(Service Manager, Tyler Office)  Justin Harper knew next to nothing about fixing copiers when he arrived 16 years ago. But he was instantly fascinated by the broken ones.

“Every single machine became a new challenge for me,” Justin says. “What can I do to see if I can actually fix it?”

His fascination transcended to pure hustle. Beginning in the delivery department, delivering toner and un-boxing machines, to delivering machines to then setting them up. A year later, after getting the opportunity to troubleshoot machines in-house, Justin was promoted to technician.

In November 2015, he was named Field Service Manager and has since overseen technicians in the Tyler marketplace.

Justin says he’s literally grown up – personally and professionally – under the roof of then-East Texas Copy Systems and now Datamax.

"I’ve been here a long time, and I’ve grown a lot because this place has helped foster that maturity and development,” Justin says.

What led me to Datamax?

Justin’s mom’s best friend was a receptionist here, and mentioned an opening in delivery. Justin jumped on the opportunity.

“My first impression was that it was so family oriented and friendly. That stood out from the very beginning,” Justin said. “I didn’t know anything about anything around here at first. But I wanted to learn more. In our spare time, a former co-worker and me would set up machines when things were slow. We’d take them apart, put them back together, all the basic stuff.”

His hunger - and his hustle - only grew from there. 

My experiences at Datamax:

“Honestly, at first I looked at this as a job and not a career,” Justin said. “But by the time I moved into the shop, my fascination really grew with this business and these machines, and I started to realize the potential this could have for me professionally.”

In January 2018, after the acquisition of East Texas Copy Systems, Justin immediately realized the symmetry that existed between the two organizations.

“Everyone (at Datamax) was more than willing to help. Director of Service Steve Kennemer made it very well known that if we needed anything service wise, let’s put our minds together and figure it out… it gave me the feeling that they were just as family oriented as we were before.”

What makes me want to stay at Datamax?

Justin says he admires and respects the relationships that have been constructed over the years, particularly with VP of Operations Stephen Hampton, whom he works closely with on a daily basis.

But for him, it’s more than just a job … or even a career.

“I love what I do, and I love the people I do it for,” Justin says. “I’ve known many of these customers for 16 years. They are customers but they’re also friends outside of this company. I’ve played sports with them, our kids play sports together. It’s more than a job. It’s a community. It’s the people that we know.”