Show Business By Steven Oberbeck Tribune Staff Writer When Bichard LeVitre and Edwin Q “Ned” Cannon took over the management of the Salt Lake Stamp Co 5 in the two men found themselves at the helm of a company operating in a rapidly evolving industry The Salt Lake Stamp Co founded 90 years ago sells products used to mark and identify items While it still manufacturers just about every kind of rubber stamp imaginable from smiley faces to those that read “Past Due” it also markets a variety of items from corporate and embossing seals to ear tags for livestock Mr Cannon who serves as the company’s general manager said the product line and services offered by the Salt Lake Stamp Co have broadened considerably since the company’s founding shortly before the turn of the century “Even over the last 10 years or so I can't think of too many items that we’ve stopped producing or carrying except maybe plastic ear tags for animals We still make the metal ones which are shipped all over the world” he said The one thing that has made the biggest impact in recent years on the company is the computer according to Mr Cannon Where once rubber stamps and other marking items were laboriously etched by hand they mid-198- are now produced using computerized printing typesetting and repro- duction techniques That development he said allowed the company to move into new fields and greatly expand its business horizons Before the computer age many of the products produced by the Salt Lake Stamp Co were geared to the start-u- p or rapidly growing business Mr Cannon said Such things as door signs name plates stock certificates and even rubber stamps are items more often demanded by new and emerging enterprises than by mature businesses or corporations he said The company now offers and services such new devices as a computerized jet printing system which is designed to continuously market items traveling on a conveyor line “In 1971 we sold approximately $10000 in stencil products that were used to mark such things as cardboard boxes” said Mr LeVitre the company’s president “This year we’ll probably do about $170000 in business in computerized equipment that can be used for the same thing” Since many of the company’s products can be thought of as filling a very specific customer need the Salt Lake Stamp Co in many ways sees itself as filling many different market niches "Une ot the things we now do when Section F Sunday December 6 1987 Page 1 evaluating a new product is place a lot more emphasis than we once did on analyzing its positioning in the market” Mr LeVitre said “Although we have embraced some of the latest in computer technology we still do a lot of things by hand such as deep brass engraving We have a man here who has been doing it for 40 years and is a real craftsman” Mr Cannon said In recent years the company has tried to broaden its customer base ly carrying more consumer items Mr Cannon said In addition it has been concentrating on expanding its business out of state which to date accounts for approximately 30 percent of the company’s $2 million in annual sales Both Mr LeVitre and Mr Cannon said that when they began in management with the company one of their goals was to create a more efficient business by identifying and correcting any errors or inefficiencies that might have inadvertently entered the company’s operations during its history “When you’ve been around almost 100 years you can learn a lot of bad habits” said Mr LeVitre “We’ve placed a lot of emphasis on reducing ar errors” For instance Mr LeVitre said when he and Mr Cannon began working as salesmen for the company in See F-- 4 Column 5 —Tribun Staff Photo by Dan Millar Salt Lake Stamp Co general manager Edwin Q “Ned” Cannon said the production and sale of rubber stamps accounts for about 20 percent of the company’s business I Kent Sorensen assembles materials and gets ready to vulcanize a rubber printing plate that will eventually be i I used for marking cardboard boxes Salt Lake Stamp Co specializes in products used to mark and identify items Salt Lake Stamp Co’s Larry Smith exposes a negative that will be used to produce a rubber printing plate ") x 'V |