Systel announces a new acquisition in Hickory, NC of 650 machines and growth into growth into three surrounding states (VA, SC, TN)

HICKORY, NC - October 2019 - The fourth quarter in 2019 proved to be a busy one for Systel Business Equipment and moving closer to our goals to reach $100 million in the coming years. We are pleased to announce our recent partnership with Carolina Office Equipment (COE) of Hickory, North Carolina with the acquisition of their copier division. A partnership agreement was signed in August and finalized on October 24, 2019, securing leases and service of nearly 650 Ricoh devices.

Carolina Office Equipment has been serving the Hickory market and its customers since 1950 under the same customer service philosophy. COE was founded by WWII navy combat veteran, Byron Logan, who originally delivered machines from the backof his station wagon and is still active in the business with his 3 sons and 16 employees. Discussions with members of Systel’s executive team and the Logan Family began in early 2019 and although they were having discussions with other acquirers, the long term commitment as a family business to the Hickory area made this a perfect partnership.

“We are excited for the opportunity to provide our services to the copier division customers of Carolina Office Equipment and welcometheir customers to the Systel family,” said Janene Aul, VP of Operations/General Counsel. “Carolina Office Equipment has a longstanding philosophy of customer service excellence that has served their customers for nearly 70 years and closely aligns with the values of Systel.”

A special thank you to Jason Propst, Jeff Ruscoe, and the entire Hickory team for all of their support and customer attentiveness during the onboarding process. As a result of the quick actions by our Systel team members and in partnering with the Logan family, Systel was able to upgrade some customers before they were even set up in our system. “Customers have been very receptive to the transition and appreciate the personal welcome they’ve received from Systel and the Hickory team.” says Michelle Pottorff, Systel Service Contract Manager, who single handedly set up all equipment contracts in under two short weeks. “The successful onboarding of this most recent acquisition of COE was in part a result of the practice and accomplishments we experienced during the acquisition of Complete Business Systems in Kill Devil Hills, NC earlier in the year.”

In addition to completing two acquisitions in 2019, Systel was also authorized in specific counties of Virginia, Tennessee, and South Carolina, making that five servicing states for Systel including North Carolina and Georgia. 2019 has been a year of strategic growth and territory expansion for Systel and we’re looking forward to the same focus for 2020 with more successful dealer partnerships and acquisitions.

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