First Technology Capital, Inc. Announces the Acquisition of NRI Data and Business Products of Morrisville, PA.

In a move aimed at expanding its nucleus of products and solutions, First Technology Capital, Inc. (FTC) of Versailles, KY today announced the acquisition of NRI Data and Business Products (NRI) of Morrisville, PA. NRI is engaged in the sale and distribution of printer and check sorting supplies, information technology hardware products and managed printer solutions. Mr. James L. Bates, President of FTC said, “FTC has for years been primarily engaged in providing banks around the world with solutions for their item and remittance processing needs. This has included new and used equipment, leasing alternatives, data center moves and consolidations, hardware remarketing and business continuity solutions.” Mr. John Ratliff, Senior Vice President at FTC then added, “The addition of NRI affords FTC the opportunity to leverage our strong relationships and national presence to expand NRI from a super-regional provider of supplies, hardware and services into a national provider.”

Mr. Phillip Lanctot, Jr., CEO of the emerging company Aserdiv, Inc. indicated that the sale of NRI provides Aserdiv with a number of opportunities. “The working capital gained by the sale of our supplies, hardware and printer services division will be used to help Aserdiv rapidly grow our current array of high technology professional services,” said Mr. Lanctot. “In addition, one of the reasons we chose FTC as our buyer was that we expect to have a strong working relationship going forward that will enable us to offer a number of project oriented professional services solutions to FTC’s customer base. We also feel that Aserdiv can be instrumental in helping FTC make NRI a national provider of services.”

Details of the acquisition were not disclosed other than the effective date will be April 1st, 2008.

About First Technology Capital, Inc.

FTC buys, sells, and leases new, used and refurbished banking equipment manufactured by IBM, Unisys, NCR, BancTec and others. As Check 21 continues to change the equipment needs of the financial services industry, so has FTC modified its lease portfolio to better meet those needs. FTC also has a Parts and Engineering business designed to provide manufacturer, equipment refurbishers, third party maintenance companies and end-users with online access to parts needed during maintenance and refurbishment processes. FTC also offers a comprehensive array of Business Continuity Services primarily aimed at the financial services industry. FTC offers state of the art item and remittance processing recovery solutions as well as workarea continuity environments. With facilities in Cherry Hill, NJ, suburban Atlanta, GA and suburban Phoenix, AZ, FTC is well positioned to handle multiple disasters or regional outages.

Corporate offices are located in Versailles, Kentucky with additional sales and service offices in Chicago, Atlanta, New York, New Jersey, Phoenix, and, Florida.

About Aserdiv, Inc.

Aserdiv, Inc. offers total technology project management with the speed, flexibility, foresight, and resourcefulness to meet your IT project needs. We configure, integrate, and install a broad range of advanced computer hardware, software, network systems, and services. Aserdiv anticipates and manages problems before they arise to dramatically reduce the time and cost associated with missed deadlines and poor communication. We are the partner of choice for companies seeking reduced risk, greater cost reduction, and increased revenue generation from their technology investments.

Corporate offices are located in Springfield, Pennsylvania with additional offices in Morrisville, Pennsylvania and Norwood, Massachusetts.

NRI phils network needs

Adam Stone
Special to the Business Journal

MORRISVILLE – After all this time, after all the promises, things stay pretty much the same.

"There seems to be a whole lot of pain when it comes to computers," said Phil Lanctot, Jr. "For small and mid-sized business, at the highest level, what they buy does not do what they intended it to do. Their networks are insecure. They get hit with viruses. Systems are just not as consistent as they had expected."

Bad news for business, but good news for Lanctot, who as CEO of Morrisville-based NRI has helped to build a thriving enterprise by smoothing out the never-ending wrinkles in business technology. Founded by Phil Lanctot Sr. in 1975, NRI has grown from 30 employees in 1988 to 50 today, and revenue has climbed steadily since Junior took the helm four years ago.

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NRI Ranks High in Print Solutions Magazine

The June 2004 issue of Print Solutions Magazine ranked NRI #11 of the Top 100 Distributors in North America.
This upward movement of two slots from last year’s ranking came during a year of economic uncertainty and conservative spending. NRI’s sales revenue produced a strong showing against tough competition in this year’s Print Solutions’ industry review.

This ranking is a direct reflection of NRI’s reputation for stellar service and sales of highly effective print solutions for you, our valued customers.

You can count on NRI to build on our proven track record of commitment to product knowledge and customer service as we head into another successful Fall season.

http://www.formmag.com/issues/june03/cover2.html

On Business | The hard work of letting go of power

As a Bucks County family firm has learned, allowing the younger generation to take the reins can be painful.
By Peter Binzen
Inquirer Columnist

The toughest challenge facing founders of family businesses may not involve technological change or profitable operations. It may simply involve letting go.

Letting go is not always simple. Phil Lanctot Sr., 62, who founded NRI Data & Business Products Inc. in Morrisville in 1975, has discovered just how painful the process can be.

Four years ago, he stepped down after 25 years as NRI's chief executive officer. Begun as a recycler of high-speed computer ribbon, the company is now a distributor of computer equipment and data storage systems.

View entire article...

Proactive Recovery: Protect Your Technology Before Disaster Strikes

By Beth Drost

Blackout 2003 cost businesses millions of dollars due to system halts and permanent data loss. This bizarre event was unexpected, taking its victims by surprise. Weeks later, Hurricane Isabel moved further north than most hurricanes do, running up the disaster tab even higher as it caused a number of sporadic power outages. Following the hurricane has been a series of unusual and catastrophic weather events across the country, each posing a threat to businesses.

American businesses are bracing themselves for winter, wondering what might be next.

Far too many businesses are not prepared to stand up to disasters such as long-term power outages or fallout from unusual natural occurrences. While many businesses back up their data, most companies fail to ascertain whether the backup system itself is adequate or fully functional. That revelation is usually made when it is too late.

According to Greg Lanctot, VP of Business Development of NRI Data, with offices in Aston, PA and Morrisville, PA, “The time to respond to disaster is before it occurs, not after. Just as armies prepare for war during peacetime, businesses need to prepare for disaster when the clouds are far beyond the horizon.”

Lanctot advises businesses to review a “SAFETY” checklist to assess how vulnerable their networks are to disaster:

Stability:

Will your critical processes continue to operate in the event of a sustained power outage? What operations must always be up and running? What will it cost you or your customers if those operations fail?

Agility:

What is your network’s disaster tolerance rating? How safe is your network- and from what and for how long? For example, your equipment might be able to sustain a typical interruption in power, but how long could it continue to function during a sustained outage?

Familiarity:

How are your systems mapped? Is critical information stored locally, centrally, or both? Do you really know what is stored where? A surprising number of companies do not realize the amount of critical information that is backed up at individual workstations, never reaching the server. This is often the case in companies who have experienced rapid growth that required the addition of computers.

Energy:

Is your system backed by a secondary energy source? If so, is it truly efficient? Items purchased through an office supply chain might be far less efficient than you realize.

Take action:

Are you prepared to recover before disaster strikes rather than after? Do you have a clearly written and defined disaster plan? Is your technology vendors’ information catalogued and accessible in the event of a disaster? Are those vendors still in business?

Yearly measures:

As with annual health checkups, do you have a program in place to review and analyze your systems on a yearly basis? As companies continue to grow or take on new business, it is easy to lose track of your enterprise wide technology.

“By following these simple but comprehensive steps,” said Lanctot, “businesses can drastically reduce loss potential and perhaps legal liabilities that could result from the unexpected.”

Beth Drost is a public relations specialist with the Communication Solutions Group, in Jenkintown, PA. Call (215) 884-6499.