Company: Mail Processing Concepts, Inc.
President: Ralph Del Monico
Location: 89 Commercial Way, East Providence
Type of business: Direct marketing and media services company
Year founded: 1995
Employees: 53
Annual revenues: WND
There may be no trace of the anthrax virus in the Rhode Island mail system, but for one local business owner the threat is very real.
With a half million pieces of mail going through his East Providence facility daily, Ralph Del Monico, president of Mail Processing Concepts, a direct market and media service company, is extremely aware of the anthrax threat and what it could do to his business.
“We have definitely had to change some of the ways that we do things here,” he said. “All of the employees are now required to wear gloves, all of the trucks are inspected, overall there is much more security.”
Security, Del Monico said, is his top priority right now because it has to be. Access to the entrance of the building and each of its wings is gained only by entering a security code, visitors are required to wear identification badges, and each of the company’s nine trucks and other trucks entering or leaving the facility are thoroughly checked before gaining access.
“We are a lot more cautious,” he said. “We are in mass production mode here so it’s critically important that we know what is coming in and going out of this facility.”
Since 1995 the company has filled what Del Monico calls a niche in the Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Connecticut market by being a “mailroom outside the office” for a variety of clients ranging from the Fortune 100 companies to smaller mom-and-pop type organizations.
“We like to think of it as taking over the mailroom from here,” he said. “We are an extension of the mailroom by picking up the mail, sorting it, bar-coding it, and sending it to the post office for our clients.”
It’s a concept Del Monico said had been steadily growing in popularity over the last few years, but has surged as a result of recent world events.
“People are calling, and we have been busier because of the recent mail scenario,” he said. “I don’t think that people want to handle their mail anymore, especially with the looming anthrax situation. A lot of companies don’t want the liability.”
According to Del Monico, aside from the recent safety benefits, there are other positive reasons for companies to out source their mail services, including the price.
“We co-mingle everyone’s mail and then take it the post office,” he said. “We get a discount depending on the volume and then split that between ourselves and the client. Companies also save because they no longer have to lease their own mailroom equipment. So, to me it’s a win-win situation.”
With three mail sorters running down the back of the warehouse, an insertion machine in another corner, an addressing machine against another wall, and scales and bar coding machines in between, the inside of the Mail Processing Concept facility looks more like a post office than a business.
That’s just the way Del Monico likes it.
“This is a really capital intensive business,” he said. “We have made huge investments in our machinery and it’s the same type of thing that you find in the regular post office.”
But, Del Monico said his business doesn’t compete directly with the post office.
“We are a source of revenue for the postal system,” he said. “We are pulling a lot of their customers into one and providing a larger volume.”
In addition, Del Monico said, there are some stark differences between the two. Not only can Mail Processing Concepts stamp, address and send a company’s mail, it can also design mass mailing campaigns, insert materials into individually addressed envelopes, periodically update a company’s mailing list, and even track how much mail a company sends out each month.
“Mail is a very sensitive issue for a lot of companies and we are aware of that,” Del Monico said. “We started with the bar-code sorting and have expanded from there based on the needs of our clients. It’s really worked out well for us.”
Today, the company’s biggest challenge is deciding what to do next. Not wanting to discuss specifics, Del Monico said there are plans in the works for the company to “either expand or acquire another business” in the Boston area.
“We started really going about three years ago, and in the last two years we have more than doubled our sales,” he said. “What, when, where and how quickly will we continue at the pace I can’t really say. But I will say that today’s market is a good one for us.”
As for the anthrax threat, Del Monico said, he doesn’t think the situation can get much worse than it already is.
“I don’t think that it’s going to get any worse,” he said. “People are more aware today of what is going on and I think that is going to be a big part of the solution.”
