coded language used by Xerox machines, Mitchell says. His son and Jenkins are certified by Xerox to write and create new code within that architecture — creating a personalized experience for each user or company for every device.
“I see our industry changing to be much more individualized,” Mitchell says. “That’s exactly what we want to create — an audience of one.”
BME also uses technology to better service clients. The company monitors more than 1,200 devices, all of which are equipped with software that tracks three types of data: toner levels, usage meters, and error reports.
The wireless-monitoring system acts proactively; for example, when toner levels dip down to 20 percent, the system automatically alerts BME and a new shipment of toner is shipped without the customer even having to make the call, Mitchell explains.
“We deliver toner on a proactive model,” Mitchell says. “People pay for what they use. All our billing is automated — we can see their devices and do some simple remote monitoring.”
Being a small company offering big-time technology and benefits for clients has paid off. BME’s revenue rose by 40 percent to 50 percent in 2015, and this January was the company’s best fiscal month ever, Mitchell says. He declined to provide revenue totals.
“We’ve more than doubled our business in the last two years ... our sales have more than doubled,” Mitchell says. “We expect to do the same thing over the next two years.”
Though his son has come aboard, BME isn’t planning a formal business succession anytime soon. Mitchell says he doesn’t plan on leaving the company in the foreseeable future, although it is possible for his son to follow in his footsteps and someday take on company leadership.
“We have a long-term plan. I’m not going anywhere anytime soon,” Mitchell says. “[Ron] did extremely well at Clarkson — he has a biomolecular engineering degree, and he loves computers and the software side of the business. He’s young and he still has a lot to learn in our business.”
Harrison (Chip) Hummel III, board chairman of Hummel’s Office Plus, became president of BME in 2014 when he and Mitchell acquired ownership of the company. Since then, Hummel’s Office Plus has taken over all of BME’s toner distribution.
BME’s new headquarters office, located at 8375 Seneca Turnpike in PAR Technology Park, spans about 7,000 square feet of leased space and offers the company a large showroom and conference room. BME started working from its new New Hartford office on Nov. 1. Previously, it operated from a location in Marcy.
On Jan. 28, BME and the Greater Utica Chamber of Commerce formally opened the office with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. BME also held the chamber’s monthly Business After Hours networking event that evening.
Laura Vona, director of operations at BME, says the chamber event brought more than 170 people to the new location. Despite the cold temperatures when they huddled outside to cut the ribbon, visitors were impressed with the space overall and the furniture, which was supplied by Hummel’s Office Plus, she says.
“I think people really liked the layout — just seeing the flexibility of the office,” Vona says, adding one popular feature included stand-up/sit-down desks, designed to easily adjust in height for comfort. “I think people got to see what a world-class showroom we have, and I think people definitely [showed] interest in that.”
Mitchell says seminars and events will be held in the new showroom space, and the public is welcome to inquire about renting the space for other activities.
“We want people to come and hang out and celebrate with us,” Mitchell says. “We want it to be fun. If it’s not fun, what’s the point?”
BME also operates an office in DeWitt and a distribution center in Mohawk in Herkimer County.