Vangel Paper Company
Founded: 1988 by Angelos and Valerie Androutsopoulos
Sector: Recycling
Business Status: Success
Location: Baltimore, Maryland
Website: www.vangelpaper.com
Status 1991:
''The pair began with a nest egg of $25,000, and during the first year of operation they borrowed an additional $10,000. "It definitely was not enough," she said. "We didn't know enough about the recycling business and we underestimated the costs. Inevitably, costs are higher than you expect. That's true of any small business." Their first acquisition was a paper cutter, used for removing book bindings, followed by a suitable truck for hauling their stock, a forklift, a scale, and an appropriate warehouse'' (Bennett, 1991, p.101) [1].
Founders:
Valerie S. Androutsopoulos was an International Affairs graduate from George Washington University in 1983, where her studies lead to graduate work in Athens, Greece. There she met and subsequently married her husband Angelos. Having spent 5 years in Greece, Valerie returned to Baltimore with her husband Angelos in 1988, where Valerie initially developed office programs for Baltimore based businesses.Angelos Androutsopoulos is a native of Athens, Greece. Angelos grew up around the family scrap paper business Golfinos Androutsopoulos and Sons, and is a computer programmer by training. Angelos
agreed to move to America in 1988 with his wife on condition that they create a scrap paper business [2].
Vangel Paper Company:
Angelos and Valerie Androutsopoulos started the Vangel Paper Company in November 1988, after they had completed a short apprenticeship with Owl Corp., a local paper merchant. The couple began by visiting corporations that generated substantial amounts of paper that could be recycled, which resulted in several contracts. They also began a promotional campaign ''Recycling in Maryland with Pride'' to encourage small businesses to recycle. The company agreed individual recycling programs with smaller organisations such as the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra who did not have convenient ways to recycle. Part of the revenue from the Recycling in Maryland with Pride program was donated to Earth Day, with future contributions going to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. Vangel would purchase paper from companies and organisations, then sold it to paper mills or to a paper broker[3].
In the same year that Vangel Paper Company was founded, Maryland passed recycling laws, setting targets of recycling between 15 and 20 percent of waste by the end of that year. This resulted in huge increases in the amount of paper going to the paper mills, with little increase in demand by people who used recyclables. Valerie Androutsopoulos recalled that by July 1990 sorted white ledger paper was listed in trade journals a $0, but the company survived. Overtime the recyclables market has grown, and many companies began to adopt policies regarding the purchase of recycled office products, causing prices for paper products such as sorted white ledger paper to increase [4].
Status 2010:
Since 1992 Vangel have been bonded and assured for shredding, and in 1998 they purchased their first high-speed industrial shredder. They offer customers a service of the basis that Vangel assumes liability for documents from pick up through to destruction in a manner which complies with federal rules and regulations[5]. Vangel continues to expand and develop as a family owned and managed company. In 1999 Valerie Androutsopoulos''s uncle Charlie Shaab joined the team upon his retirement, taking responsibility for the financial management of company operations, and engaging in wider business planning, accounting and development[6].
Today Vangel offer a wide range of data destruction and recycling services: Shredding and Data Destruction, Office Recycling Programs, Electronic Office Equipment Destruction and Recycling, and Single Source Solutions. The company promotes itself on the basis that it is locally owned and managed, with a commitment to superior customer service, whilst also being a certified Woman Business Enterprise [7].
Sources:
[1] Bennett, S. J. (1991) Ecopreneuring: The Complete Guide to Small Business Opportunities from the Environmental Revolution. New York:Wiley.
[2] Vangel Paper Inc (2010) Vangel Paper Inc – Leadership [online].
[3] Medland, M. E. (1990) Seeking Gold in the Green Market, Baltimore Business Journal, 18th June, Vol 8:2; Sec 2; pg 1B.
[4] Gewirtz, A. R. (1994) Do you know where that lipstick's been? From Camden Yards to Towson State, commercial recycling takes off, Baltimore Business Journal, 28th October, Vol 12:23; Sec 1; pg 31.
[5] Vangel Paper Inc (2010) Vangel Paper Inc – Fast Facts: Why Vangel [online].
[6] Vangel Paper Inc (2010) Vangel Paper Inc – Leadership [online].
[7] Vangel Paper Inc (2010) Vangel Paper Inc – About Vangel [online].
Sector: Recycling
Business Status: Success
Location: Baltimore, Maryland
Website: www.vangelpaper.com
Status 1991:
''The pair began with a nest egg of $25,000, and during the first year of operation they borrowed an additional $10,000. "It definitely was not enough," she said. "We didn't know enough about the recycling business and we underestimated the costs. Inevitably, costs are higher than you expect. That's true of any small business." Their first acquisition was a paper cutter, used for removing book bindings, followed by a suitable truck for hauling their stock, a forklift, a scale, and an appropriate warehouse'' (Bennett, 1991, p.101) [1].
Founders:
Valerie S. Androutsopoulos was an International Affairs graduate from George Washington University in 1983, where her studies lead to graduate work in Athens, Greece. There she met and subsequently married her husband Angelos. Having spent 5 years in Greece, Valerie returned to Baltimore with her husband Angelos in 1988, where Valerie initially developed office programs for Baltimore based businesses.Angelos Androutsopoulos is a native of Athens, Greece. Angelos grew up around the family scrap paper business Golfinos Androutsopoulos and Sons, and is a computer programmer by training. Angelos
agreed to move to America in 1988 with his wife on condition that they create a scrap paper business [2].
Vangel Paper Company:
Angelos and Valerie Androutsopoulos started the Vangel Paper Company in November 1988, after they had completed a short apprenticeship with Owl Corp., a local paper merchant. The couple began by visiting corporations that generated substantial amounts of paper that could be recycled, which resulted in several contracts. They also began a promotional campaign ''Recycling in Maryland with Pride'' to encourage small businesses to recycle. The company agreed individual recycling programs with smaller organisations such as the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra who did not have convenient ways to recycle. Part of the revenue from the Recycling in Maryland with Pride program was donated to Earth Day, with future contributions going to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. Vangel would purchase paper from companies and organisations, then sold it to paper mills or to a paper broker[3].
In the same year that Vangel Paper Company was founded, Maryland passed recycling laws, setting targets of recycling between 15 and 20 percent of waste by the end of that year. This resulted in huge increases in the amount of paper going to the paper mills, with little increase in demand by people who used recyclables. Valerie Androutsopoulos recalled that by July 1990 sorted white ledger paper was listed in trade journals a $0, but the company survived. Overtime the recyclables market has grown, and many companies began to adopt policies regarding the purchase of recycled office products, causing prices for paper products such as sorted white ledger paper to increase [4].
Status 2010:
Since 1992 Vangel have been bonded and assured for shredding, and in 1998 they purchased their first high-speed industrial shredder. They offer customers a service of the basis that Vangel assumes liability for documents from pick up through to destruction in a manner which complies with federal rules and regulations[5]. Vangel continues to expand and develop as a family owned and managed company. In 1999 Valerie Androutsopoulos''s uncle Charlie Shaab joined the team upon his retirement, taking responsibility for the financial management of company operations, and engaging in wider business planning, accounting and development[6].
Today Vangel offer a wide range of data destruction and recycling services: Shredding and Data Destruction, Office Recycling Programs, Electronic Office Equipment Destruction and Recycling, and Single Source Solutions. The company promotes itself on the basis that it is locally owned and managed, with a commitment to superior customer service, whilst also being a certified Woman Business Enterprise [7].
Sources:
[1] Bennett, S. J. (1991) Ecopreneuring: The Complete Guide to Small Business Opportunities from the Environmental Revolution. New York:Wiley.
[2] Vangel Paper Inc (2010) Vangel Paper Inc – Leadership [online].
[3] Medland, M. E. (1990) Seeking Gold in the Green Market, Baltimore Business Journal, 18th June, Vol 8:2; Sec 2; pg 1B.
[4] Gewirtz, A. R. (1994) Do you know where that lipstick's been? From Camden Yards to Towson State, commercial recycling takes off, Baltimore Business Journal, 28th October, Vol 12:23; Sec 1; pg 31.
[5] Vangel Paper Inc (2010) Vangel Paper Inc – Fast Facts: Why Vangel [online].
[6] Vangel Paper Inc (2010) Vangel Paper Inc – Leadership [online].
[7] Vangel Paper Inc (2010) Vangel Paper Inc – About Vangel [online].