Budco Backgrounder
The Brian Unlimited Distribution Company should be referred to as Budco.
Founded in 1982 by Bud Brian, Budco is based in Highland Park, MI. The marketing services company specializes in the design and execution of initiatives that build dialogue between an organization and its customers. Budco's in-house marketing competencies are as follows: Contact Center, Creative Services, CD Duplication, Digital Print, Financial Services, Fulfillment, Information Technologies, Lettershop & Finishing Services, Mailing Services, Printing & Production, Research & Development, and Warehousing and Inventory Management.
Brian established Budco following the purchase of D.W. Hacker, a printing and distribution company with 15 employees and gross sales of $800,000. Budco initially focused primarily on providing warehousing and fulfillment services to several local customers.
Over the years, Budco's service capabilities have expanded greatly to meet the needs of its growing client base. In 1987, Budco created a teleservicing division out of its limited hotline operations. In 1990, Brian purchased Comspec, a marketing and creative company, bringing creative capabilities to the company.
Budco's evolution included the addition of Budco's interactive department in 1995, with capabilities for the development of Internet, Intranet and other Web-based applications. In 1996, Budco added a digital print center, which combined duplicating and laser printing technologies.
That same year, Budco became ISO 9001-certified, demonstrating an adherence to international standards of quality. This quality focus translates into an emphasis on quantifying progress toward meeting customer expectations and producing measurable results.
In 1999, William Henry, the former President and CEO of the Stroh Brewery Company, Detroit, joined Budco as its President and CEO. This addition brought important outside expertise to the company and positioned it for aggressive future growth. Bud Brian became chairman.
The company continued its expansion by acquiring TPH Graphics, Detroit. This organization was integrated into the Creative Services unit. Budco then joined forces with DiMarco/Cole, a mid-size advertising and creative agency from the east side of Detroit. This move enhanced creative capabilities even further to include TV, radio, and media advertising.
In 1999, in an attempt to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of its operations and also to be able to provide clients with world-class resources, Budco broke ground for its state-of-the-art World Headquarters in Highland Park, MI, approximately six miles outside of downtown Detroit.
In May 2000 Budco began relocating its 400+ regular employees and temporary staff to this building.
The Budco World Headquarters is 362,000 square feet in size. This includes over 252,000 square feet of warehousing and operational space featuring 30-foot-high ceilings, allowing the company to take advantage of the most modern storage methods and accommodate over 26,000 full pallet locations. It also includes 110,000 square feet of administrative office space with a 400-seat call center.
The building took first place honors in the New Construction Awards Competition 2000 sponsored by Commercial Building magazine.
During this period, the company maintained its lease on a building on West Jefferson Avenue in Detroit. Budco has occupied this 180,000 square foot facility, devoted to warehousing and distribution, since 1993.
In July 2002, Budco purchased a building adjacent to its property in Highland Park. This 202,000 square foot facility, devoted primarily to warehousing and distribution, was purchased to accommodate the significant growth that the company had experienced since its move to Highland Park, two years prior.
The company "rolled out" the Budco Campus in November 2002. The Campus comprises Budco's three locations - Budco West on Oakland Avenue, Budco East on Victor Street and Budco South on Jefferson Avenue. In total, the company has 744,000 - nearly ¾ million - square feet of space.
In 2003, Budco's Quality Operating System received the new ISO 9001:2000 Certification designation. This new quality standard was introduced by the International Organization for Standardization in 2000, and requires a more customer-centric approach to quality than the ISO standard that had been in existence since 1994.
Also in 2003, Budco, which had been looking at the Canadian market for quite some time, entered into a venture with Pareto Corporation, Toronto, Ontario to establish Pareto Dialogue, Inc., a company devoted to distribution in the Canadian marketplace. Pareto Dialogue, Inc. is located in Mississauga, Ontario, outside of Toronto.
In 2004, Budco was also recognized as an outstanding corporate citizen by the State of Michigan Governor's Office as a finalist for the Governor's Service Award. This demonstrates that by focusing on "The Right Things," good things will come our way.
Budco received a 2005 Stevie Award for Best Overall Company, up to 2,500 employees. This is part of the American Business Awards competition, the first and only all-encompassing program that recognizes excellence in the workplace.
On March 6, 2006, Budco was sold to a group of Toronto-based investors, led by Perry Miele, a veteran in the integrated marketing communications business. Perry Miele became the chairman of the company; Bud continues to be involved in the organization as vice chairman; Bill Henry continued to be president & CEO.
In addition Terry Niles began her tenure at Budco in August 2006 as Executive Vice President, Sales and Marketing. Under her leadership, the company added a number of new clients in the health care, pharmaceutical, information technologies, retail, and transportation industries.
In 2008 after the retirement of Bill Henry, Terry Niles was named President of Budco in March. In this role, she oversees overall functioning of the company, integration of the wide range of product and service offerings, and strategic growth. Budco has continued to expand in multiple arenas, particularly in information technologies, digital print, and fulfillment and distribution services. New IT products include launch of the Budco Brand Management Platform, which is an extensible, Web-based data warehouse that facilitates brand campaigns and loyalty programs through application of sophisticated customer relationship management techniques. To verify the security of personal and business information, Budco successfully completed the SAS 70 (Statement on Auditing Standards) Type 1 evaluation, involving an in-depth analysis of control activities, including firewall configuration, database access, data transmission, data backup and recovery, application security, product development, hardware provisioning, physical security/proximity access, and personnel.
To facilitate the types of personalized communications often driven by detailed business intelligence and customer relationship management, Budco added a third Xerox iGen digital printing platform.
The fulfillment and distribution competency is further strengthened by the addition of such high-end equipment as the Axode camera vision system to verify accuracy of collation and an accumulating folder for use with assignments requiring assembly of multiple printed pieces. Simultaneously, upgrades to inventory management and warehousing systems keep pace with increasingly stringent client requirements in these areas.
Also in this year, a comprehensive long term strategic business plan is developed and rolled out to the organization through a series of Town Hall meetings. The plan focuses on a continued vigilance to drive innovation and details ten specific strategies and tactics to grow and improve the business.
2009 was a year of continued success and positive recognition for Budco on a variety of levels. New client relationships were formed in the pharmaceutical, consumer packaged goods and retail industries. The organization continued its investment in new technology with upgrades to our Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system and expansion of our eCommerce management platform. These investments will drive greater efficiency and accountability, as well as allow us to offer expanded capabilities and functionality that will improve our clients’ business.
Client recognition included receiving a Ford World Excellence Award, as well as being named Wyeth Supplier of the Year for the second year in a row (2008 and 2009).
Industry recognition for outstanding direct mail and multichannel direct marketing performance came from Xerox, as well as multiple Target Awards from the Direct Marketing Association – Detroit (DMAD).
Additionally, Budco achieved ISO re-certification to the newest standard; ISO 2001:2008.
Early in 2010 Budco acquired New Jersey-based Direct Group's Fulfillment and Database Marketing Divisions.
The acquisition strengthens Budco's current fulfillment and database marketing capabilities and expands the organizations overall geographic footprint to provide coast-to-coast coverage.
Prior to the acquisition, Budco's fulfillment and direct marketing operations included three Michigan-based facilities, a California-based strategic fulfillment partner and additional satellite offices in California, New Jersey and Florida. Now, operations will expand to include a fulfillment center located in Robbinsville, New Jersey, and a database management and marketing analytics group located in Piscataway, New Jersey. This provides Budco with complete coast-to-coast operations.
Also in early 2010 Budco's Case Study was featured in PODi's Prestigious 2010 Collection of Digital Print Success Stories with Budco case studies earning Best Practices status.
2011 proved to be another exciting year for Budco. The company continued to improve its fulfillment and direct marketing capabilities in a variety of ways. A new state-of-the-art package scanning process was implemented to improve quality and efficiency and to meet the growing needs of clients. Digital print production and finishing capabilities were also improved by adding the option of UV coating for digitally printed pieces.
In November 2011, private equity firm Glencoe Capital acquired Budco. Glencoe Capital manages the Michigan Opportunities Fund, which makes growth and equity investments in companies that conduct business operations in Michigan or in companies located outside of Michigan that demonstrate a viable strategy for expanding operations into the state. Glencoe has successfully invested more than $1.4 billion in middle-market businesses across North America since 1993. The firm has offices in Chicago, Illinois, and Birmingham, Michigan. Glencoe’s backing provides Budco the ability to accelerate new growth, expand overall capabilities and acquire new customers. Also in November, President Terry Niles was named President and CEO.
