Grooms Office Systems: Furniture company changes leadership

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After 26 years in business, Grooms Office Systems is rearranging more than the furniture.|ret||ret||tab|

Thomas A. Walsh was named president and chief operating officer at Grooms on July 7. |ret||ret||tab|

Company owner and founder Olin Grooms had served as president and CEO since establishing the company in 1977, but he said it was time for a change.|ret||ret||tab|

"We don't want to sit stagnant, and I felt like I was reaching a point where my interest level and energy level may not be what it should be to really grow the business," the 68-year-old Grooms said. "We want to continue to grow the business, and we feel (Walsh) has the capability to do that."|ret||ret||tab|

Grooms will continue as chairman and CEO of the company; he remains as the company's sole owner.|ret||ret||tab|

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Company History|ret||ret||tab|

Olin Grooms said he decided to go into business after a friend convinced him to retire from the Marine Corps at the age of 42 to go into office systems. After working with his friend for six months in Wichita, Kan., Grooms decided to purchase his own undeveloped territory in Springfield and open his own store.|ret||ret||tab|

When Grooms Office Systems opened in the Commerce Terrace building in Springfield, it had one full-time and one part-time employee, Grooms said, and first-year sales were less than $100,000. |ret||ret||tab|

The company grew, and that growth was enhanced with the acquisition of the Herman Miller system furniture line in 1981.|ret||ret||tab|

Today, the company has 24 employees, a 24,000-square-foot office and sales floor located at 1301 E. Montclair and a separate warehouse location at 2414 W. Battlefield. In the past four years the company has averaged more than $7 million a year in revenue.|ret||ret||tab|

These days Grooms has a wide variety of products for businesses including office furniture, and hospital and clinical lab products. It is a major supplier to such Springfield area clients as the city of Springfield, the Springfield-Branson Regional Airport and Ozark Techni-cal Community College.|ret||ret||tab|

"We feel very fortunate having started up from scratch in this town and not knowing anybody in this town when I came here," Grooms said. |ret||ret||tab|

"It was a slow growing process, but each year we built a few more customers and hopefully kept all the ones we started with," he added.|ret||ret||tab|

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New leadership|ret||ret||tab|

Olin Grooms said the choice of Walsh as president and COO was well-considered.|ret||ret||tab|

"I've known him for years and have a lot confidence in his abilities and what he can do for us, so I proposed that he make the move," Grooms said. "He has a good grasp on technology in our industry, which is a big step forward over my limitations."|ret||ret||tab|

Walsh worked at Widmer Inc., a Peoria, Ill., Herman Miller dealership, for 22 years; the last 12 years as president.|ret||ret||tab|

Walsh's long history with Widmer made the decision to move a difficult one.|ret||ret||tab|

"Emotionally it was the more difficult part; intellectually it was a good move," Walsh said. "Every now and then you kind of need to repot yourself so you can sprout some new branches and find out some of your other capabilities that may have been going untapped. So, I really look forward to the challenge."|ret||ret||tab|

With Walsh's help, Grooms said he hopes to maintain the "Grooms culture" while taking advantage of Walsh's progressive thinking. |ret||ret||tab|

"I think there is a large number of customers out there that are really looking for things that are simple, quick and affordable. I think that's an area we can pursue that maybe has been untapped in the past, not in the market necessarily but maybe by Grooms," Walsh said.|ret||ret||tab|

Future growth may entail employment growth as well.|ret||ret||tab|

"As we get serious about new business development, there's a good chance we'll probably want to add some people to the staff to do that," Walsh said.|ret||ret||tab|

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