The OEM named the MPS company as one of its “Best in Class” MPS partners.
MPS Connect reported that HP Inc’s aim is to “recognise top performing MPS partners” across the US, and that FlexPrint came out among the top of the company’s MPS partners. Last September, FlexPrint acquired US remanufacturer Laser Options, and is itself owned by Oval Partners, which includes a former Clover President and Golden Gate Capital staff in its management team.
Oval Partners calls itself a “multi-family office investment firm designed to provide liquidity, growth capital and acquisition funding to founders of growing businesses across North America”, while FlexPrint – founded in 2005 – is said to be the US’ “leading privately-owned enterprise” for MPS and technology services.Oval Partners’ two Managing Directors and Co-Founders – Jake Mizrahi and John Knoll – are both profiled on the company’s website as having been Managing Director and employee of Golden Gate Capital, the investment firm that invested in Clover in 2010.
In turn, Dan Ruhl, another of the company’s partners, was previously President of Clover Technologies, at which the site notes “during Dan’s tenure […] the company grew more than 20 fold and acquired over 30 companies”. Last November, Oval Partners also acquired ProCopy Office Solutions, another MPS provider, and The Recycler recently reported on FlexPrint’s “explosive” growth strategy.
Dion Weisler, CEO of HP Inc, said in an interview that the company’s plan was to “double down with their channel partners” using a new sales coverage model that is more befitting of the “services-led era” and also stated that “our channel partners are getting fairly sophisticated. They are understanding customer behaviours. They are looking to add real value.
“And when they pair their capabilities with the technology that we bring to market, that is when the magic really happens. From my perspective, they are just going to do a better job in servicing those customers than what we could do. They will add additional value”. The HP MPS Best in Class Partners programme is one of the goals established.
Mimi Evenson, US MPS Channel Manager for HP Inc, said: “We are proud to recognise partners like FlexPrint, who continue to place a focus on the customer, and add additional value. Their leadership and national business model in the managed print space help drive superior support and service that our customers expect, and they are at the forefront of shaping the MPS industry.”
Corey Rivard, Vice President of Sales Operations at FlexPrint, commented: “It is an honour to be listed as one of HP’s MPS Best In Class partners. With HP, we’ve greatly expanded our business over the years, and they have successfully supported us all the way. We sincerely look forward to continuing our strong partnership, support HP’s channel initiatives of adding more value to customers, and exponentially growing our national managed print platform.”