sharp electronics group 40 years of business

Saturday, May 26, 2012 NEWCASTLE HERALD B 1

Print Solutions - Point of Sale - Office Products - Office Furniture - Promotional Products - Service Centre

THANK YOUto all our local business partners for your kind support over the last 40 years.

OUR BRANDS

TrendOfficeELECTRONICS GROUP

www.sharpnew.com.au

Call us on (02) 4962 1313 to discuss all your business needs.

TrendOffice

A Newcastle Herald advertising feature

2 B NEWCASTLE HERALD Saturday, May 26, 2012

Congratulations to the Sharp

Electronics Group from the team at

Peter McInnes. Sharp have been valued partner of Peter McInnes for

many years.

Peter McInnes Pty Ltd was founded in 1964and is still family owned and operated today.

Peter McInnes distributes world class quality brands suchas KitchenAid, Vitamix, Zero Japan, Profiline & much more.

For more information, visit petermcinnes.com.au

A big thank you to the Sharp teamfor your continued support.

G5130160AA-26May

ELECTRONICS GROUP

G5133486AA-26May

Sharp Electronics Newcastle 40th AnniversaryA Newcastle Herald advertising feature

Startingsmall, thinkingbig

SWITCHED ON: SharpElectronic groupmanaging directorJohn Duncan andgeneral managerGeorge Tuntevski.

BACK in the early 1970s the electroniccalculator was a bit of a novelty.

But, in the business world, it wasalso a must-have.

Back in the early 1970s John Duncanwas an enthusiastic and ambitiousyoung salesman who made his livingselling electronic calculators aroundNewcastle.

His main sales competitor was anequally keen young man whose salesedge was that he was selling Sharpcalculators.

It was when the company with theSharp dealership went out of businessthat fate stepped in.

The two one-time sales rivalsformed a partnership and thefoundation was laid for what wouldgrow to be the Sharp ElectronicsGroup.

Their first product? The Sharpelectronic calculator.

‘‘In those days a calculator with aprinter and display would sell foraround $4000,’’ Mr Duncan recalled.

‘‘Even the cheapest version – andthere was no such thing as a little,pocket-version calculator back then –sold for $400 or $500.’’

It was the start of a whole new era ofelectronics in business.

As the range of Sharp products grew,so too did the local company whichstarted in two rooms of a house inAdamstown.

There was the plain paperphotocopier, then the electric cashregister, electric typewriters andeventually the revolutionary facsimilemachine.

The dealership outgrew its crampedsuburban surroundings and relocatedto a building opposite the Post Officein Brunker Road at Adamstown.

About eight years later came theshift to a building in Lambton Road atBroadmeadow; then, in June 1995, theshift into a purpose-builtheadquarters a little further alongLambton Road.

Mr Duncan has been the soleoperator since buying out his businesspartner in 1989.

Business has flourished.Today the Sharp Electronics Group

is acknowledged as the number twoSharp photocopier dealer inAustralia.



Businessplanbuiltonserviceandrange

LONGEVITY: Sharp Electronics Group is a business-to-business operation servicing Newcastle and the Hunter.

THE pocket calculator is along way removed from itsbulky forefather which helpedrevolutionise business andaccounting practices.

And Broadmeadow-basedSharp Electronics Group is along way removed from thetwo-man business it was40 years ago.

Managing director JohnDuncan has been there sinceday one.

His successful businessphilosophy is based onproduct, service and staff.

A combination of the best ofall three has ensured longevityin a competitive marketplace.

‘‘We’re essentiallya business-to-business operationservicingNewcastle and theHunter outto Murrurundi andnorth to

Nelson Bay,’’ MrDuncan said.‘‘Our growth andsuccess is

aligned with thegrowth andsuccess of theSharp range ofproducts.

‘‘And we’ve got the right staffwho know the productsensuring the establishmentand maintenance of long-termrelationships with many of ourcustomers.’’

Specialising in service andrepair, the Sharp ElectronicsGroup is also authorisedwarranty agents for mostmajor brands of copiers andprinters.

A fleet of vehicles meansfast response to customers.

‘‘We have sophisticatedcomputerised systems and ourtechnicians are all authorisedrepairers,’’ Mr Duncan said.


Sharp Newcastle 40th AnniversaryA Newcastle Herald advertising feature

Staff ready toget feetwet ifhelp isneeded

FLOOD TIDE: Goodtimes or bad,success depends oncommitted staff.

THE backbone of anysuccessful businessenterprise is its staff.

The managing director ofSharp Electronics Group,John Duncan, said his staffand the businessrelationships they had builtwith customers were a vitalpart of the company’s survivalover the past 40 years.

‘‘Success is very muchlinked to encouraging andpromoting the success of yourcustomers,’’ Mr Duncan said.

‘‘And that’s where good staffare so important. I’ve beenfortunate in that regard.

‘‘Many of the people withthe company today have beenwith us for many years.’’

The Newcastle born andbred businessman has seenthe Sharp Electronics Groupgrow into a thriving operation.

‘‘I’d say that, both directlyand indirectly, the businessnow supports 200 or morepeople,’’ he said.

Marketing manager ThomasRabl said the co-operativespirit of Sharp Electronics

Group staff was never moreclearly evident than whenheavy rain broughtwidespread flooding in 2007.

‘‘Our staff all put in a lot ofwork on the long weekend ofthe floods to make sure thatwe were ready to go back towork the following Tuesday,’’Mr Rabl said.

ELECTRONICS GROUP

Proudly supplying

for over 40 years

Sharp Corporation of Australia Pty Ltd.

sharp.net.au



Officesolutions tailored to fit

CARING FOR CUSTOMERS: Service manager Tony Minehan and senior copier engineer Andrew Hair. Picture: Anita Jones

THE Sharp Electronics Group isabout much more than the sale,service and maintenance of themachinery that keeps an officefunctioning.

It was in 2001 that a local officeproducts business was acquired.

In the decade that followed thatdivision expanded six-fold.

Now known as OfficeTrend, it’s abusiness within a business.

OfficeTrend was originallypositioned in the niche market ofthe small to medium business.

‘‘It was positioned there becausethis was the marketplace that wasliterally being overcharged andunder serviced as a result of thelarge corporate stationers sellingtheir product into the largebusiness sector at very lowmargins,’’ managing director JohnDuncan said.

‘‘This created the need for thosesame suppliers to attempt to makemargin from the unsuspectingsmall to medium marketplace.

‘‘OfficeTrend has and always willbelieve that every companydeserves the very best that we cangive, in service and in price’’.

Successful systems andprocesses were developed througha continuous improvementprogram.

Achievements within the smallto medium marketplace gaveOfficeTrend the confidence tobuild into the large corporatesector.

‘‘As a result of needing to offer anational solution to many of ourclients we have aligned ourbusiness with the ASA Group, anational buying group withmembers in each state and leadingregional areas,’’ Mr Duncan said.

‘‘This gives OfficeTrend theability to offer our successfulstrategies on a national basis.

‘‘It is pleasing to see that even inthe large corporate sector that theemphasis on customer servicewith fair pricing both on and offcontract is being very wellreceived with the fact that manylarge businesses are nowbenefiting from a partnership withOfficeTrend.’’


Congratulations to

the Sharp Electronics

Group,

Custom Fluidpower’s

preferred copier

supplier, on 40 years

in business.

G5125884AA-26May

Contact Wilson & Co Lawyers for advice on

[email protected]


Pointandclicksalesanswers

HELPFUL: Scott Roberts, of Sharp’s Print Solutions division, and mechanical sidekick.

ON TOP OF IT ALL:

Marketing managerThomas Rabl.

THE Sharp Electronics Group has developedits own point of sales software.

Since 2000 the organisation has beenworking closely to create a simple yet intuitivesystem of managing day-to-day business,increasing efficiency and profitability andeffectively managing and targetingmembership schemes.

The Sharp Electronics Newcastle Point ofSale (SENPOS) boasts ease of use, reliability,speed and an extensive range of features.

SENPOS is designed for the hospitalityindustry, with software solutions purpose-builtfor food and beverage operations in clubs,restaurants and entertainment venues of allsizes.

The unique stand-alone/online

configuration of the system makes pricechanges, adding new items, reorganisingkeyboard layouts and generating sales reportsas simple as pointing and clicking with themouse.

SENPOS Advantage builds on this originalphilosophy with an updated user interface,increasing functionality to both increaseprofits and boost efficiency.

SENPOS is the ultimate mix of the latesthardware advances and insightful software.

SENPOS Advantage offers state-of-the-art,up-to-date and accurate stock control.

The latest update allows for increasedefficiency and features an advancedmembership module as well as an integratedpromotions and marketing module.

Celebrating 40 years of business

and continuing to support

Australian made copy paper.

Reflex congratulates Sharp Electronics Group.

AU

ST

41

88

For more information come into Sharp Electronics Group celebrating it’s 40th year of business


9 James Street, Toronto

Toronto Workers Club would like to congratulate

Sharp Electronic Groupfor 40 years of business.

Thank you for your contribution to our club.

--------------------Modern Facilities, Restaurant and Coffee Shop, Members Promotions,

Sporting Facilities, West Lake Macquarie’s Premier Entertainment Venue.

G5147130AA-26May


Partnerswith thewholecommunity

TEAM PLAYERS: Sharp Electronics sponsors Broadmeadow Magic.

‘‘We consider ourselvestheir business partnersrather than our customers.’’

‘‘WORKING Together Locally’’ is themotto of the Sharp ElectronicsGroup.

By taking the phrase to heart, thecompany and its employees haveenjoyed four decades of growth andbusiness success.

Marketing manager Thomas Rablsaid the organisation took pride inthe fact that it provided ongoingemployment for many local people.

‘‘We recently employed a few staff

from a multinational competitorwhich had made all of theirNewcastle branch redundant,’’Mr Rabl said.

‘‘They were looking to cut costs andwork on a national level, rather thanat local level, which is our focus.

‘‘We still believe it is important tohave interpersonal relationshipswith our customers.

‘‘We saw this as an opportunity toemploy the skills of those workersinto our business in the sameindustry.’’

Thinking local also means

supporting local sporting teams.The Sharp Electronics Group

backs the local Hunter RugbyLeague, Broadmeadow Magic andNewcastle Basketball.

The company has also been a long-time supporter of the WestpacRescue Helicopter.

‘‘As a business-to-businesscompany we believe in workingtogether with other businesses inour local area to find the rightsolution for their organisation,’’Mr Rabl said.

‘‘We consider ourselves theirbusiness partners rather than ourcustomers.

‘‘Our goal is to help themstreamline their business activitiesthrough the supply of print solutions,procurement of office products andany other of our business divisions.

‘‘The objective is to allow ourcustomers to focus on their corebusiness effectively, rather thanmanaging their large array ofdifferent suppliers for theirorganisation.’’

Ph: 4929 7941We are proud to be

associated withSharp Electronics

and we wish them a further 40 years ofsuccess in business.

G5150830AA-26May

ED Offi ce Productswould like tocongratulate

John and the Teamat Sharp Electronics

NewcastleHappy 40th Year

in Business

www.edoffi ce.com.auG5150815AA-26May

Congratulating

Sharp Electronics on 40 Years in Business

G5148876AA-26May



Task tool ticksall theboxes

WELL RECEIVED: The new Sharp LCD Electronic Whiteboard has a wide range of communication functions.

THE Sharp LCD Electronic Whiteboard had its firstlocal showing at the recent Hunter Business ReviewExpo.

Marketing manager for the Sharp Electronics Group,Thomas Rabl, said the new business tool was wellreceived.

‘‘A versatile multi-tasker developed specifically forSharp touchscreen LCD monitors, it can be used as atouch-control presentation tool, as interactive digitalsignage, and as part of a video conferencing system thatenables smooth real-time exchanges between remotelocations,’’ Mr Rabl said.

‘‘And it was designed with user friendliness in mind.‘‘For easy access, the power ON/OFF button is

located on the lower front of the monitor, and the input/output terminals are vertically aligned on one side ofthe monitor.’’

Mr Rabl said the electronic whiteboard featuredoutstanding image quality.

‘‘For the display of bright whites, vivid colours, anddeep blacks, the LCD panel incorporate Sharptechnology which ensures highly efficient backlightingand prevents light leakage.

‘‘The full-array LED backlight and the edge-lit LEDbacklight provide easy readability and reliableperformance – all with low power consumption.’’

With its large screen and high image quality, theelectronic whiteboard puts business and classroomcommunications on high-impact, interactive displayand gives video conference participants a true, sharedsense of “being there” – regardless of actual distanceapart, Mr Rabl said.

‘‘Once documents created on any applicationsoftware have been imported as images and displayedon the touchscreen, users can quickly write and drawdirectly on the screen surface using the touch pen or afinger.

‘‘Screen images can be enlarged or rotated andhandwritten notations such as text and drawings can beselected and moved around.

‘‘What’s more, everything on the screen can be savedor exported for printout, making it easy to keepaccurate records of brainstorming sessions andmeetings.’’

sharp electronics group 40 years of business

Documents