EO Johnson Expands Production

written by Frank G. Cannata | September 5, 2019

Diversified dealer has all the components in place to propel its big iron business to new heights.

We received an invitation to Roger King’s retirement party earlier this year at EO Johnson Business Technologies in Wausau, Wisconsin. (See the July-August 2019 issue of The Cannata Report). Having previously visited this dealership as part of our dealer tour, we decided it would be a good idea if we arrived a day early and visited its Production Print Customer Experience Center in Eau Claire. Owner and CEO Mary Jo Johnson welcomed the idea and offered to take us there. The Customer Experience Center is a 90-mile drive from the company’s corporate headquarters in Wausau.

In addition to interviewing Mary Jo, we met with three people who lead the company’s effort in high-volume products””Dave Johnson, vice president of sales/branch operations; Jeff Reuter, director of production print; and Aaron Black, production print field manager.

First Steps

Every story has a beginning, and this one starts with the founder E.O. Johnson in 1957. Johnson developed a culture of “What’s next?”, orienting the company’s compass to a true north that said it must look to the future.

What that means is to look for change and how the company can adapt to it. As Mary Jo repeatedly said, “You have to make the commitment, and that also means investment.”

With this growth mindset, you also must be alert as to where new opportunities may lead. For this dealership, selling the first Canon color copier, the CLC-1, more than 30 years ago opened the door from selling that product to commercial printers. In 2007, Canon introduced the imagePRESS 7000, its first cut-sheet digital press. In order to sell this product, a dealership had to fund the training of its top service tech. Those techs had to be the best because the cost of the training was $25,000.

“You have to have the buy-in,” emphasized Mary Jo.

A History of Production Print Success

What made EO Johnson comfortable selling a digital press to commercial printers was its history of success selling the Canon CLC-4000, the predecessor to the Canon imagePRESS 7000. Here again, “What’s next?” came to the surface. In 2012, the EO Johnson team wanted to sell Canon’s Arizona series of large flatbed inkjet devices. Again, prior success with the 7000 started the conversation. Throughout, the dealership was building a base of print shop customers that could be traced back to the Canon CLC-1 and CLC-4000.

Mary Jo said she believed a decision was made in the late 1980s to sell Canon wide format to architects and construction companies. This also provided EO Johnson with the confidence it could handle a large-format inkjet printer such as the Arizona. It also added another vertical segment that the dealership fully exploited. In addition to the commercial printers, it began adding architects and construction companies to its list of potential customers for Canon production print and large-format devices.

As production print placements increased, EO Johnson recognized there were holes in the Canon product line. In 2011, Ricoh introduced the Ricoh Pro C651 and C751, its first machines for high-volume applications. These machines were followed by the Ricoh Pro C7100 and Ricoh Pro C8100, all of which helped EO Johnson fill in what was missing in the Canon product line.

At this point, EO Johnson management realized in order to achieve the full market potential of these production devices, it needed to hire sales specialists. Today, it employs production print specialists in Wausau, Eau Claire, and Minneapolis. A fourth specialist will soon join the company. Supporting these four sales specialists are five to six dedicated service technicians.

A Can-Do Attitude

What has production print meant to EO Johnson?

For starters, it is Canon’s most successful dealership selling the Arizona series with 15 placements in its territory. Production print represents 17% of the dealership’s revenue and is growing. EO Johnson fully expects that percentage to increase to 22% of revenue in five years. Mary Jo also believes the company can sell products such as the Canon i300 (Niagara), which Canon has been reluctant to do so far. We continue to hear the erroneous refrain from Canon and others that dealers cannot perform in the high-volume segment of the market. EO Johnson is one dealer that is proving that contention wrong.

In an implied message to Canon, Mary Jo volunteered the following: “Dealers have the skill and ability to sell Canon cut-sheet toner presses and Océ large inkjet format printers. Manufacturers need to step up to the table and help dealers acquire the machines to demo.”

There is no question Mary Jo Johnson sees a bright future in large format. This opinion has been strengthened by the introduction of the Canon 1640 (Colorado series). She believes this product can do an excellent job for printing wall coverings. However, in order to do that Canon must change the gloss finish to matte.

This dealership understands production print is a very important part of its present and future. The construction of a Production Print Customer Experience Center was the final piece in building a platform that will enable EO Johnson to excel in any production product they elect to sell. Was it worth the investment?

According to Mary Jo, the closing rate for potential customers visiting this facility is 98%. In a temperature and humidity-controlled environment, the products manufactured by Canon, Ricoh, RISO, OKI, and others are displayed in a way that shows any knowledgeable observer this company understands what it takes to be successful in the world of high-volume output.

What’s Next?

As to what this all means to EO Johnson’s future? The EO Johnson team believes that by 2020, 50% of its revenue will come from IT services and production print. Is that a realistic goal or just an overly optimistic statement? This analyst will state categorically EO Johnson will get that done. In fact, the company may be too conservative. When a company can build a customer experience center that rivals anything we have experienced in the dealer channel before, you have to say this dealership has set its sights high.

Perhaps the greatest contribution EO Johnson has made is proving to Canon that dealers can sell production and industrial print products. We can only hope Canon hears this message.

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Premier Production

EO Johnson Eau Claire underwent a major expansion project throughout 2017. Updating the entire facility, the company added 10,000 square feet. Approximately 3,000 of that square footage is dedicated to the building’s Customer Experience Center (CEC). The project culminated in an open house event with over 250 attendees. The main attraction was the CEC, which runs independently from the rest of the building in terms of electrical and HVAC systems. In this self-contained environment, employees can control temperature and humidity to precise set points, maintaining them consistently and independently from outside weather. The CEC also features all 5000K lighting to create an optimal viewing environment for output. Ambient light sensors automatically adjust light levels based on the light coming in through the triple paned, argon filled windows. EO Johnson also installed a very high durability epoxy floor that won’t stain or easily scratch. The CEC features a comprehensive portfolio of devices by Canon, Duplo, Océ, Ricoh, and RISO.

Above: Multiple lines suit the production space well. From left to right: Duplo DC-646, Riso GD9630, Canon imagePROGRAF 4000S, Canon imagePROGRAF TX-3000, Océ PlotWAVE 345. Below: Exterior of EO Johnson’s Eau Claire Production Print Customer Experience Center.