From Point A ... to Point B: Postel Maps & Atlas Inc.

Kevin Postel, owner of Postel Maps & Atlas Inc., and his staff produce and distribute maps and atlases in a six-state region. But Marshfield-native Postel says his primary goal is to provide the best maps and distribution service to southwest Missouri.

“It’s important to me to make sure that I not only continue to expand but take good care of my current customers, for they are the ones that helped me get to where I am today,” he says. “My focus is to maximize my efforts inside my local territory before I look at branching out further.”

Hit the ground running

When Postel founded the company in 2001 after a management stint with map-maker Rand McNally & Co., local accounts helped him hit the ground running. Though he currently has more than 2,000 accounts, he points to area companies, such as Moore’s Market, as the foundation on which he built his business.

Moore’s owner Laken Moore has carried Postel maps in his store since Postel first produced them.

“First and foremost, I carry his maps because he’s like I am – he’s a small-business (owner),” Moore says. “Second, he lives close, so I know my (inventory) is always what it needs to be.”

Postel’s local focus led to a new project this year: revamping and exclusively providing the KTTS FM Storm Alert maps, which have been produced for more than 25 years. In the past, the maps have been put together in-house.

Postel and the station have signed an 18-month contract and, in exchange for advertising, Postel is providing the maps free of charge.

“This year’s map is very different,” says Angela Rogers, account manager for KTTS who is working with Postel on the Storm Alert Map. “The addition of the county roads and the map being made to scale is going to make a huge difference for our listeners. It will allow our listeners to have a better understanding of the location of storm cells in relation to their location – whether it is their home or their car.”

The first Postel-produced KTTS Storm Alert Maps will debut in January. A Storm Team Tour distributes the maps at local businesses and performs live broadcasts.

Mapping a course

Postel was no stranger to the mapping industry or to small-business ownership when he started five years ago. Postel owned a beverage business for 18 years, and then served as a Rand McNally territory manager for Kansas and Missouri.

With Rand McNally, Postel oversaw the service and management of retail accounts in states. Because of the many relationships he established in that position, Postel had a good starting point when he went out on his own.

Postel maps and atlases can be found in a variety of stores across a six-state region – Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Iowa and Nebraska – including QuikTrips, Rapid Roberts and various drug stores and truck stops.

Postel’s larger accounts include his recent addition of a 200-store chain of Shell Super-Stop stations based in Little Rock, Ark.

In some markets, he’s now in direct competition with his previous employer, Rand McNally.

He’s also established a partnership with AOL Time-Warner-owned MapQuest Inc., in which MapQuest provides the road atlas product for Postel’s company.

“That was a big leap, and it’s nice to be recognized by them,” Postel says.

Large or small, Postel says he makes a point to meet individually with clients.

“You have to put your face out there,” Postel says. “I travel to the stores, I put merchandise on the racks. I check (in with) my salespeople.”

Postel also attends various trade shows, including the International Map Trade Association annual conference.

“Everybody in the industry meets and talks and discusses what is happening,” says Postel, who was recently invited to an annual decision-making seminar in January. “It’s kind of fun to walk in the seminar room with the big shots or the Goliaths of the industry. I forget that I’m right up there with them now.”

Closer Look

Postel Maps & Atlas produces state, county and city road maps and atlases with its most detailed products being of Springfield and Greene County. In addition to road atlases, Postel Maps & Atlas produces three different series of maps: the Deluxe Folded, the Quick View and the Fast Finder.

Postel Maps & Atlas Inc.

Owner: Kevin Postel

Founded: May 2001

Address: 240 N. Marshall St.,

Marshfield, MO 65706

Phone: (417) 859-7751

Fax: (417) 859-5997

Web site: www.postelmaps.com

Services/Products: Manufacture and produce road maps, city maps and county maps, and distribute them in six states.

Employees: 5