EDCO ownership expands

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EDCO The Document People, which has its headquarters at 1351 N. Belcrest in Springfield, has two new owner-investors. According to EDCO President Dona Elkins, businessmen Bill Glassman of St. Louis and Jim Rosenbloom of Chicago have purchased the majority ownership interest of the privately held company from Elkins and her husband, Ron Elkins, who co-founded EDCO. |ret||ret||tab|

But Dona Elkins, who retains partial ownership and continues to serve as EDCO's president, said the change won't affect clients and the services they receive.|ret||ret||tab|

"Our relationship with our customers, our suppliers, our community will continue on. Our name, our management, our people ... all stay the same," she said. |ret||ret||tab|

The Elkinses met Glassman and Rosenbloom through a mutual business friend.|ret||ret||tab|

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New investment|ret||ret||tab|

"Both of us have sold businesses in the last several years ... and we were looking for something that would be challenging to us, and we saw this opportunity," Rosenbloom said. |ret||ret||tab|

Glassman was not available for comment at press time, but Rosenbloom said the pair was especially attracted to EDCO because it was successful and ongoing. |ret||ret||tab|

Also, he said, they were impressed with Dona Elkins and the EDCO work force.|ret||ret||tab|

"One of the real plusses of being associated with EDCO is Dona's organizational skill, the kind of organization that she runs there, and the team that she has attracted. We're very comfortable leaving the day-to-day operation in her hands, and then working with her to find ways ... to expand the business," Rosenbloom said. "But definitely, the base will (remain) EDCO in Springfield, Missouri."|ret||ret||tab|

Elkins said acquisitions are in EDCO's future as part of the owners' strategy for growth.|ret||ret||tab|

"We will be making acquisitions in the industry. We are looking at, certainly, growing from the base that we already have established here, with the people that are here," Elkins said, adding that some prospects already are being examined. |ret||ret||tab|

EDCO's industry, she added, is document management, and companies that offer the same types of services EDCO offers are scattered throughout the country, as are EDCO's clients. |ret||ret||tab|

EDCO offers document conversion, storage and retrieval for its clients, which mostly are in the health care field. |ret||ret||tab|

Specifically, EDCO converts paper documents into film or electronic images. Electronic images can be stored on CD and delivered to clients, or they can be delivered via the Internet. The company also provides long-term record storage for its clients. |ret||ret||tab|

In terms of retrieval, EDCO can provide clients with databases, or EDCO employees can retrieve information for clients on an as-needed basis. |ret||ret||tab|

"Our specialty is our health care records, patient records. We do business records, accounts payable, receivables. We do insurance forms," she said.|ret||ret||tab|

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Company history, future|ret||ret||tab|

Elkins said EDCO will celebrate its 40th anniversary Aug. 14, and the firm, Elkins-Davis Company, or EDCO for short, was begun by Ron Elkins and Perry Davis as a project for a college accounting class. |ret||ret||tab|

Dona Elkins left a career in another field to join EDCO 12 years ago, and she's been president for two years. Ron Elkins has been semi-retired for two years, a move that provided him with more time for community involvement. |ret||ret||tab|

The couple's son, John Elkins, also is involved with the family's business. Having joined EDCO 12 years ago, he has served the company in all aspects at all levels, and he is now part of EDCO's sales management team. |ret||ret||tab|

John Elkins intends to stay with the company his family built.|ret||ret||tab|

"There's a culture and an attitude that go with (40 years) of family-operated business, doing things in such a way because you know that's how the customer would want it," he said. |ret||ret||tab|

"In a time of numbers and quotas, it's actually those attributes of the company that attracted the investors."|ret||ret||tab|

Dona Elkins said she and her husband were not trying to sell their interest in the company but were approached by Glassman and Rosenbloom. |ret||ret||tab|

But, she said, selling the majority ownership of EDCO will accommodate growth, and it will ensure that the company will long continue to offer opportunities for employees. |ret||ret||tab|

"It is so exciting to be able to see this company go to the next level and still retain our identity. It is so satisfying to see that the efforts of a lifetime are appreciated the quality that we've built in, the approach that we take that's very rewarding," she said.|ret||ret||tab|

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