Office supply company flies high: going the extra mile for customers in northwestern Ontario means just that.

• Author: Ross, Ian
• Position: DRYDEN/KENORA - Company overview

The longevity behind Wilson's Business Solutions is one that stands on bui lding solid relationships one customer at a time.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

'Service Built Us' is the mantra of the Wilson family that has made the company a stalwart of the Dryden community since 1940.

Their coverage area extends from the Manitoba border to Thunder Bay, serving the remote Northern communities and running as far south as Fort Frances on the U.S. border.

"This is all I've known," said company president Greg Wilson. "People want to move away and can't wait to get out of a small town, I've never had that feeling. Dryden's a great place to raise family."

The Wilson family's presence began when Greg's Scottishborn uncle, Alex, moved to Dryden from Winnipeg in 1940 and bought the local newspaper, the Dryden Observer. He also established a major printing company, Alex Wilson Coldstream.

In 1978, Greg's dad, Roy Wilson, bought the small stationary and office equipment downtown and over time have expanded it a 20,000-square-foot storefront and warehouse. Other sales and services outlets were established in Fort Frances (1985), Kenora (1987), Sioux Lookout (1993), Thompson, Man. (1994), Thunder Bay (2000) and Red Lake (2001). Over the years, the company has grown from six employees to 90.

Greg, who started in sales at 21, always worked in the family business during school or during summers selling advertising for their printed tourist maps.

During sales calls on the road, it's meant occasionally subbing as a copier technician.

"You end up doing service because you're up in Pickle Lake and there's no tech to help you and the machine's down, so you become their eyes and hands."

Caring about their small customer base has been their secret of success in beating back the big box competitors. Being part of a cross-Canada buying group helps them compete on price. Wilson's are the distributors for Toshiba, Sharp, Canon, Acer computers and Global office furniture.

Because of geography, going the extra mile for customers meant adding two Cessna aircraft in the 1980s to get their 25 service technicians into those hard-to-reach places.

Said Greg, "We've had to survive by having a service component and getting into computer (sales) and spreading out our product line like outdoor wood furnaces."

The slumping regional...