CBE Acquires Toshiba Dealer

In August of 2017 CBE acquired Savannah, GA based Docuquest, Inc., an office equipment dealer representing Toshiba MFP products. The Docuquest venture was a cold start-up envisioned by John Prussia, and in 2002, his vision became reality as Docuquest was launched. Docuquest has enjoyed steady success and growth ever since. John’s passion stemmed from his vast experience in the reprographics industry as a manufacturer’s representative. Now a dedicated dealership owner, John knew that to take things to the next level would require significant resources. This focus was the impetus that eventually evolved into discussions with a close friend in the industry, John Eckstrom. John Eckstrom owns the South Carolina based company Carolina Business Equipment. “The synergy was there for CBE to acquire Docuquest and this gives CBE an additional area in Georgia for expansion”, says John Eckstrom.

CBE is a multi-line dealer representing Sharp, Toshiba and Oki Data. With the acquisition of Docuquest, this strategic alignment fits well with CBE’s growth strategy. CBE’s corporate headquarters is based in Columbia, SC and has branch offices in Charleston, SC, Florence, SC, and serves the Aiken, SC and Augusta, GA markets from its home office in Columbia. Eckstrom says “With the acquisition of Docuquest we now have a solid footprint in Savannah which will allow us to reach into other parts of the Lowcountry of SC and certainly into parts of southeast GA”.

CBE now has offices in 5 cities plus several remote support personnel. In recent years, CBE has developed a strong Network Services Division that has been improving and evolving for the last decade. The CBE NOC (network operations center) houses a team of dedicated IT professionals and represents the fastest growing segment of the company. “CBE boasts an impressive client list and many of the initial Managed Network Services relationships began with, “we have heard about you guys!”. Eckstrom continues, “Word spreads quickly when folks are seeing good results. We must be doing it right!”, says Eckstrom.

Along with being the network services provider for the Columbia Fireflies, the 2016 most technologically advanced minor league ball park, in the country, CBE also provides its network services for the nation’s only TV manufacturer, Element Electronics. With clients all over the country, CBE has become an IT company for IT companies.

Eckstrom concludes his remarks – “We have acquired 2 companies in as many months and are proud to have the former Docuquest group as part of the CBE family”.