Not many businesses are around to celebrate their 60th anniversary. So, if you see Geoff Parrett or his dad, Greg Parrett, you’ll understand why they might be wearing a quiet, confident smile.
The Parrett Company is 60 years old!
It’s a story of family commitment, hard work and constant change. It all begins in the late 40’s when William H. “Harry” Parrett started working for Heier Office Machines in Benton Harbor. Starting as a technician, he quickly showed promise as a salesman. Royal Typewriters and mechanical adding machines were ‘front and center’ as Harry began building his book of business.
A decade later, October 1961, Harry Parrett decided to venture out on his own and established Parrett Business Machines at 74 Wall Street in Benton Harbor. Offices were buying those Royal manual and ‘new-fangled’ electric typewriters. And Harry was excited to show individuals new affordable Smith Corona portable manual and electric typewriters. Those Smith Corona’s made great graduation gifts for serious students going off to college!
There was a technological revolution going on in the 60s and 70s driven by the Space Race. Harry Parrett was out every day showing the new office technology to businesses. First electric calculators and then electronic ones like the Sharp EL-8, the World’s first hand-held electronic calculator.
You could see Harry on the streets of downtown St. Joseph and Benton Harbor—always in a business suit and, if the season was right, usually in a stylish hat. He was a professional salesman in the finest sense of the word. Virtually everyone in business knew Harry Parrett as a trusted expert in his field.
As the technology exploded, every office wanted its own copy machine, in order to say “Good-bye carbon paper!” Parrett Business Machines worked with the leading firms in copying over the years, from Royal to Mita to Panasonic. And ‘word processing’ became the buzzword, as larger offices began replacing their electric typewriters with the new devices that had a memory and a big, television-like screen.
A major change for Parrett Business Machines came in 1974 when they moved to their current location at 2602 Niles Road in St. Joseph Charter Township.
As the 1980s dawned, fax machines were on the office shopping list. They evolved quickly to be more user friendly and took over communication between offices. Panasonic and Panafax became nationwide market leaders in fax and copy machines and assumed a co-branded position at Parrett, which for a time called itself ‘Panasonic Copier Company.’
July 31, 1991 marked the passing of founder William H. “Harry” Parrett, leaving a legacy of product leadership and customer service. Many chapters were still to be written under the leadership of Greg Parrett, who took over direction and eventually ownership of the Company. The following year, he was joined by his son, and Harry’s grandson, Geoff Parrett, who became Sales Manager.
The 1990s brought massive change, again driven by technology. While Parrett Business Machines continued to provide Panasonic copying, imaging and printing equipment to businesses, they recognized the future was on the Internet. So, in 1995 Parrett Internet Technologies was created, becoming the area’s first Internet Service Provider. Thousands of local residents enjoyed their first Internet experiences—and sent their first email—from ‘MyName@Parrett.net’. The dual focus of the business continued for eight years until the internet side was sold in 2003.
Beginning in 2006, The Parrett Company has moved forward alongside Sharp Document Systems, which had emerged as the national market leader after Panasonic’s exit from copiers. For fifteen years, Sharp has proven to be a wise choice by the Parrett team, providing imaging, copying and printing solutions for businesses of all sizes. Recently, large interactive monitor/display boards for meeting spaces and classrooms have become another Parrett Company specialty.
In 2019, Greg Parrett retired from day to day management of The Parrett Company, turning over the helm to son Geoff, who has almost 30 years of sales leadership and operational experience. Greg says it’s just comes down to “doing the right thing… all the time!”, whether dealing with technological changes or the recent challenges of the pandemic and the changes it’s driven.
“We have been in business for 60 years and have continuously demonstrated the ability to adapt to change whether it is in the area’s economy or in market trends. Stability is our byword. We are Southwestern Michigan’s most technologically advanced office products dealer. Our employees have decades of experience in the sales, support and maintenance of office technology. You can place your confidence in us…thousands of businesses have been doing it since 1961!”
Geoff Parrett leads The Parrett Company into what he sees as a bright future ahead:
“I frequently use an analogy that our products are very much like cell phones. Their core designs and apps haven’t really changed much over the years, but what has changed are the skill sets and needs of consumers. They are much more technology savvy, but at the same time, much less patient. This is where Parrett Company has thrived. Because we focus on service before sales, we solve our clients’ challenges quickly by working with them on identifying whether repair or replacement is their best solution. In most cases, we find that our service team can make the necessary repairs (where others have been unsuccessful) as opposed to pushing them into a new device. I kiddingly refer to the service team as our ‘sales prevention’ department! It’s this approach that builds trust and the foundation for any successful relationship is built on trust. If you don’t trust your current vendor to provide support when you need it most, give us a try and Compare it to Parrett!”
Learn more at www.parrettcompany.com
