‘A significant player in Western Canada’

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 04/09/2023 (1069 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The founders of one of the original Manitoba homegrown computer services companies back in 1980 has exited its second business in the space, Carlyle Printers, Service and Supplies, but its presence will remain and likely be enhanced.

Carlyle Printers — owned by the father and son combo of Derek and Eric Johannson — was acquired by WBM Technologies based out Saskatoon.

Carlyle is in the managed print service business, providing printer hardware — Carlyle is the Canon and HP dealer in Manitoba — as well as printer support services to large enterprises who pay pennies per copy made.

WBM originally entered the Manitoba market a few years ago after acquiring Ricoh Canada’s Manitoba dealership.

The company was very successful securing a host of large enterprise clients in Manitoba including names like Richardson, NFI Inc., Price Industries and Princess Auto.

It is the same type of business that WBM is in, but in addition to that line of work WBM also moved into IT (information technology) services about 10 years ago.

With its Carlyle acquisition WBM now generates about $170 million in annual revenue

All of Carlyle’s 35 employees will stay on and the business will now be called Carlyle Printers and Supplies — powered by WBM. The combined Manitoba operations of WBM and Carlyle will be very near the 100 person mark.

While the managed printing business was a good business for Carlyle. Derek Johannson said, “The reality is, printing is on a gradual decline whereas everyone is struggling with IT services for cybersecurity, 24-hour help desk support and general administration of their networks.”

Johannson said the combination with WBM will bring that expertise to Carlyle and its customers.

“Going forward, if we weren’t going to sell, we would have to figure out how to get into the IT services business,” he said. “That had become a reality.”

WBM made the move into IT about 10 years ago and has been very successful winning contracts with the Saskatchewan government, B.C.’s provincial health services and other large contracts.

Even before the Carlyle deal, WBM had won the managed printing services contract with the Manitoba government and Shared Health in Manitoba. Carlyle did not bid on the provincial contract because just prior to that tender it had won the contract to provide those services to the City of Winnipeg.

Brett Bailey, WBM’s vice-president who is also one of the owners along with president JoeAnne Hardy, said that the family-owned corporate culture at Carlyle fits with WBM.

“When we come across an organization that shares that same kind of family spirit and desire to be great for our customers as we do, it makes it very easy to put two teams together,” he said.

Johannson said that when it considered companies that might acquire Carlyle, WBM — with whom Carlyle already had a working relationship — was at the top of the list.

He said rather than sell to a company like Xerox, it wanted to ensure that its business style would not be dramatically altered and the company could continue to operate a it had.

“We still had our traditional company barbecue before the long weekend,” he said.

It is the ninth acquisition for WBM. In June it acquired Calgary-based PrinterWorks West, a company operating in a similar space as Carlyle.

In October 2022, WestCap Mgt. Ltd. the Saskatchewan venture capital/private equity fund manager, made a significant investment in WBM likely helping it fund its recent acquisitions that are being paid for in cash.

WestCap was the first group to partner with Manitoba First Fund and has teamed up with seven Manitoba credit unions and now has an $81 million fund to invest in Manitoba companies.

WBM’s growth has made it a significant player in Western Canada. Bailey said that among other things, it is able to provide home-grown services to Western Canadian enterprises who might otherwise have to out-source services overseas.

For instance, it provides help-desk services to Federated Co-Operatives Ltd. and its hundreds of Co-op gas bar and grocery store locations.

Bailey said, “It is part of our value proposition. With our 24-7-365 enterprise service desk they can place an IT support call and know the person on the other end of the phone or chat could very well be in the same city or town as the Co-op in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba that they’re calling from. That is a huge part of our value proposition and driver of our growth.”

Johannson said the sale was bittersweet. He had 17 years running the business with his son Eric — who will continue on in a senior management role with WBM.

In 1980, a year before IBM introduced its first personal computer, Derek Johannson and his father Joe started Carlyle Computer Products, selling all the equipment needed to go with computers and printers, like cables and printer ribbons and toner cartridges. That was sold in 1997 to Boise Office Products that was merged with Grand and Toy.

“It’s a bittersweet moment,” Derek said. “It will end a 17 year partnership with my son. We always worked in a very entrepreneurial environment and now he will have the chance to work in a larger organization.”

martin.cash@freepress.mb.ca