VISUAL EDGE TECHNOLOGY INC. ACQUIRES COPECO INC.

North Canton, Ohio, September 6, 2005. Visual Edge Technology Inc. (VisualEdge) announced today that it has added to its family of imaging solutions companies with the acquisition of Copeco Inc., a premier dealer of Sharp copiers and office equipment in Northeast Ohio. Copeco, which will retain its name and locations, was founded in 1971 and has 56 sales and service employees covering over 3,000 customers in 11 counties surrounding its North Canton headquarters.

Visual Edge Technology President and Chief Executive Officer, Mark Lewis said,
“This is a win-win for all of our enterprises since the Copeco team adds a tremendous wealth of office solutions expertise and a truly deep commitment to customer service that is the most important of our shared principles. This is a highly complementary combination of talents that creates immediate synergies and powerful sales and service opportunities to deliver state-of-the-art imaging and office solutions to our customers in support of our Northeastern Ohio core market strategy.”

Copeco President and CEO, Thomas A. Schiltz, will become a consultant to VisualEdge and Tom Masterson, Copeco COO, who has been managing the day-to-day operations of the company, will become VP/General Manager and report directly to Mr. Lewis. Mr. Schiltz said, “It is extremely satisfying to be able to turn the company over to such a vibrant, growing organization. VisualEdge brings a creative, supportive and growth-enhancing environment filled with opportunities for our employees, vendors and customers.”

Mr. Masterson added, “Our reputation for sales and service excellence will grow even stronger under the stewardship of Visual Edge Technology and on behalf of all the employees at Copeco, we look forward to employing our talents and expertise to contribute substantially to the profitable growth of the corporation.”

Mr. Lewis added, “This acquisition puts Visual Edge Technology right on our external growth target and positions the company for future growth, while maximizing shareholder value.”

This becomes the latest milestone in VisualEdge’s strategic goal to acquire well-managed companies distributing leading-edge, office and wide format imaging technology solutions in core and satellite markets. Other top industry performers that VisualEdge owns include its subsidiary Graphic Enterprises Inc. (GEI), which consists of GEI CalGraph, a premier North American service provider, GEI Office Solutions, a leading reseller of Konica-Minolta, Kyocera, and Muratec equipment serving Northeast Ohio and GEI Wide Format Solutions which operates across all of North America and markets its own products and those sourced from major manufacturers. It is the master distributor for the Kyocera wide format line and Colortrac SmartLF scanners.

Over the past eighteen months, Visual Edge Technology has been successfully acquiring leading companies distributing office and wide format imaging solutions in North America. These strategic acquisitions combined with solid internal growth of the wholly-owned subsidiaries have created consistent, profitable growth for VisualEdge in each of the last five fiscal quarters.

About Copeco Inc.:

Formed in 1971 in Canton, OH, Copeco represents both Ricoh and Sharp. Copeco has received the highest awards for sales and service from both manufacturers. The company employs 14 sales representatives, 20 service technicians and 22 support personnel in its Akron, New Philadelphia and North Canton (headquarters) offices. It services over 3,000 customers in Northeast Ohio with an installed equipment base of 3,200 units and over 2,500 service contracts.

About Visual Edge Technology and its subsidiaries:

Visual Edge Technology, Inc. (VisualEdge), headquartered in North Canton, Ohio, was founded in 1986 and has repositioned itself as a successful acquirer of office and wide format imaging technology solutions companies. VisualEdge seeks to acquire well-managed companies that are leaders in their local markets across North America. VisualEdge provides these companies increased purchasing power, access to working capital to accelerate their efforts to capture market share and an opportunity to share in the ownership and growth opportunities of a significantly larger enterprise while retaining local control and marketplace identity.


Investor or Solutions Companies seeking additional information about Visual Edge Technology Inc. please contact:

Mark C. Lewis, CEO, 800-321-9874 ext 225
Gene Jones, Acting CFO, 800-321-9874 ext. 220



 

   
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