Meeting a new generation of printing demand

Two Mountain Brook businessmen have revitalized a small tech company that is transforming the way college students across the country print documents.

WEPA, founded in 2008, was created to address the needs of students in a technological era that requires access to documents via smart phones, tablets and laptops.

How does it work? WEPA uses a cloud-based print system that allows students “on the go” to upload reports and other documents using their mobile devices. They can then print the documents at any WEPA print kiosk located on their college campus or even any WEPA print kiosk across the country.

Although the company is six years old, WEPA didn’t really take off and begin to reach its potential until majority partners Jim Thompson and Philip Crane of Mountain Brook took over in 2012, said Chief Technology Officer Raj Batchu of Vestavia Hills, who has been involved with WEPA since the beginning in 2008. 

“I’ve seen this company from the beginning when it was just an idea in a garage,” he said. “If these two [Thompson and Crane] had not taken over, WEPA would not be the company it is today. They have provided the leadership and business structure that we needed.”

An evolving world in which technology allows folks to access the Internet anywhere has led to WEPA’s growth.

“Students started bringing smart phones, tablets, laptops and other devices everywhere, and we evolved to fill a void,” Batchu said. “Schools didn’t have the technology to adapt to new high-tech devices and that’s where WEPA stepped in.”

WEPA is one of the first printing providers to take cloud-based printing to higher education, Batchu said. “A typical university would be working with three or four parties – a printing company, software company, a paper supplier and a consumable provider. WEPA takes care of all of those needs and more.”

Thompson, who brings four decades of experience in running successful companies, has been partnering with Crane for 19 years in Birmingham. “We believed in this concept, and felt that it was meeting an untapped need in the marketplace,” Thompson said.

WEPA’s typical client is a college that desires to meet the printing needs of today’s students. The company works with 90 colleges across the country, including UAB, George Washington University, Texas Tech University, University of Georgia, University of Arizona and University of Maryland. The company also partners with three local high schools, Mountain Brook, Hoover and Shades Valley. Altogether WEPA’s 900 kiosks print out in excess of 1 million pages per week.

“We have nearly a million registered users, and the numbers are growing every week. The potential is unlimited,” Cane said, noting there are thousands of colleges across the country that could utilize their services.

Batchu said WEPA is heavily focused on the northeastern United States but in 2015 “our focus is on our backyard in the Southeast.”

 Crane said WEPA’s game plan calls for “controlled, meaningful growth” with strategic university partners. “Our long-term goal is to become the nation’s leading provider of print services on college campuses,” he said.

 Crane said WEPA’s success has been based on partnerships built with universities across the country. “We are not a sell-and-depart company. It is a true relationship that we foster and develop over time. WEPA stays on the forefront of technology to continue offering innovative and creative ways to enhance student printing needs on campus.”  

The biggest advantages WEPA offers, Crane said, is highly secured printing services that provide peace of mind and top customer service.

“Our kiosks are stand-alone units allowing colleges to offer them in easy-to-find locations for students, just like ATMs,” he said. “I am proud to be locally owned. Our kiosks are built here in Alabaster, and we are proud that our supplier is a local entity, EBSCO.”

For more information, visit wepanow.com.