Berney Office Solutions history

1965: Alco Chemical merges with V & V Associates and is renamed Alco Standard Corporation.

From the success of their national paper distributor, Unisource, the company entered into other distribution fields, including pharmaceuticals, steel products, auto parts, foodservice equipment and liquor, and in 1981 witnessed the growth of their distribution to 75 percent of sales.

1987: IOS Capital, Inc., is formed in Macon, Georgia.

In 1992, Alco Standard entered into a joint venture with Europe's IMM Office Systems.

By the end of September 1996, revenues had reached $4.1 billion.

Alco Standard officially changed its name to IKON Office Solutions, Inc., on January 23, 1997, reflecting the company's intention to focus solely on their office technology business.

The company's acquisitive period ended in the second quarter of 1998, and at that time, the Company was structured into three divisions--Business Services, Document Services, and Technology Services.

In 1999, though, IKON began to change the structure of its operations in order to function more effectively as a "one-stop" provider of integrated solutions matched to customer's business communications needs.

In 2000, Business Document Services and Legal Document Services were integrated into IKON North America along with the network integration capabilities of Technology Services to support the shift toward providing higher-end, networked digital equipment and related services.

Although a leader in its field, IKON experienced a 3.2 percent loss in revenues in 2001 due to decisions to de-emphasize or close down certain hardware and service offerings and the impact of a slowing economy.