The Beginning
In 1988 Bob Brennan, CEO of International Office
Technologies, began his career in the printer industry. Working as an independent
sales representative for a startup company, he provided recycled and re-inked printer
ribbons to businesses across the Twin Cities. Through the rest of the 80s and into
the early 90s the business and industry would evolve with the introduction of laser
based toner printers. In 1995 Bob decided to strike out on his own and create International
Office Technologies Inc. Companies were emerging to offer supplies for printers,
but he felt that something was missing. His vision was to make IOT a provider of
a complete printing solutions not just another supplies vendor.
With a business model mapped out, he set up shop
in the basement of his parents home, in West Saint Paul, MN. In between home cooked
lunches and visits from the family dog he began to develop a total solution that
could provide customers with both printer supplies and service & repair. He called
it the Total Laser Care (TLC) Program and began introducing it to companies all
over St. Paul and Minneapolis.
The Evolution
During that 1st year of business customers poured
in, and Bob knew he was on the right track. In 1996 IOT hired his it's first employee
and relocated to an office in Mendota Heights, MN. The business continued to grow
over the next couple years, and with expanded customers and employees, we quickly
outgrew the location. In 1998 we moved to Eagan, MN into larger offices, with ample
warehouse space.
In 1999 we created
and released our own custom brand of laser toner cartridges called PEAKTONER. Although
many other brands of toner were available in the market, we decided to create PEAKTONER
as a product of quality, rather than cost. No corners were cut and only the best
materials were used. PEAKTONER quickly took off and was well received by IOT's clients.
In 2003, it was time to move again. Staying
in Eagan, we moved into a bigger office with more warehouse space (8,000 sq ft)
for future growth. Business was good, and the name of our flagship program (TLC)
was changed to Total Imaging Care, to better reflect our expansion into the copier,
fax machine and document imaging markets.
In 2007 IOT released it's own brand of refurbished
printers, copiers, and computer equipment - IOT Certified Refurbished Equipment.
This addition complimented the offerings of new copiers, printers, and computer
equipment nicely. Our customers could now take advantage of a full line of hardware,
supplies and service from IOT.
In 2010 IOT celebrated, as we marked our 15th year in business! The business continued
to evolve, and soon it was time to move again. Staying in Eagan, we moved just down
the road from our old location to the corner of Highway 13 and Seneca road. This
new building provides more than twice the warehouse space of the old location, an
improved office space, and excellent exposure on the busy Highway 13.
To Be Continued...
