If The Cannata Report had been profiling Young Influencers in the early 1980s, when it first launched, the following three office technology industry veterans would have been prime candidates. Well, it’s never too late to travel back in time and remember how things were. That’s precisely what we do in these conversations with the recently retired Ray Belanger and the still active Bill Fraser and Sam Stone, as they reflect on their early days in the industry in careers that span 43 to 50+ years.
Ray Belanger – 43 Years in the Office Technology Industry and Now Enjoying Life After Retirement
After more than four decades in the office technology industry, Ray Belanger (at left) has officially stepped away. The longtime president of Bay Copy, based just south of Boston, sold the business to UBEO a year ago, stayed on for the transition, and retired in January 2025.
“I worked for UBEO for a year, and in January, I retired. And that’s what I wanted. They were great about it,” Belanger said. “I’m very happy. It’s great timing for me.” His connection to UBEO today is limited to one thing: “UBEO is renting my building, which is a good situation,” he noted.
Belanger’s 43-year career in the industry began in a familiar place—his family’s business. “As a kid, I worked summers and did a little bit of everything. But I wanted nothing to do with the business when I got out of school,” he said. “I got an MBA and worked in the tech industry selling into IBM mainframe environments. It was a good first job, but I saw that the people who were advancing were always on the road. I didn’t want that.”
So, Belanger joined Bay Copy in 1982, tempted by his father’s announcement that he was planning to add computers to the dealership’s mix of offerings. “We were one of the first authorized Digital [Equipment Computer] dealers,” recalled Belanger. “We sold a lot. But eventually, I realized you couldn’t make any money selling computers—no aftermarket.”
Besides computers, Bay Copy’s product offerings included mimeograph machines, spirit duplicators, and copiers from the A.B. Dick Company. “My father had worked as a manager there, so that was the genesis of it,” said Belanger. Bay Copy also sold copiers from Royal Business Machines, which eventually became Konica Royal, then Konica and Konica Minolta. “We sold a little bit of everything,” Belanger recalled, including thermal spectrum copiers. “We had Saxon, we had Toshiba for a short time, which had a great, small box,” recalled Belanger. “It worked great until the drums went, and then you couldn’t get a replacement drum—they didn’t work anymore. Toshiba was very gracious. They ended up taking back our whole inventory. In that era, you made hard margins on the hardware and had a service department just so you could sell the hardware. It’s changed a thousand percent since then.”
Belanger’s drive to succeed started early and turned into a passion for sales. “I liked talking to people. I was self-taught, reading Tom Hopkins’ sales material. It’s a numbers game. As devastating as it is to get the door slammed on you and get kicked out of offices, you do get a yes occasionally, and then you feel like a hero.”
Reflecting on the family business dynamic, he admits it wasn’t always easy. “My dad and I worked together for 10 years. Some good times, some very difficult ones. He admires what his father did in starting the business. “He had no business starting what he did, but he did,” said Belanger.
Neither of his two children followed Belanger into the business. “And honestly, I think that’s good,” he said. “They’re very happy and live nearby.”
While he doesn’t miss traveling to industry events and dealer meetings, he does miss the people. “You develop some nice friendships. But the meetings? A lot of it ended up being the same thing. I’ve seen this movie before.”
Though Belanger is enjoying retirement, he looks back fondly on an industry that’s treated him well. “It’s always been competitive,” he said. “That part hasn’t changed. If you couldn’t make money in it, it wouldn’t be.”
For him, the past four months have been filled with family and projects. “We have three grandchildren—twins that are almost one and a grandson who’s almost two. We babysit them once a week,” he said. “I’ve got a house down the Cape I’m doing a lot of renovations on. I’ve always been active, physically working out. So, I’ve got plenty to keep me busy. I’m really happy where I’m at.”
Bill Fraser: More Than 50 Years in the Office Tech Industry and Still Energized by What’s Next
Bill Fraser (center) has spent more than five decades in the office technology industry, but he’s not easing into retirement. Instead, he’s actively guiding the strategic direction of Fraser Advanced Information Systems, the company he co-founded in 1971, and he’s more excited than ever about where the industry is headed.
“We’re booming down here,” Fraser said from his West Reading, Pennsylvania, headquarters. “Believe it or not, everything is good.”
His start in the business was anything but glamorous. After leaving a sales role at Pitney Bowes in the early 1970s, Fraser partnered with a former colleague and opened a business in his partner’s garage. They began selling ESTAT paper, sometimes buying it from another dealer to fulfill orders.
Then, opportunity knocked when a high-end law firm in the Reading area asked if they sold copiers. “What do you say? You say yes,” Fraser recalled. So, we got a Toshiba 32 from a dealer, installed it, and then looked at each other, ‘Are you going to service this?’ ‘No.’ So we hired a young guy from the vo-tech school, got him trained, and off we went.”
Fraser had trained initially to be an industrial engineer, but after a year on the road doing consulting, he realized the travel-heavy lifestyle wasn’t for him. That’s when he applied at Pitney Bowes and found his footing in sales. “It came naturally. And I liked it,” he said.
He recalls attending one of the first National Office Machine Dealers Association (NOMDA) shows and being surrounded by dealers who sold typewriters and calculators. At the time, copier dealers were the new kids on the block. “We were just two sales guys,” said Fraser. “It’s like, what are we doing here? They didn’t like us. And I guess it was mutual, but they were established and, within about five years, the copier group blew right by the old typewriter/calculator group.”
In 1979 Fraser joined the Copier Dealers Association (CDA), which he describes as “one of the best things I ever did.” “Every meeting, I’ve learned more and more,” he said.
Today, Fraser has no interest in selling to a roll-up company because as he said, “It doesn’t work out well for the employees.” Instead, he came up with a plan to perpetuate the company. He’s no longer involved in the day-to-day operations, other than overseeing the executive team. “My goal is to put that team in place so that when I fall over, the employees can keep it going.”
Fraser is still exploring growth through acquisitions, particularly on the IT side, and is committed to staying engaged. “I’m not doing this for the money,” he said. “I’m doing it for the excitement. You can only play so many rounds of golf. You can only travel so much. You still want to feel relevant.”
Meanwhile, Fraser is bullish on the future, including what he’s seeing with new technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI). “It’s more exciting than it’s ever been,” Fraser said. “AI is a game-changer. We’re using it to reduce paperwork for salespeople and gain a competitive edge.”
He also sees tremendous opportunities ahead. “With this economy and what the President is trying to pull off, this is an unbelievable gold rush for everybody at Fraser. We should do unbelievably well, which means growing the company and being even more profitable.”
Sam Stone: Four Decades in the Office Tech Business and Going Strong
When Sam Stone (at right) joined the family business in the early 1980s, the office technology world looked vastly different. His father, Bill Stone, had founded Stone’s Office Equipment in 1970 as a typewriter repair business in Richmond, Virginia. The company didn’t sell equipment in those early years, just ribbons, supplies, and service. Stone’s first exposure to the business came during high school summers, when he’d join his dad cleaning typewriters in local schools and colleges.
“I was never a repair person,” Stone admits. “I created more service calls than I prevented. I’d break something while cleaning, and my dad finally said, ‘You’d probably be good at sales.’”
Stone started working full-time in 1982 and transitioned into sales in 1984. He had a front-row seat as electric typewriters transitioned to electronic typewriters and word processors. He fondly recalls those early devices, with their 12-inch displays and 144 megabytes of memory. “My watch has more memory now,” Stone joked.
His first sale wasn’t glamorous but memorable: a $79.99 Royal electric calculator with a two-color ribbon. “I was so excited, I drove straight back to the office to turn in the order,” he said. “I told my dad, and he said, ‘Okay.’ Then he hit me with a line that stuck with me for life. ‘Anyone can sell something once, but the real skill is getting someone to come back to you again and again. That’s when you know you earned their trust.’” That philosophy became a foundation for how Stone approached business.
Stone found inspiration from Tom Hopkins’ sales books. “He’d say things like every no leads to a yes,” recalled Stone. “So, every time somebody says no, you’d say thank you for the no, and go to the next one.” He also credits his early mentors who encouraged him to stay positive while focusing on the more challenging aspects of the job, like cold calling at the beginning of the day. One piece of advice he still shares with his sales team: “End your day on a good note. After a rough day of rejections, visit a long-time client who is happy with your service. It’s like sinking a putt on the 18th hole. It makes you want to come back and do it again.”
Today, Stone is still deeply involved in running the dealership and has passed his wisdom down to the next generation, including his son Carson, who works alongside him. “I tell them, don’t take rejection personally because you don’t know what you just walked in on. They might have just lost an account, had an employee quit, or fired an employee. You have to read the room or body language. Everybody’s going through something, and how you act at the end will determine if you’ll get that business in the future.”
Stone hasn’t lost his enthusiasm after more than four decades in the business. “It might sound corny, but we have great employees. I love our team,” he said. “And I still get a jolt when we bring in a new client, especially if they were with another vendor and chose us instead.”
The personal touch still matters to him. “I call new clients at 30, 90, and 180 days, not to sell them something else, but to make sure we’re doing what we promised,” said Stone. And he tells them you can call me directly if you think you’re not getting what you need. “I’m not anybody, but they think, ‘Oh my gosh, the company president called me and said call him directly if I need anything.’”
After 43 years, Stone doesn’t seem to have any plans to slow down. “I’ve always said I’ll keep doing this as long as I enjoy it. We’ve weathered recessions, fuel shortages, COVID, supply chain problems, but I still enjoy it, so we’ll keep going.”
