Looking Out for the Next Generation San Jose CA

A few points to consider:

• It is estimated that approximately 95 percent of all American companies are small businesses and that 95 percent of these firms are family owned. These firms generate up to $100 million in sales and employ 44 million people and account for 40 to 60 percent of the US GNP.
• Of the Fortune 500 companies approximately 175 are family firms.
• The average life expectancy of family firms is 24 years. Only three out 10 survive into the second generation. Only half of those that survive the second generation make it to the third.

It takes a special kind of company to succeed in business these days. And for a family-owned business, that seems to be even more true—especially in the printing industry. Take a changing economic climate, add the interactions of family members, and a market in the middle of consolidation and you have quite a volatile situation.

But for our Reprographic Shop of the Year winner, Thomas Reprographics, Inc, they seem to have managed to buck the trend.

Thomas is one of the most successful family-owned operations I've seen and they have managed to not only withstand the test of time but to grow and expand while doing so. And honestly, I think that's what helped to keep them on the leading edge. They have continued to reinvent their company through strategic purchases—of both companies and technology—while not forgetting the people aspect of business.

Years ago, the Thomas family decided that passing the company business down was one of the driving forces behind the overall vision of Thomas Reprographics. As a third generation company, they recognized the challenges of doing so and implemented several initiatives to insure continued positive growth, strong leadership, and healthy profits.

"In the last decade, we have purchased over ten family-owned companies with most family members staying on to work with us, many in key leadership roles," said Bryan Thomas, grandson of the founder and the current president of Thomas Reprographics. "Our philosophy has been to honor the traditions of the companies we acquire, while unifying their experiences, skills, and ideas into a 'melting pot,' forming the strongest possible organization…We want to be an organization that our customer's request, our current employee's treasure, future employees seek, and peers admire. As an organization, we measure all investment decisions, strategic planning, equipment purchases, learning programs, and service initiatives by these values."

Through its vision to be an industry leader, Thomas has made a commitment to its community and employees. By investing in training programs and cutting edge technologies—all coupled with strong values—Thomas Reprographics is proud of carrying the family tradition to the next generation and Wide-Format Imaging is honored to call Thomas Reprographics its 2008 Reprographic Shop of the Year.