Copier Dealers’ 2025 CDA Owners Meeting

Owner members of the Managed Technology Association (MTA) and Copier Dealers Association (CDA) met in late July at Chicago’s Intercontinental Hotel on Michigan Avenue. Day 1 was MTA-focused, capped by a scenic (albeit hot!) architectural boat tour along the Chicago River. With the city’s magnificent skyline as a backdrop, deep-dish pizza was served to the wide-eyed office technology sightseers. For me, it was fun to play “tourist” in my hometown at my inaugural CDA meeting.

The second portion of the conference was led by CDA President Johnathan Garlow, whose day job is serving as CEO of Ford Office Technologies in the greater Pittsburgh area. Garlow welcomed The Cannata Report with open arms, sharing a vision to grow the peer group. His ambitious goal is to pump up CDA membership by more than 30%, to some 80 like/growth-minded elite dealer owners all of whom are focused on the future. (The number presently stands at just over 50.) “There are no more territories,” Garlow emphasized, with hopes of luring more prospective members.

To elevate its programs, speakers, and events, CDA has made a concerted effort to garner more meeting sponsors, as evidenced by the number of tables in the exhibit area. The nature of this relationship is mutual: The high level of dealers within the organization allows for sponsors to benefit from a return on investment (ROI) that stokes continued support. This year, GreatAmerica Financial Services was the conference’s “presenting sponsor.” Premier sponsors ConnectWise, Katun, and Pax8 (cloud) were joined by 15 others: ACDI, AgentDealer, Arrow Electronics, Clover Imaging Group, Culligan Quench, HP, Hytec Dealer Services, Intermedia, Kyocera, LEAF Capital, Link Imaging, Noetics, Square 9 Softworks, U.S. Bank, and WhiteLabel Communications.

Talk of “Hungry Dogs,” IT ROI, and Tariffs

Todd Johnson of Strategic Business Associates (SBA) moderated a peer panel consisting of a CDA owner/member quartet. Johnson pointed out that dealers’ quests for new, recurring revenue streams are nothing new. “Plain paper [printing] growth has been shrinking since 1998,” he noted. The diversified office technology landscape has become fiercely competitive. Fewer larger, successful dealer players are left standing with each passing year, pointed out one leader. The hard truth is that “we win by someone else losing,” said another. Most dealerships are in dog-eat-dog survival mode, and the harsh reality is that taking business from competitors has become a necessity.

Migrating into the computer networking/managed IT (information technology) services space has proven lucrative for some dealers. However, growth is not a given in IT, Johnson warned members, reporting that SBA research shows infotech revenues have shrunk collectively by 20% in each of the past two years. Some smaller dealers actually are losing money on IT, he cautioned. Panelist Preston Woolfolk, CEO of DOCUmation, candidly shared that IT has been an eight-year journey to profitability for his dealership in Texas. Perhaps waiting on that long-haul return on investment (ROI) is why some 33% of CDA’s member firms still are not in the IT business. On the flip side, fully 85% now are engaged in light production printing.

Brad Knepper, president of All Copy Products (Denver area), talked about how tough objective self-analysis can be. All four panelists agreed that true leaders need to take a hard look in the mirror: be critical and analyze your own operation—or hire someone who can. “Do you have too many people on staff?” asked one panelist. “Are techs really as busy as you think they are?”

The subject then turned to the seemingly ever-moving target of tariffs. “OEMs are raising their prices, and cost increases of between 15% and 19% are being passed on. But customers aren’t blinking,” revealed one dealer executive. Another countered: “Well, they’re maybe blinking a little bit.”

There was no dispute that present times are unprecedented for their businesses. All four leaders lamented poor information and tariff-related communication coming from most of the major equipment manufacturers. Woolfolk expressed aftermarket concerns about the future cost of parts and supplies, which have not yet been affected [by tariffs], “but I am worried,” he admitted. “How will we make ourselves whole through this transition?”

Panelists also preached about the importance of student interns and company image to their fellow CDA members. Work with local colleges to develop internship programs, which can improve hiring and retention, attested one. And, refresh the physical “look” of your facility to lure younger employees. Stay open-minded: Adding golf simulators, pool tables, and music rooms can help!

During the subsequent Q&A session, Larry Weiss, chairman of Atlantic Tomorrow’s Office (New York City), cautioned dealer conference attendees that an old-line sales rep’s stale talk track can kill existing accounts where there’s a new key contact in charge. “Identify new decision-makers as new business,” Weiss urged.

Following a short break, Mitch Leahy, VP/GM of the Office Equipment Group at GreatAmerica Financial Services, led a CDA members-only session about navigating the future of the office technology industry. Leahy delved into macro trends (including the A3-to-A4 shift), global economics, and ways to increase operational efficiencies.

More Detailed Stats for Copier Dealers

Veteran industry analysts John Hey and Johnson, partners at SBA, concluded the annual conference by presenting their “Financial Survey Results.” Now in its 25th edition, these confidential numbers (from 2024) tell the stories of 127 dealerships that participated—some 42 of whom are CDA members collectively representing more than $2 billion in annual revenues. Johnson added that overall growth has been more organic in nature as acquisitions have not been as significant lately. “There has been a slowdown in private-equity interest,” he noted, primarily because multiples are down for dealers.

Mary Hart of HP, one of our 2025 Women Influencers, gave CDA members a print pep talk. She discussed resurgence and interest in printing. The office technology industry is buoyed by the return-to-office (RTO) trend, which HP projects soon will reach two-thirds of all U.S. companies for at least three in-office days per week. “Half of our customers believe that print is essential or very important,” Hart said, citing the company’s internal research. “This is a great business!”

Attorney Bob Goldberg (formerly BTA’s general counsel) wrapped up the conference with a discussion of legal imperatives for dealer consideration. In addition to the impact of current and potential tariffs on business operations/profitability, he covered the OEM shift toward so-called passive income (recurring revenue). Goldberg also discussed how to better understand artificial intelligence (AI) implementations as well as navigating the M&A landscape.

Impactful Field Trip

CDA conference attendees brought boxed lunches aboard two buses on their way to tour Impact Networking, LLC/DOT Security’s SOC (Security Operations Center) in Mettawa, Illinois, a sprawling compound of four buildings situated 30 miles north of Chicago. Company Co-founder/Board Member Frank Cucco was out of town, but new CEO Mike Lepper, CTO Frank DeGeorge, Co-founder/Partner Dan Meyer, DOT President Jeremiah School, and their respective teams served as hosts with the most!

Chief AI Officer Jon Evans led off the tour by telling CDA members that office technology dealers can no longer avoid artificial intelligence. AI is a ramp to managed IT services, but he encourages changing your thinking before changing your tools . . . . “Governance matters when rolling out new tools,” Evans added. “Size doesn’t matter. The edge goes to the fastest learners.” Impact Networking has introduced an “AI Labs” concept to its customers. The four-hour sessions may grow into a physical laboratory space, according to Evans. “It’s our ‘do tank,” he described, as opposed to a think tank.

Meyer, who co-founded Impact Networking with Cucco in 1999, highlighted the company’s Unified Support Operations (USO) vision of providing the same, high level of support in different markets. More than 60% of Impact’s revenues now are generated as a managed service provider, but there were a lot of naysayers 25 years ago, Meyer recalled.

In 2014, Impact basically flipped the business model, which had relied on problems to yield profitability. “The more [computer] issues there were, the more profits people made,” he explained. “Our new strategy was more long term with a set fee. Selling prospects on five-year contracts was not an easy transition,” Meyer admitted. Today, Impact employs more than 900 people in seven states.

Across the parking lot at DOT Security, Impact’s cybersecurity sister company, CTO/Partner Frank DeGeorge went on to share that their SOC (Security Operations Center) staffers weekly log more than 7 billion potential threats from customers. Of those, some 194 result in alerts, some 66 or so of which are suppressed by software. The remaining 128 get handled by an analyst and could, if serious enough, escalate to an internal IT expert for assessment.

Incidentally, we spotted Bill Fraser, president of Fraser Advanced Information Systems (West Reading, Pennsylvania) on the Impact Networking tour. In case you missed it, the longtime industry veteran recently reflected on his 50+ years in office technology.

CDA Milestones

Congratulations to Barry Simon, president of Datamax Inc. (Arkansas), who received special milestone recognition as a 40-year CDA member. Simon has missed only one annual Copier Dealers Association conference since 1985! (Our Founder Frank Cannata first attended a CDA meeting in 1982.)

The next CDA Sales, Marketing & Owners Meeting is October 21-24, 2025, at Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa in Sonoma, Northern California.

JOIN CDA