MIDDLETOWN, Pa. (Jan. 2, 2013) – Phillips Office Solutions today announced the sale of its office supply division to Guernsey Office Products Inc. of Dulles, Va.
Peter Phillips, president of family-owned Phillips Office Solutions, informed his 224 employees of the sale this morning. Terms of the transaction, which was completed on Dec. 31, were not disclosed.
The move allows Middletown-based Phillips to focus on its growing document management and office interiors divisions, Peter Phillips said. Although there will be an adjustment period for everyone involved, he said, the transition promises to be a stable one.
Customers will continue to see familiar faces as each of the 76 office supply employees will be retained by Guernsey, one of the nation’s leading independent office product companies.
The office supply division will continue to operate from Phillips Office Solutions’ headquarters and distribution center at 501 Fulling Mill Road, Middletown, and still will bear the Phillips name and logo. Robert Chilton, who has been president of the office supply division, will continue in that position under Guernsey.
“It was a difficult decision to sell the office supply division,” Peter Phillips said. “But it’s reassuring to know the high value Guernsey places on the Phillips name and on the deep relationships we have fostered with our customers.”
Peter Phillips has known David Guernsey, president and CEO of Guernsey Office Products, for 20 years.
Guernsey (www.guernseyop.com) is an independently owned and operated provider of office products, furniture, break-room products, promotional products and related services. Guernsey serves 8,000-plus accounts from its facilities in Washington, D.C., Baltimore, and Norfolk and Richmond, Va.
“Guernsey Office Products is committed to upholding the high standard of customer service that is the hallmark of the Phillips brand,” said David Guernsey, who founded his company in 1971.
Phillips dates to 1940, when Walter Phillips started the company. Walter Phillips is not related to Peter Phillips and his father, Thomas Phillips, who acquired the company in 1984.
Phillips, which has been recognized as the region’s leading office copier/printer and office furniture supplier, has continually evolved with the times. For instance, the company once sold and serviced typewriters and formerly operated retail locations.
In 2009, Phillips expanded beyond multi-functional products with the completion of a half-million-dollar expansion in order to provide secure records storage and management, document destruction services and quick-print services.
This year, Phillips introduced managed network services, which provides information technology support and technology guidance to small-to-mid-sized businesses.
Phillips’ office interiors division addresses technology needs through products such as interactive white boards, modular power solutions, and Steelcase’s media:scape, which integrates furniture and technology to encourage collaboration. The division provides architectural products including floor-to-ceiling walls, acoustical solutions and access floors.
Besides its headquarters, Phillips (www.buyphillips.com) has offices in Lancaster, York, Reading, Greencastle, and Hunt Valley, Md. Phillips’ authorized service area comprises most of central Pennsylvania, Maryland, northeast West Virginia, and adjacent areas of Virginia.