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May 13, 2024
STEVENS POINT – Much has changed in the copy machine and printer era in the last 40 years.
Cory Sosnovske, president/co-owner of Star Business Machines, Inc. in Stevens Point, said he can attest to that.
“In yesterday’s world, if a copy machine or printer broke down or needed service, a technician would have to physically go to the business to fix it,” he said. “Nowadays, if you have the correct equipment, I can fix just about anything sitting in an office and do it through my computer.”
Sosnovske said repairs can also be done in-shop and on-site, if needed.
“At Star Business, our technicians are factory-trained and are certified to provide professional, timely repairs on all the equipment we sell,” he said.
Star Business, located at 3709 Patch St., sells copiers, printers, POS (point of sale) systems, cash registers, security cameras, paper shredders, laminators, etc. and offers toner remanufacturing as well.
The company, Sosnovske said, also services the brands sold by its competitors – Copystar, Kyocera, Samsung, HP, Brother, Fellows, Acroprint and many more.
“We are service-oriented,” he said. “We’d like to get into sales a bit more, but I like to describe us as nimble – we are a smaller organization, so we’re able to adapt our technologies quickly and easily. We offer some advanced copier remote-technology services that I don’t know if other businesses can or do.”
Sosnovske – who grew up in Gleason and attended Merrill High School – obtained an electronics degree from Mid-State Tech.
He came on board to Krebs Business Machines – the company’s former name – as a service technician in 1999 and said he worked under then-owner Marty Krebs for 17 years before he retired.
Over the years, Sosnovske said he’s become quite knowledgeable on all things related to business machines, which has helped Star Business embrace changes as they come – especially so with technology, specifically remote capabilities.
“We can see details inside machines that often let us instantly repair or service clients,” he said. “It often eliminates the need for us to send someone onsite.”
Sosnovske said the technology to fix things remotely “has been around for five or six years” – and continues to evolve.
“The technology is improving all the time,” he said. “I can even run cleanings and calibrations remotely now. People are amazed at what we can do. They say, ‘I’ve got bad copies or poor print.’ With a few clicks of the mouse, I can do the cleaning command, and it’s done.”
Sosnovske said the copiers and other products Star Business sells require the proper built-in technology for remote procedures to work.
“Your run-of-the-mill copy machine from many years ago is incapable of having us make repairs, cleanings, etc. remotely,” he said. “The technology in the machines we sell is specific to the manufacturer who makes the machine.”
Sosnovske said Star Business has a varying, growing customer base.
“We’re trying to build our presence more and more,” he said. “Our advertising is through word of mouth and referrals. We’ve grown significantly, though we’re not out there knocking on doors.”
Sosnovske said it’s not just about copy machines at Star Business.
“We do a lot of POS and cash registers,” he said. “To my knowledge, there are very few or no local providers for that in our state. Oftentimes, when bars or restaurants need a POS, they go online or we can be on-site to help them – train them, install the machines, ‘hold their hand’ through the process, etc. – that’s one of our niches.”
Star Business, Sosnovske said, currently has a small but mighty team of five employees – with the potential of adding a sixth soon.
“We have a big footprint for the size of our company,” he said. “We cover most of the state and some in the Midwest.”
Where the industry is going
Sosnovske said if he knew where the industry was going in the future, “I’d be a millionaire.”
“(What does the future hold), that’s a great question,” he said. “We’re going to continue to see improvements in data management, workflows, etc. – allowing people to do more with AI (artificial intelligence) processors.”
Some of Star Business’s copiers, Sosnovske said, have “smart document management built in already.”
“The machines can process documents based on the content of the document automatically,” he said. “For example, if I scan an enrollment form for this service, it can determine what the document is and perform tasks automatically that would normally require human intervention. It can do all sorts of things automatically behind the scenes.”
Sosnovske said he anticipates that AI in the industry will continue to evolve.
“It will save companies time and money in the future because it requires less personnel,” he said.
A bit of history
According to the company’s website (starbusinessmachines.com), the company – as mentioned originally Krebs Business Machines – was established in 1983 by former president Krebs, a former service technician for Sentry Insurance.
Sosnovske said Krebs saw a need in the community for a full-service office machine repair shop and started a business out of his home.
From these beginnings, he said Krebs grew the business with technological advancements in document management.
With new technologies, Sosnovske said, came the need to incorporate new services – as new different types of equipment were introduced.
Seizing opportunities in toner cartridge remanufacturing, Sosnovske said the company began offering substantial savings to customers by installing a state-of-the-art toner remanufacturing facility.
The ability to offer printer repair and toner remanufacturing, Sosnovske said, led to the company’s service-backed guarantee with toner cartridges.
Ever evolving, the Sosnovskes purchased the company in January 2016 – therein changing the name to Star Business Machines, Inc.
