C2 Reprographics (California) appears to be shaking it up in the Southland

When I first met Gary Crisp, CEO of C2 Reprographics, C2 had one location, which was in Costa Mesa, CA. Prior to founding C2, (with his wife and partner, Julie Crisp) Gary had no experience in the AEC reprographics business or industry. (He did have experience in the "small-format" imaging industry.)

I've met Gary a couple of time over the years, and I've met Julie at least once (I think that was at a PEiR Group FM Sales Seminar); sharp people. At the time I first met Gary, Greg Lundeen, ex-CEO of Consolidated Reprographics was a member of the C2 Board, and one could not have a better industry advisor than Greg Lundeen.

A recent check on C2's web-site shows that C2 Repro now operates 6 locations and provides services in 3 different Southland markets: Los Angeles, Orange County and San Diego (the latter through an acquisition.) Head-to-head players in those three market areas include ARC, ABC and C2. Cybercopy, a ReproMax member is a large player in the L.A. market.

Above, I mentioned that Gary and Julie are sharp people. Well, sharp people surround themselves with other sharp people. A quick look at C2's team web-page reveals at least 3 C2 management team members who had previous experience with competitors:

Barry Malkin, Senior Vice President Marketing & Strategy. A Cal Poly Pomona alumnus with a B.S. degree in Business and Marketing, Barry’s entrepreneurial experience as a flooring subcontractor, experience in sales and operations management with FedEx Kinko’s provide key leadership in C2’s strategy, service, pricing, and new products.

Keath Lauderdale, Senior Vice President of On-Site Services; Keath began his career in reprographics 1978 in his father’s business United Reprographics. At United, he originated the west coast’s first on-site services program. After United was acquired by Consolidated Reprographics in 1994, Keath joined its senior management team and later pioneered Professional Reprographics who then sold to its employees.

Kristine Mattson, Controller. With over 25 years experience with equity investments, acquisitions, and financial reporting, Kristine worked with Prudential Financial, PRIMEDIA Publishing, and prior to joining C2 in April of 2010, was Assistant Controller for Consolidated Reprographics. Kristine is currently working on her Business Administration degree at the University of Phoenix, and is due to Graduate in November 2011.

(One comment: Consolidated Reprographics was acquired by ARC several years ago.)