Monday, June 27, 2011

Further information about iPlanTables (dealers sought)

Last week, I did a couple of posts on Reprographics 101 about iPlanTables, a relatively new company that Kevin Rowe is involved in. Here are links to those two previous posts:

Kevin Rowe is now National VP of Sales of iPlanTables

http://reprographics.blogspot.com/2011/06/kevin-rowe-is-now-national-vp-of-sales.html

Further Information about iPlanTables

http://reprographics.blogspot.com/2011/06/further-information-about-iplantables.html

After I initially posted about iPlanTables, I e-mailed Kevin to ask him to share with me, so that I could share with visitors to Reprographics 101, a bit more information about iPlanTables. And, this morning, I received a reply from Kevin, and I’d now like to share his reply with you:

iPlanTables provides a professional level turn-key viewing workstation for any organization.

Although designed for the AECO market, it has spread across several markets after it’s introduction. The biggest inquiries have come from the software industry; firms in the software development business see iPlanTables as the missing link in the information management chain. Sophisticated companies that have already developed tablet, iPhone and Android solutions have quickly partnered with us for a complete solution. (I had missed that angle in my preliminary research!)

One of our partners has already committed to 74 iPlanTables for just one of their clients, in just one department of their client’s locations – that’s cool

iPlanTables works with all of the leading software solutions; as you may be aware, there are hundreds of software solutions out there.

Just want to make special mention of this - we won’t compete with our dealers’ software solution offerings.

We feel our role is as a hardware solutions provider and our strength will be in working with the “best of class” software providers, providing “best of class” project workstations and facilities maintenance workstations.

iPlanTables has a dealership program for those who are willing to commit to a demo unit and are willing to pursue a professional level sales campaign. iPlanTables provides marketing support to help our dealers in this endeavor; call lists, mailing lists, e-mail campaigns, direct mail, CRM solutions and trade show assistance are all part of the marketing support we can and do provide to our dealers.

Of course, manufacturing the workstations is a part of the puzzle – but we’ve got that part handled. Truly helping our dealers sell the iPlanTables solution will help them be successful, and will, we think, set them up for the other products we have in the development pipeline.

Although iPlanTables was designed to be a “standard” hardware solution, we do have the ability to - (and we’ve already done this) - develop custom-fabricated solutions to meet specific, individual client needs.

I hope this helps you better understand iPlanTables. Keep in touch.

Joel’s comments:

Kevin clarified that iPlanTables is a “hardware” product/solution.

Kevin also clarified that iPlanTables supports all software applications.

So, if my conclusions (about the further information Kevin provided and the initial information I read and watched) are accurate, if your company sells (or otherwise distributes) software applications for document management, document viewing, and/or project collaboration, it “sounds to me like” iPlanTables is something you should consider adding to your product mix.

I think I stated this in an earlier post about iPlanTables, and, if I did, please excuse the redundancy (those who know me know that I am often redundant!) - - -

a) I’d want to promote iPlanTables to those who manage facilities. Years ago, I visited a very large hospital complex; in particular, I visited the “facilities maintenance office” and found that they stored all of the documents (for all of their facilities) in honeycomb storage shelves – drawings were rolled up and stored in the honeycomb storage units, specs were in boxes on shelves above. When I asked “how” do you retrieve drawings – and make sure that, after they are pulled out, they are put back where they belong – I got the answer I expected to get. Lots of wasted time and effort. Given the fact that there are a number of software solutions on the market that deal with “hosting” scanned (and digital file) images of documents – plans, specs, maintenance logs, operating manuals, etc., etc., why would a facilities maintenance manager not want to have a) a digital archive of all documents, b) a giant display-workstation, where every document can be displayed and easily read?

b) I’d want to promote iPlanTables to A/E firms for their conference rooms where they meet to review documents with clients. I’d want to promote iPlanTables to G/C firms for the same reason and GC’s could also use them in their estimating departments, in their project management departments and at their construction job-site offices – yep, right in the trailers. And, I’d want to promote iPlanTables to real estate developers. A real estate developer (project manager) could use an iPlanTable as his/her large-screen, electronic display device for an entire set of plans (and, for that matter, for specs, if need be). Why would the R.E. developer’s Architect print and send a set of plans when the plans can be electronically retrieved (say, over the Internet from an e-planroom) and electronically displayed, at “full-size”? No panning, no zooming, no scrolling – and no squinting – involved.

Job Openings in the Reprographics Industry are rather scarce

If you search “reprographics” jobs on Career Builder, you’ll find 52 job-openings with “reprographics” a key word. If my memory is still working accurately, there were more than 125 “reprographics” job-openings listed on Career Builder, prior to the start of the Great Recession.

If you do the same keyword search on Monster.com, there are only 17 job-openings listed on Monster.com. Most of the positions are related to “FM” operations.

On Thomas Repro’s web-site, there’s apparently only one current job-opening, this for a “digital sales representative” in San Antonio, TX.

On American Reprographics’ (ARC’s) web-site, I found only two current job-openings; these are the ones listed:

Large Doc B&W in Jacksonville, FL

Jacksonville, FL

On-Site Production - Small Doc Reprographics

Houston, TX

On ABC Imaging’s web-site, I found quite a number of current job-openings:

E-Commerce Manager

Senior Multi Media Designer

Asset Manager (Washington, DC)

Staff Accountant (Washington, DC)

Accountant Manager (Washington, DC)

FM Engineer (Washington, DC)

FM Manager (Nationwide)

Color Production Manager (Nationwide)

BPOL Support Manager

Database Administrator (Washington, DC)

Accounts Payable Manager (Washington, DC)

Accounts Payable Specialist (Washington, DC)

Print Shop Manager (Nationwide)

Major Account Managers (Nationwide)

Graphics Specialists (Nationwide)

Offset Estimator (Washington, DC)

Software Engineer (Washington, DC & Dallas, TX)

Printing Industries of America Counters Obama Administration's Executive Order

Joel’s comments:

President Obama was right to sign the Executive Order to put a halt to the printing of the Federal Register. It is a doorstop! It is wasteful!

Printing industries of America has taken President Obama’s comments out of context. President Obama did not say that ALL printing should be eliminated. He took a single step to eliminate the printing of a document that no one reads in its entirety, a document that will be much more cost-effective to distribute as a PDF file.

The letter Mr. Makin wrote and the video Mr. Makin made were, to me, nothing more than an exercise in job-justification. His criticism of President Obama’s action and comments were ridiculous.

Printing Industries of America Counters Obama Administration's Executive Order

Monday, June 27, 2011

Press release from the issuing company (Printing Industries of America)

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, – Printing Industries of America has sent a letter to the White House in response to the Obama Administration's Executive Order to cease the printing of the Federal Register. In Obama's announcement, he equates the printing and mailing of the Federal Register as a stack of "expensive doorstops" and "stupid spending" that "doesn't benefit anybody." By dismissing print as "pointless waste" that "no one reads," one may infer a negative perception of a stalwart industry or mistakenly assume that printed material is a dying and irrelevant relic. Printing Industries of America hopes to inform the current presidential administration about the importance of print in this economy.

The letter to the White House explains that the printing and graphic communications industry is eying a vibrant future that embraces and integrates the Internet and new technologies. Digital-based print is expected to grow at an annual rate of three to four percent per year through the year 2020, and printing companies are increasingly transforming to become integrated communications solutions firms--embracing ancillary services such as database management and website development and hosting. 



Within the U.S. manufacturing sector, the industry ranks number two in number of establishments and number nine in value of shipments. The industry is among the most domestic of all manufacturers; almost all print consumed in America is produced in America. To read the letter visit www.printing.org/whitehouseletter.



In addition, Michael Makin recorded a video rebuttal that can be viewed at http://prnt.in/videoreply.

Michael Makin, president and CEO of Printing Industries of America, said, "It's important for printers to stand together and deliver a strong, coherent message about the viability and effectiveness of print. We encourage printers to stand up for their industry and communicate to their members of Congress that print is more than an expensive doorstop and it vital to our economy. What better way than to encourage legislators to visit printing facilities first hand!"

Sunday, June 26, 2011

Twitter and LinkedIn? - I'm confused!

I’m confused.

Or, maybe I’m just plain dumb (and getting dumber and dumber.)

a) I don’t get the point of “Twitter”.

I’m not signed up for Twitter but I’ve seen tweets from people (on different sites, etc), and most of the “tweets” I see are very brief …. and mostly irrelevant, nonsensical, uninteresting comments, such as “I just had dinner at Legal Seafoods and dinner was good”. (Why would I need to know that or even want to know that?) If people used Twitter to tweet “breaking news” …. news that was really interesting and important, then maybe I’d consider “tweeting” to be a useful thing. But, apparently, people use Twitter just like they used to use “text messages.” Is the purpose of Twitter to replace text messaging? …. where “tweets” are used as “blast” text messages …. going out to a number of people all at the same instant (as was the case when people “blasted” faxes to multiple recipients at the same time). I’m sitting at a Starbucks in Boston, this morning. I guess I should sign up for Twitter and do a tweet that says, “I’m at Starbucks on Dartmouth Street at Copley Plaza and it’s raining.” But, why would I do that …. W-T-F cares?

b) And, to me, LinkedIn is an “employers” nightmare.

If I was still in business, I’d get a terrible case of heartburn, each (and every) time I found one of my employees on LinkedIn with links to their connections (our customers!, and our competitors’ owners and employees.) If, in the future, I decide to recruit a team of partners to start a countrywide business (that I would put up the funds for, to get underway), using LinkedIn would make it very easy for me to get in touch with people to populate that team of partners. That puts their current employers at risk; would make it too easy for me. What’s the point of LinkedIn anyway? Is it not kind of a Facebook for businesspeople? I can’t imagine that business owners like seeing their employees “out there” on LinkedIn, especially when their employees are “connected” to key customer contacts. I do like that LinkedIn enables me to stay connected to friends (new and old) and I like the “groups” feature, where you can have discussions, with other group members, about issues and such. But, so far, that’s all been “free of charge”, so how does LinkedIn make money off of me?

Friday, June 24, 2011

Chapter 7 & 11 Bankruptcies, Louis Frey Co Chapter 7, Experts Valuing a Reprographics business, Interesting lawsuit related to the Louis Frey BK case

Within the past 7 or 8 months (give or take), I’ve done several posts about the Chapter 11 Bankruptcy case of Florida Reprographics (Tampa) and two posts about the Chapter 11 Bankruptcy case of United Reprographics (Seattle).

Both of those companies declared “Chapter 11” Bankruptcy. Under Chapter 11, companies continue to operate, eventually file a “plan of reorganization”, pursue the plan (once it’s confirmed by the BK court), continue operations, and, hopefully – someday – emerge from (leave) bankruptcy. Our Chapter 11 BK laws are designed to give debtors “a fresh start.” Some make it through and survive, some don’t.

Once one of the largest reprographics companies in the Eastern Region of the U.S., The Louis Frey Co. (based in New York City) went bankrupt in 2003; the case was first filed as a “Chapter 11” Bankruptcy but, shortly thereafter, was converted to a “Chapter 7” Bankruptcy. Chapter 7 is a liquidation process; a Trustee is appointed by the BK Court to oversee the liquidation (and, sometimes, the collection) of assets and to conduct an orderly distribution of the assets to the company’s creditors (and, if money is left over, which is seldom the case, distribution of remaining assets to the company’s shareholders.)

So, Chapter 11 – the business continues to operate, and, Chapter 7 – the business discontinues operations, winds-down, goes “kaput.”

The Louis Frey Company Chapter 7 Bankruptcy case was very, very interesting, for sure. For, prior to declaring bankruptcy, the principal shareholder of the Louis Frey Co, Mr. Seymour Weiner, hired ARC to “manage” Frey’s business. Why anyone would hire a competitor to manage his business is, well, “beyond me, beyond my imagination.” And, I’ll not comment any further on that point.

I’m a student of the reprographics business and industry, and I guess that’s why I found the Louis Frey BK case so interesting. I remember reading every filing, every document. I even spoke and corresponded with one of the lawyers representing the Frey Co’s largest creditor. It was not just the Frey BK case that was so interesting to me, it was a collateral suit, brought by the Trustee and Frey’s largest creditor (Merrill Lynch Business Financial Services) that was the most intriguing, interesting part of the Louis Frey Co matter.

What provoked today’s post about the Louis Frey Co BK case – which was over and done with several years ago – was that, while I was doing some BK research, I came across “the decision” (document), rendered by the BK Court Judge; this decision enabled the Trustee to recover substantial funds, and, as I understand it, allowed Merrill Lynch Financial Services to recover the full amount it was owed by the Louis Frey Co.

At the end of this post, I’m going to post a link to the complete document I mentioned in the preceding paragraph. If you like to learn new things, this document should be on your list of “stuff to read.” The document author was the Chief Judge of the Bankruptcy Court. It is a very interesting read. There’s a lot of information in the document about the reprographics business and industry. And, about “valuations”.

In particular, the judge found in favor of the plaintiffs (The Trustee and Merrill Lynch) and against the defendant (American Reprographics – ARC – and BPI, and ARC owned division).

For those of you who are not in the “FM” business, but are thinking about it, and even for those of you who are in the “FM” business, there’s some interesting food for thought brought to light in the document I’ve mentioned – in the court case, there were three different experts hired to furnish opinions as to “the worth/value of Louis Frey’s business.” Three different experts = three different “opinions” and, one of them was quite funny! (I have a weird sense of humor.)

I’ve snipped just a few things from the document and placed them below, just so I can mention them.

Parties to the lawsuit:

Plaintiffs:

Trustee of the Louis Frey Chapter 7 Estate

and Merrill Lynch Business Financial Services

Defendants:

American Reprographics Co (ARC)

and BPI (an ARC0-owned division)

The “title” of the document:

POST-TRIAL FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

The “author” of the document:

STUART M. BERNSTEIN

Chief United States Bankruptcy Judge

Dated: New York, New York, July 28, 2006 (date the decision was rendered)

From the introductory paragraph:

Yann Geron, the plaintiff and chapter 7 trustee (the “Trustee”) of Louis Frey Company, Inc. (the “Debtor”) and Merrill Lynch Business Financial Services, Inc. (“Merrill”), the Debtor’s secured lender, commenced these adversary proceedings to recover damages from the affiliated defendants American Reprographics Company, LLC (“ARC”) and BP Independent Reprographics (“BPI”).

The defendants formerly managed the Debtor’s business, and the plaintiffs charge, in substance, that the defendants destroyed the Debtor and then stole a substantial part of its business. The parties consented to the core jurisdiction of this Court. (Joint Pre-Trial Order, dated Dec. 13, 2005, at § B, at 3) (“JPTO”) (ECF Doc. # 58.)

The Court conducted a six-day bench trial in April 2006.

Near the end of the document, there’s a large section devoted to the calculation of damages (basically, the calculation of the value of the business), and, as I mentioned, there were three different experts, each with their own opinion.

Two of the experts broke the “total” into two parts; 1) the “primary component” of the business – which was Louis Frey’s “FM” business – and, 2) the “remainder component” of the business – which was Louis Frey’s non-FM reprographics business.

From the section that talks about expert Aronow’s calculations (you really need to read the complete document, because this is just bit of what was said)…

The damages for the Primary Component were calculated by measuring the benefit to ARC derived from the customers taken from the Debtor. The benefit to ARC was measured by the increase to ARC’s enterprise value, or EV, attributable to the incremental earnings on sales to the Debtor’s former customers. This was a multi-step process. Aronow started with the net sales attributed to the Debtor’s former customers during the year beginning November 1, 2003. The parties stipulated that 15 customers defected to BPI, and that the net sales invoiced to these customers totaled $5,768,000. Aronow ignored the sales to the six former customers that left ARC during the year, and reduced the net sales to $5,405,000.

These net sales did not translate into an equal amount of profit; ARC (or BPI) incurred incremental costs to service the additional business. The former customers taken by the defendants were FM customers, and Aronow calculated ARC’s historic FM profit margin at 28.7%. Aronow then estimated the variable selling, general and administrative costs (“SG&A”) attributable to the additional business (9.8%), subtracted that number from the profit margin (28.7%), and computed the incremental EBIT percentage as 18.9%. In other words, the $5,405,000 in net sales yielded an incremental EBIT of $1,022,000.

The incremental EBIT signified that every dollar of sales attributable to the Remainder Component translated into additional EBIT of $.049. Aronow multiplied the net sales of $6,102,000 by the estimated incremental EBIT multiple (4.9%), and arrived at incremental EBIT in the amount of $299,000.

So, reprographers, there you kind of have it; this particular expert, Mr. Aronow, estimated that:

a) - - - Frey’s “FM” business, at $5.4 mil in (net) Sales, yielded incremental EBIT of approximately $1.022 million.

b) - - - Frey’s non-FM (regular reprographics) business, at $6.1 mil in (net) Sales, yielded incremental EBIT of approximately $299,000.

Do any of you still wonder why I believe its essential that you be in the “FM” (MPS) business?

One of the experts rendered an opinion that I found very amusing!!!: (Remember the stuff below was pulled from the document authored by the Judge):

The defendants presented expert testimony from Howard Brod Brownstein.

Brownstein’s opinion was unencumbered by any analysis. In simplest terms, he opined that an existing customer has little or no value, and the Debtor’s (meaning, the Louis Frey Co’s) customer relations, in particular, had no value, primarily because they were at-will customers:

According to Brownstein: To the extent BPI acquired anything, what they acquired was a hatful of possibilities. There was no guarantee that they would maintain these customers. There was no guarantee that these customers wouldn’t, for the reasons that had nothing to do with the quality of ARC service, go elsewhere. They were free to do so. And so, to impute some long-term cash flow and then discount it back or apply capitalization factors is what we used to call garbage in garbage out when we did financial analysis at the Wharton School.

After criticizing the income approach, Brownstein leveled his attack on the use of EBIT multiples as a valuation tool:

Implicit in each of these multiple cap rates, discount rates, is risk and return. You ask yourself, if this were traded on the New York stock exchange, would I buy it given what they’re selling it for? And if you analogize it to a business with this much risk, would you accept this amount of return? And the answer is absolutely not. A group – a small group of customers with no long-term contracts, what risk is there in that? Enormous risk. So to even talk about anything long-term and start with multiples which apply to a whole huge enterprise of hundreds of millions of dollars, it’s just ridiculous.

Brownstein’s demeanor was that of an advocate rather than an expert, and his opinion ignored actual practice. People change their doctors, lawyers and accountants just as architects and engineers change their reprographic service providers.

Yet professional practices are often bought and sold. Brownstein attempted to explain the contradiction, opining that an accountant’s client is “very wedded” to his accountant, and “I think those kind of clients would tend not to be as likely to move.” He ignored the fact that the Debtor (meaning, the Louis Frey Co) had been servicing some of its customers for more than 30 years. In any event, a professional’s clients, like reprographics customers, do move. While their reluctance to do so may increase the multiple of revenues used for valuation purposes, it undercuts Brownstein’s core theory that “at- will” customers have no value.

More important, Brownstein’s theory ignored the reality of ARC’s own business practices. During the past eight years, ARC has acquired approximately 90 reprographics companies. It typically pays approximately four times EBIT. In short, the value of a reprographic business is derived from its EBIT, and EBIT is determined by sales to customers. Moreover, the defendants were already managing the Debtor, had locked up Wiener with an employment agreement, had taken possession of the Debtor’s personal property, were in contact with the Debtor’s customers, and were armed with the Debtor’s confidential information relating to those customers. Suffice it to say, the defendants were in place to effect a smooth transition, and reduced the risk to them that a prospective buyer might otherwise face. Accordingly, I reject Brownstein’s opinion.

Here’s a link to the complete document (caution it’s over 50 pages and will take some time to load, so be patient.) To me, it’s just as good as a chapter in a Tom Clancy novel – full of intrigue.

http://tinyurl.com/5usolc9


ABC Imaging FM Manager says working for ABC Imaging is “great”!

He’s an FM manager in the Atlanta area, and you can read what he says at this link:

http://tinyurl.com/65jcvcc

There were also 8 comments posted in response to what he said.

RELATIVELY HIGH UPSIDE POTENTIAL DETECTED IN SHARES OF AMERICAN REPROGRAPHICS IN THE OFFICE SERVICES & SUPPLIES INDUSTRY

So said SmarTrend on June 1, 2011, when ARC’s stock price as at $7.59 per share.

Since then, ARC’s stock price has retreated; today at 11:00 a.m, ARC’s stock price is at $6.84 per share.

Here’s what SmarTrend said on June 1, 2011:

Jun 01, 2011 (SmarTrend(R) News Watch via COMTEX) -- Below are the top five companies in the Office Services & Supplies industry as measured by the potential gains between the current stock price and the projected average analyst target.

American Reprographics (NYSE:ARP) has a potential upside of 58.1% based on a current price of $7.59 and an average consensus analyst price target of $12.

HNI (NYSE:HNI - Snapshot Report) has a potential upside of 38.5% based on a current price of $24.91 and an average consensus analyst price target of $34.5.

Knoll (NYSE:KNL - Snapshot Report) has a potential upside of 35.5% based on a current price of $19.19 and an average consensus analyst price target of $26.

APAC Customer Services (NASDAQ:APAC - Snapshot Report) has a potential upside of 32.5% based on a current price of $5.85 and an average consensus analyst price target of $7.75.

Steelcase (NYSE:SCS - Snapshot Report) has a potential upside of 31.9% based on a current price of $10.87 and an average consensus analyst price target of $14.33.

SmarTrend currently has shares of HNI in an Downtrend and issued the Downtrend alert on March 11, 2011 at $29.64. The stock has fallen 15.9% since the Downtrend alert was issued.

Write to Chip Brian at cbrian@mysmartrend.com

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Further Information about iPlanTables

Here’s a Press Release that I just found – about iPlanTables, the company (and product) that I mentioned in the previous post:

HOUSTON, TX, May 20, 2011 /24-7PressRelease/ --

Those in the design and construction industries constantly contend with viewing oversize documents on screens that are too small. That problem has been remedied with the launch of iPlanTables, a complete viewing, collaborating, storage, retrieval and Project Information Management workstation.

"We are excited about our release of the iPlanTables Project Workstation solution," said iPlanTables CIO, Kevin Rowe. "Our 30 years of construction information management allows iPlanTables a unique perspective on successfully managing project information."

iPlanTables represents an innovative milestone, allowing users to view entire oversize documents on a single screen. iPlanTables provide users with the ability to view plan pages, BIM files, photos and renderings without the use of multiple monitors. iPlanTables also works with video, specifications, spreadsheets, and project schedules. They're compatible with all software's and can be configured for use with laptop and phone docking stations.

Architects, engineers and construction firms spend a significant amount of time each day behind a computer, viewing, panning, zooming and clicking to obtain an accurate representation of the many stages a project undergoes. iPlanTables allows users to configure how they want to see information instead of allowing outdated technology to dictate how it's viewed. Those who use large screens, such as those of iPlanTables, can save many hours each day per employee.

iPlanTables also provides a powerful file management and information retention system. Project members can easily look at information with the iPlanTables Viewing WorkStation. Combined with remote file management services and the product's archive retention abilities, all phases of projects can be saved, stored, updated and retrieved from virtually any location.

The tables have a variety of applications. They can be used in online conferencing, software training, facilities management and file rooms.

iPlanTables provides a powerful Collaboration Station and there's no need for professionals to huddle around a single screen. Thousands of hours of unnecessary keystrokes related to screen refreshes, panning, zooming, and squinting are eliminated.

The tables free up valuable floor space and there's no need to order paper prints or maintain copious paper files, thereby allowing companies to embrace a greener work environment. iPlanTables saves time and money, providing a greater return on investment.

Anyone that works with oversize documents can benefit from an iPlanTable, from architects, engineers and contractors to sub-contractors, facility managers and building owners. They also provide a single, convenient resource for city, state and federal entities to improve communication , planning and emergency preparedness.

iPlanTables offers a single and complete solution for viewing, storing, retrieving and managing information for projects of all sizes. Oversize documents can be viewed in their entirety without the use of additional monitors and 3D objects can be incorporated with ease.

There's no need to print reams of documents, allowing companies to save money and implement a greener workplace. iPlan Tables provides design and construction professionals with essential tools, located in a single, convenient resource.

iPlanTables offers a complete viewing, collaborating, storage, retrieval and Project Information Management workstation for the Architecture, Engineering, Design and Construction industries.

For further information, please contact Kevin Rowe at 877-843-2121.

Kevin Rowe is now National VP of Sales of iPlanTables

Yesterday, I “connected” with Kevin Rowe on LinkedIn, and, although we did not chat by e-mail or by phone (or through LinkedIn), I learned that Kevin is now involved with “iPlanTables”, per his profile information on LinkedIn.

For those of you who do not know Kevin Rowe, well, he is a long-term veteran of the reprographics industry – involved in the industry since around 1981. While he was the President & CEO of Western Blue Print, one of the powerhouse reprographics operations in the middle part of the U.S., if not one of the premier reprographics operations in the U.S., he founded the U.S. Reprographics Network. I learned from his LinkedIn profile that U.S. Reprographics Network is now the “National Construction Network.”

But, that’s not the point of today’s post. The point of today’s post is iPlanTables. I don’t know a great deal, yet, about the new business that Kevin is involved in. But, I did visit the iPlanTable web-site to see what’s up with that.

http://www.iplantables.com/

Just my initial impression of an iPlanTable – if I was a real estate developer, I’d want one of those in my office – if I was in the General Contracting business, I’d want one of those in my estimating department and one at every large-project construction job-site.

My eyesight is not all that great. I hate looking at plans on tiny screens (iPhone, you’ve got to be kidding; iPad, a bit better, but, c’mon, still too small for me, too much scrolling, panning and zooming.) I like large screen displays for looking at drawings. Kevin’s got that in iPlanTables.

I’m sure there’s more to iPlanTables that it just being a big screen display. I hope to get more details, directly from Kevin, and, if I do, I’ll do a follow-up post to let you know more.

Best wishes to Kevin for great success with iPlanTables.

Here’s some of the stuff on Kevin’s LinkedIn profile:


Kevin Rowe

Powerful Design and Construction Viewing Workstations

National VP of Sales and Marketing

iPlanTables

Construction industry

April 2011 – Present (3 months)

The design and construction industries first viewing, collaborating, project management and archiving workstation


President and CEO

US Reprographics

Construction industry

January 1997 – April 2011 (14 years 4 months)

US Reprographics Network is now the National Construction Network. US Reprographics started in 1997 linking and providing services to reprographers nationwide. As the industry has changed and paper is being eliminated we have turned our technical knowledge to the whole design and construction information industry

formerly: President and CEO

Western Blue Print

Construction industry

February 1981 – August 2004 (23 years 7 months)

Western Blue Print is a 100 year old blueprint / reprographics firm. Starting in 1981 as the junior sales person I retired from the company as President and CEO.

Western Blue was sold to a national company 15 months later

Another University of Wisconsin campus seeks to outsource document imaging services

On Saturday, April 16, 2011, we did a post on Reprographics 101 about a bid document released by the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse seeking to outsource its document services requirements:

The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse is seeking to enter into a local service agreement for printing services. The in-house Document Services unit will be closing on May 27, 2011 after the retirement of two long-term full-time employees. Given the age of the equipment and the high costs of equipment replacement, the University is looking at alternative ways of providing printing services to the UW-La Crosse community.”

Today, one of our frequent blog visitors brought to our attention that another University of Wisconsin campus is, apparently, making plans to do the same thing as the other University campus undertook. This time, it’s the University of Wisconsin-EauClaire campus:

Brief details are shown below; note the “due date” for submissions, if you are interested in submitting information:

University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire

June 21, 2011

Request for Information

On Campus Printing/Copy Service

Number 62212

This document is to establish the request for information as a communication process used to enable an agency to obtain preliminary information for a potential procurement. This document is a request for information and is not a substitute for the request for bid/proposal process. Bid forms will not be used for the solicitation of cost estimates. These estimates may not be used later as bids.


RFI NUMBER:62212

Issue Date: 06/22/11

Due Date: 07/11/11, 3:30 PM

University of Wisconsin Agent: Steve Slind

Fax Number: 715-836-4643

E-mail address: slindsd@uwec.edu

NOTE: I’M NOT GOING TO BOTHER TO POST THE DOCUMENTS IN MY GOOGLE DOCS LIBRARY, SO, IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN OBTAINING THE RFI DOCUMENTS, CONTACT THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN AGENT, STEVE SLIND, AT THE E-MAIL ADDRESS SHOWN ABOVE.