MANCHESTER – They had the equipment and the expertise already in place, so Jensales Inc.

Wednesday, November 21, 2001

MANCHESTER – They had the equipment and the expertise already in place, so Jensales Inc., maker of farm equipment manuals, has branched into the printing business. With the addition of JensPrint, The small business in Manchester continues to grow.

&uot;JensPrint is basically a start-up business without all the risk that usually goes along with it,&uot; said President and CEO Paul Jensen. &uot;We had a lot of the pieces in place to do this kind of work, so it was a pretty natural venture for us.&uot;

The manual maker already was already printing more than 1 million pages a month, Jensen said. Pursuing some commercial accounts allows the network to take advantage of the press, professional graphic designers and computer network. After some market research, JensPrint was born.

But the venture did require an investment in new equipment and personnel.

&uot;We’ve added things like a paper drill, laminator, shrink wrapper, folder and jogger,&uot; Jensen said. &uot;We’ve upgraded our software and hardware to industry standards so we can compete.&uot;

But any venture without a customer base is doomed to fail, Jensen said, so he hired a sales and service representative in April to spread the word about the new business and acquire new accounts. Jim Gold is now scouring the area and offering JensPrint services.

&uot;There’s a lot going for this business,&uot; Gold said. &uot;We’ve got great professional people and great leadership.&uot;

Along with the usual business forms, business cards, letterheads, brochures, door hangers and other documents, JensPrint is drawing customers with unique products such as personalized calendars and greeting cards. Using four networked high-volume laser printers, the company can do a lot of in-house production. Other jobs require cooperation with other companies.

&uot;We’re working with a couple of area print houses for some of our jobs, where we can get a one-day turnaround,&uot; Gold said. &uot;Then we offer the follow up services like free pick up and delivery to make it as convenient as possible for our customers.&uot;

Jensen said JensPrint has been a success in its first year. With customers from as far away as Bloomington, positive word-of-mouth advertising is paying off.

&uot;We’re on the front end of technology, and we can offer the best service, so we think JensPrint will continue to grow,&uot; he said. &uot;At the same time, we aren’t losing our focus from our original products on the Jensales Inc. side of the business.&uot;

As one of Manchester’s success stories, Jensales Inc. and JensPrint are looking ahead with confidence.

&uot;I think our prospects are terrific,&uot; Jensen said.