Business boasts deep Inland roots

With its roots in a company founded only 13 years after California won statehood, one might expect Burtronics Business Systems to have evolved from selling 19th-century staples such as ink wells, ledger books and horse oats for the office trough.

That may not be far off the inventory items for the former Barnum’s Bookstore (1863), which begat Barnum’s Stationary Company (1890) and merged into Barnum Flagg in 1916, all the while maintaining exclusively Inland Empire roots.

Even today, the thoroughly modern supplier of Lanier and Konica Minolta multifunction devices, Samsung facsimile machines, Risograph digital duplicators and other copiers and printers still operates out of an old building on Arrowhead in San Bernardino rented from the Barnum Flagg trust.

Contributed Image Burtronics Business Systems still operates out of an old building on Arrowhead in San Bernardino rented from the Barnum Flagg trust. The company has weathered dramatic changes in office equipment.

According to Tom Thompson, now in his 10th year as president and CEO, the company has weathered dramatic changes in office equipment from the days of Burtronics’ 1950s iteration, Martin Business Machines — it was a son-in-law spin-off — when the 3M Thermofax, deploying infrared-sensitive chemically treated paper, played its part in the office-automation revolution. Combined sales and service grew revenue 800 percent during Thompson’s tenure, which started when he was named director of sales in 1991. Proud of his contribution to the local economy, Thompson says the company employs 45 people, including 25 technicians, 10 in sales and 10 in administration.

Greg Gray, vice president of service, technology and warehousing, Troy Mast, division service manager, and Veronica Chavez, director of human resources, are 20-year veterans; sales manager Howard Sissel has passed his 15th anniversary.

We’ve been flat over the last couple of years, says Thompson, but we’ve become diversified. Ten or 15 years ago, we used to be very dependent upon our business with schools and local county government. We made a push to be more involved in other area businesses. As a result of that migration, Thompson estimates that the once-dominant public sector constitutes about 60 percent of the company business, with the remainder spread among private institutions such as medical facilities and church organizations. In addition to servicing and supplying common office equipment, Burtronics spread out over the years into machines that print large blueprints for engineering and construction companies, for example. Acting as consultants to reduce printing and storage costs, Burtronics offers customer managed print services.

Printing management services alone constitutes about 10 percent of Burtronics business, Thompson estimates, with another 10 percent coming from wide-format and document management business and the remainder derived from multifunction products, printer business sales, rentals, supplies and service.

The business is out there, says Thompson, estimating a potential customer base of 3,000 to 4,000 businesses and institutions in an area Burtronics deliberately restricts to the Inland Empire. Echoing the automotive business during tenuous economies, Thompson reports that new sales are down but our service business is fine.

Thompson’s local business forecast — reading various businesses’ document production as a sort of inside indicator — calls for a continued lagging behind more affluent neighboring counties, due to a dearth of corporate headquarters, among other factors. But Thompson sees opportunity in the recession.

So how did it come to be called Burtronics?

G.P. Burnett bought Martin Business Machines in 1985, hired Thompson and retired, leaving Thompson in charge for the 21st century — the company’s third so far.

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