Today we’d like to introduce you to Michael Ryan.
Michael, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
After retiring from the USCG with 21 years of service as an officer and pilot, I started “The Flying Mail” company in a garage in Revere, MA with a $20K loan to purchase a laser and inkjet printer and table-top inserter. Initially developing relationships with local printers and health clubs my “big” break came when a client referred us to a Canadian marketing company who needed assistance developing a method to address and send postcards at the lowest possible cost for their east coast clients. I acquired walk sequence mailing data and used direct-drop Priority Mailing to service health clubs from Maine to Florida. Within two years my 2 person company, run in my “spare” time was mailing over 1 million postcards per year with revenue of over $300K. A large commercial printing company took notice and purchased a 50% stake in the company which was moved into their nearby facility in Chelsea, MA. I oversaw the purchase of equipment, employee training and development of internal processes to create the mailing division for the commercial printing company.
We began printing phone bills for a telecommunications software company and my journey into the statement rendering world began. My commercial printing partners were not very interested in statement work, so after the shock of 9/11, which devastated many mailing business, they bought out my half of the direct mail company and I started Statement Outsourcing, LLC to concentrate on statement processing. We purchased high-end software and camera equipped equipment to manage the complexities of secure and HIPAA compliant workflow.
Since 2001, the company which is owned by CFO Deena Ryan has grown steadily. We are a state-wide contractor for Massachusetts holding contracts with the Department of Revenue and Mass Environmental Police for the past ten years. Among other local clients are Joslin Diabetes, UMASS Boston, UMASS Lowell, Fresenius Medical Care North America, and several medical billing software companies.
In 2015 when we moved our primary production facility to Polaris Direct, one of the largest letter shops in the Northeast. Joe Maloy, the CEO of Polaris Direct and myself were roommates at St. Michaels College many years back and had each taken different routes to eventually wind up together again. Polaris specializes in high volume marketing mail so together we can offer clients a wide variety of mailing services.
In 2017, we printed approximately 30 million images and have two print facilities located 45 minutes from each other in Hooksett, NH and Wilmington, MA. Our client base has continued to grow and now includes government agencies, lease companies, non-profits, collection firms, credit unions, waste management companies and utilities. We continue to invest in high tech, high performance equipment and offer the latest in web services and electronic payments.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Statement processing is a capital intensive business, so growing from a small family owned business to a high volume shop competing the largest firms in the US has been a long process. When the economy hit the skids in 2007 and 2008 a lot of printing and mailing firms had a rough time. That was probably the low point for us because mailing volumes dropped and financing became very difficult.
StatementOut – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
We specialize in accepting data from large organizations and creating an automated process for distributing it through print and electronic means. Almost all the first-class mail you get in your mail box comes from companies like ours.
Unlike our very large competitors, our programmers are the first point of contact for customers. Usually on the first phone call we can resolve a problem or offer the required assistance. This is a big deal when you’re responsible for client’s payables.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
Success is building a self-sustaining business process that can weather any crisis.
We’re in a business that requires the successful interaction of hundreds of components every day. Seeing the processes work smoothly and our team resolve issues quickly gives me a great feeling of accomplishment.
We started working for the Mass Dept. of Revenue ten years ago due a problem they had where a vendor mixed up the pages in a handful of envelopes. Since we took over and implemented 2D barcoding to prevent that sort of error they’ve had zero complaints. Millions of error free documents is success in our industry.
Contact Info:
- Address: StatementOut
300 Technology Drive
Hooksett, NH 03106 - Website: www.statementout.com
- Phone: 978-694-0000
- Email: mryan@statementout.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StatementOutsourcing
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