LINCOLN - Blackstone Valley Office Systems, more commonly known as BVOS, this year celebrate
s its 51st anniversary. Presently located at 6 Blackstone Valley Place, Suite 203, the company was founded as the Blackstone Valley Typewriter Co. in July 1956 by Ralph Barlow, now 83 years old.
"My dad started the company at 52 Roosevelt Ave. in Pawtucket and within a year, business had grown and he moved to another larger location at 151 Main St., also in Pawtucket," said Bruce A. Barlow, a Cumberland resident who now owns the company and serves as its president. BVOS moved to its present location seven years ago.
A marketing sign once used by his father is on display in the company's Blackstone Valley Place headquarters. The approximately 18-by-30-inch sign was equipped with suction cups. "My dad would stick the sign on the inside of the window of his 1959 Chevy station wagon," said Bruce A. Barlow.
The present owner, at 49 years old, has a record of longevity with BVOS. Bruce A. Barlow, a resident of Cumberland, began working at 8 or 9 years old sweeping floors for his father, eventually working up his way to his present position.
"When the company began 51 years ago," says Barlow, "there were two employees in addition to his father. One employee was a secretary, one a service and sales representative; today, there are more than 20 employees on the payroll, most in sales and service, the others as supportive adminisrative staff."
What began as the sales and servicing of manual typewriters has evolved to the sales and service of digital copy machines, according to Barlow. Long gone are the mechanical typewriters that gave way to electric models and then word processors.
Today, the sales and servicing of digital copy machines that can print, copy, fax and scan, serve as the heart of the company's product line. For more information on BVOS, phone them at 401.334.2400.
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