What’s Happenin’ at UTEC in Ann Arbor?

By Andy Slawetsky – UTEC first opened their doors in 1975 and has been providing products and services to SE Michigan businesses from their headquarters in Ann Arbor ever since.

I spent a couple of days visiting Kevin Van Kannel and his team to find out What’s Happenin’ in Michigan, including sampling some local cuisine after my tour of their facilities.

UTEC offers copiers and printers from Sharp, Kyocera and Epson as well as mailing solutions, whiteboards, digital displays, managed services, telephone systems and more. Whatever an office needs, UTEC can get it for them. Kevin invited me down to check out their operation and I couldn’t resist.

We started the day with a podcast session with me, Kevin and Director of Sales Les Harris. It was a treat recording from a dedicated facility like this and we’ll post the video as soon as it’s ready. Apparently 9 AM ISN’T too early for bourbon!

As you enter UTEC, you immediately feel a sense of fun. Maybe it’s the racquetball court, the gym or maybe it’s the fact that they have putting cups drilled into the floors and customers play throughout the building earning prizes as they come for their tour and demonstrations. Look hard and you will see one or two in my photos.

The warehouse was busy and so was the staging area as I watched some sharp MFPs being readied for delivery. Nearby were some ACDI boxes, not to be missed with their well-known bright green colors.

Kevin, a serious Ohio State fan who for some reason lives in the heart of Wolverine territory has a friendly and hospitable team around him. Those MFPs being prepped and the amount of hardware in that warehouse told me they were having a pretty good month. That SalesChain CRM they’re using seems to be working well!

Although he’s a staunch Buckeye fan, local businesses can rest assured that he is somehow able to put aside his true feelings to support his customers with the greatest care, no matter how much they loathe his beloved OSU.

Kevin is also pretty influential within the imaging industry; he’s on the IBPI board, he’s the outgoing president of the American Co-op peer dealer group, they’re members of the local Chamber of Commerce; Kevin and UTEC are super active to say the least.

I had an amazing visit with UTEC and can’t wait to come back to see them, maybe during their NCAA tournament event this coming Spring. Until then, Go Maryland!