Barcom Inc. celebrates 25 years in Chattanooga

Greg Browning plays a game where he has to scan barcodes quickly during an open house at the company Barcom on Thursday, May 12, 2016, in Chattanooga, Tenn. The business, which makes equipment for managing and scanning bar codes, is celebrating its 25th year.
Greg Browning plays a game where he has to scan barcodes quickly during an open house at the company Barcom on Thursday, May 12, 2016, in Chattanooga, Tenn. The business, which makes equipment for managing and scanning bar codes, is celebrating its 25th year.

BARCOM TIMELINE

* 1991 - Barcom Inc. is founded and later that year merges with Rewcastle Computer Services* 1993 - Company moves into East Brainerd Road office* 2000 - Barcom shifts into larger Chickamauga Road facility to accommodate growth* 2002 - RFID technologies offered* 2010 - Earns Intermac (now Honeywell) Partner Excellence Award* 2015 - Relocates to Jersey Pike to support growth* 2016 - Barcom marks 25 yearsSource: Barcom Inc.

Twenty-five years ago, Jim Ledbetter started his Chattanooga business providing companies with data collection automation services in the basement of his house.

Today, Barcom Inc. has customers in 42 states, Mexico and Canada and sales are about $10 million annually, he said Thursday.

But a gratifying fact for the business owner is that his first four customers are still doing business with his company after all those years.

"It's surreal," Ledbetter said at Barcom's Jersey Pike headquarters as employees and clients marked the 25-year milestone. "I can't believe it has gone by that quick."

Barcom offers companies bar code scanning and radio-frequency identification systems. Automotive suppliers, third-party logistics providers and general warehouse and fulfillment operators are among the company's customers, Ledbetter said.

Six months after the company's startup in 1991, he was joined by fellow Chattanoogan John Rewcastle. While Ledbetter focused on sales and administration, Rewcastle brought computer programming expertise.

The venture now has 20 employees, including five programmers, and sales are growing in the 8 to 10 percent range annually, Ledbetter said.

"This year is a good year," he said.

Brad Comer, Siskin Steel Co.'s database administrator, said the company is a longtime Barcom client, using its services to capture data and label material for inventory purposes.

"Part is knowing where the material is located and (part is) to pick the item," Comer said.

Randy Kirkland, who does information technology support for floorcovering giant Mohawk Industries, said Barcom helps employees keep up with its products and makes the business more efficient.

"It allows us to use new technology processes more efficiently," he said.

Ledbetter, 59, said bar code scanners and RFID are collecting more data without an increase in manpower.

"Bar coding is mature. It's been out since the 60s," he said. "It's very reliable and economical."

Ledbetter said RFID, which features a computer chip, came in about 10 years or so ago and is becoming more cost effective. Using RFID doesn't require being in a direct line of sight for scanning, he said.

For example, Ledbetter showed off a pallet full of tires each with an RFID strip. The entire pallet can pass through one large scanner on a loading dock and give the company needed information on each tire all at once.

More and more, Ledbetter said, companies are going to serialization of their individual products to cut down on recall costs.

"Recalls will happen," he said. "You want to minimize that."

In the future, Ledbetter said, Barcom will focus on the needs of different industries.

For example, he said, tracing items is important for the food industry. He cited such capabilities as tracking the field where an item was grown, where it was packaged and on what store shelf it was placed.

Contact Mike Pare at mpare@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6318.

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