What started more than 40 years ago as two men selling used copiers out of an apartment building has turned into a profitable copier, facsimile and printer business in North Canton.
Officials at Copeco, 3874 Highland Park NW, say the company has not only made it through a tough economy, but it’s been able to keep its customers coming back throughout those 40 years.
Denise Dennewitz, Copeco's marketing and advertising coordinator, said it’s not a surprise why customers — ranging from the North Canton police and fire departments to the Stark County Prosecutor’s Office — have been so loyal throughout the years.
“It’s simple: It’s the relationships we build. We talk to people and we’re genuinely interested in what they have to say,” Dennewitz said.
“We want to know their problem, and we work hard to solve it. That’s Copeco. Simply put, we care.”
Dennewitz said it hasn’t always been easy to weather the tough economy. Many government agencies and other customers cut back and opted to keep old equipment that should have been replaced over the past couple years.
“We, like many companies, made adjustments. We had to lay people off, we had to restructure jobs. We had to look at how we were spending money, and we made cuts.”
Dennewitz led a 40-year anniversary celebration at the company this past Thursday. The event served as a thank-you to the company’s longtime customers, complete with a lunch from Old Carolina Barbecue and words from Thomas Queen, community relations coordinator for Congressman Jim Renacci.
Queen told the audience the intrepid spirits of the two founders (Shelly Green and Bill Shore) and their ability to grow a small company into what it is now was admirable.
Learn more about Copeco on its website, or reach a representative at 330-499-7337.