Centriworks

Centriworks is a privately held business technology company headquartered in Knoxville, Tennessee. The company traces its origins to April 1, 1964, when Randall Sumner and two partners established an office-paper business with an initial investment of $150 and a $3,000 operating note. Its first product relationship was as a dealer for NCR ThermoCopy paper, a connection that supplied the original Thermocopy name. The business added NCR adding machines during its first year and gradually moved away from paper sales as office equipment and copying became more important to commercial customers. During the 1960s and 1970s, the company developed from a paper dealer into an office-equipment provider. It moved several times within Knoxville's Bearden area before settling at 3505 Sutherland Avenue in 1971. By the end of the 1970s, Thermocopy was a leading local dealer for color copiers, fax machines, and overhead projectors. Its business subsequently expanded beyond equipment sales and maintenance into document management consulting, managed print and printer-fleet programs, information-technology support, managed IT services, and cybersecurity. Randall Sumner sold the company to Steve Sumner in 1995. The company expanded its regional presence in 1998 by opening a Johnson City office serving the Mountain Empire and the Tri-Cities region of Northeast Tennessee and Southwestern Virginia. Over time, Centriworks developed a vendor-neutral service model, even though its principal office-imaging products have included multifunction copiers, printers, and fax machines from Ricoh and Kyocera. Its technicians are trained to support equipment from multiple manufacturers, allowing the company to combine hardware, service, workflow, and technology consulting. The company has received recognition from within the office-imaging and technology-dealer sectors. ImageSource Magazine named it a 2006 Dealer of the Year and presented a national Perfect Image Award. In March 2010, it became a Kyocera Certified Managed Print Services Dealer. ENX Magazine has identified Centriworks as an Elite Dealer every year since 2016, recognizing dealer organizations for growth, marketing, client service, community involvement, workplace culture, and adaptability. In 2019, the business began a rebranding program that changed its name from Thermocopy to Centriworks. The change was intended to present a more forward-looking identity and better reflect the company's expansion beyond traditional copiers and office equipment. The growing importance of managed IT services and cybersecurity was a central reason for the new name. The company marked its fiftieth anniversary in 2014 and its sixtieth anniversary in 2024. Centriworks also positions itself as a community and environmental participant in East Tennessee. It has supported more than 100 civic and nonprofit organizations, contributes a portion of its profits to local causes, and encourages employee volunteering. Environmental activities have included participation in Knoxville-area green-business programs, support for GoGreenET.com, co-sponsorship of the annual Business In The Green contest, recycling initiatives, and conservation-related community work. The company received local and state environmental awards and was named a Platinum Level Recycle Champion by Knox County. Its current identity is therefore broader than the original Thermocopy office-products brand: it represents a regional business-technology provider combining office imaging, managed print, IT operations, cybersecurity, and related consulting.

Centriworks began in Knoxville, Tennessee, on April 1, 1964, as a small office-paper dealership founded by Randall Sumner and two partners. Its early relationship with NCR involved the distribution of ThermoCopy paper, which gave the company its original Thermocopy name. The founders soon added NCR adding machines. As copying became an increasingly standard part of business administration, the company shifted its emphasis from consumable paper to office equipment and related service. The business occupied several locations in Knoxville's Bearden area during the 1960s and moved to 3505 Sutherland Avenue in 1971. By the end of the 1970s, it had become a significant local dealer for color copiers, fax machines, and overhead projectors. Over subsequent decades, Thermocopy broadened its activities to include sales, maintenance, document-management advice, and printer-fleet administration. Its office-imaging portfolio came to include multifunction copiers, printers, and fax machines associated with manufacturers such as Ricoh and Kyocera. In 1995, Steve Sumner purchased the company from Randall Sumner. A period of market-share growth followed, and in 1998 the company opened a Johnson City office serving Northeast Tennessee's Tri-Cities and the adjoining Mountain Empire area of Southwestern Virginia. The regional operation complemented the Knoxville headquarters and established the company as a locally rooted provider with a wider East Tennessee service territory. Thermocopy's later development reflected the convergence of office equipment, document workflows, and information technology. It became a vendor-neutral managed service provider, with technicians trained to work on equipment from multiple manufacturers. The company added managed print services, document management consultation, IT support, managed IT operations, and cybersecurity. It also invested in technical training: its staff included an onsite manufacturer-certified trainer, and Ricoh recognized its technicians through Prestige certifications and its service department through a Service Excellence Award. Industry recognition accompanied this expansion. ImageSource Magazine named the company its 2006 Dealer of the Year and gave it a national Perfect Image Award. In 2010, it was designated a Kyocera Certified Managed Print Services Dealer. ENX Magazine subsequently recognized the company as an Elite Dealer every year from 2016 onward, placing emphasis on service quality, innovation, growth, community participation, workplace culture, and adaptability. The company marked its fiftieth anniversary in 2014. In 2019 it began a formal rebranding from Thermocopy to Centriworks. The new name was selected to better communicate the company's broader technology offering and its movement into managed IT services and cybersecurity. The transition did not represent a simple abandonment of office imaging; rather, it repositioned imaging, printing, document management, IT, and security as connected business-technology services. Centriworks celebrated sixty years in operation in 2024. Community and environmental work form another part of the company's history. Centriworks has supported more than 100 civic and nonprofit organizations, including regional cultural, health, youth, conservation, and social-service groups. It has also contributed financially and through employee volunteering. Its environmental program includes participation in Knoxville's green-business recognition initiative, founding-partner involvement with GoGreenET.com, sponsorship of the annual Business In The Green contest, recycling programs, and conservation support. It received a 2008 Environmental Achievement Award from Keep Knoxville Beautiful, a subsequent Keep Tennessee Beautiful and Tennessee Department of Transportation Award of Excellence, and Platinum Level Recycle Champion recognition from Knox County. Today, the Centriworks identity represents a regional business-technology company rather than only a copier dealer. The former Thermocopy brand remains important to the company's origin story, while Centriworks describes the broader service model built over six decades in East Tennessee.

• 2024

  Celebrated sixty years

  [1]Centriworksen.wikipedia.org

  Centriworks commemorated six decades since its 1964 founding.

• 2019

  Rebranded as Centriworks

  [1]Centriworksen.wikipedia.org

  The company began changing its identity from Thermocopy to Centriworks to reflect its broader managed IT and cybersecurity offering.

• 2014

  Celebrated its fiftieth anniversary

  [1]Centriworksen.wikipedia.org

  Thermocopy marked five decades of operation.

• 2010

  Certified by Kyocera for managed print services

  [1]Centriworksen.wikipedia.org

  The company became a Kyocera Certified Managed Print Services Dealer.

• 2006

  Received Dealer of the Year recognition

  [1]Centriworksen.wikipedia.org

  ImageSource Magazine named the company Dealer of the Year and presented a national Perfect Image Award.

• 1998

  Opened the Johnson City branch

  [1]Centriworksen.wikipedia.org

  The company expanded into Johnson City to serve the Tri-Cities and Mountain Empire markets.

• 1995

  Steve Sumner acquires the company

  [1]Centriworksen.wikipedia.org

  Steve Sumner purchased the business from founder Randall Sumner.

• 1971

  Moved to Sutherland Avenue

  [1]Centriworksen.wikipedia.org

  After several Bearden-area moves during the 1960s, the company relocated to its long-term Knoxville address at 3505 Sutherland Avenue.

• 1970

  Expanded into office equipment

  [1]Centriworksen.wikipedia.org

  By the end of the decade, the company had become a leading local dealer for color copiers, fax machines, and overhead projectors.

• 1964

  Company founded as an office-paper dealer

  [1]Centriworksen.wikipedia.org

  Randall Sumner and two partners founded the business on April 1. Its initial business included NCR ThermoCopy paper and NCR adding machines.

A regional, service-led business technology provider that evolved from a traditional office-equipment dealership into a vendor-neutral partner for managed print, document workflows, managed IT, and cybersecurity.

• Office imaging equipment

  Multifunction copiers

  Centriworks supplies and services multifunction copier systems used for printing, copying, scanning, and related document workflows. Its principal office-imaging relationships have included Ricoh and Kyocera, while its vendor-neutral service capability allows technicians to support equipment from multiple manufacturers.

• Office imaging equipment

  Printers and fax machines

  Printers and fax machines form part of the company's traditional office-equipment portfolio. Centriworks combines equipment provision with maintenance, fleet oversight, supplies management, and broader managed print programs for business customers.

• Business technology services · 2010

  Managed print services

  Managed print services cover the administration of business printer and copier fleets. The offering is intended to coordinate devices, servicing, usage, supplies, and document processes rather than treating each machine as an isolated purchase. The company received Kyocera managed-print certification in 2010.

• Business technology services

  Document management consulting

  Centriworks provides consultation related to document management and office workflows. This extends its role from selling imaging hardware to helping organizations organize, process, and manage information created through printing, copying, scanning, and related administrative activity.

• Information technology services

  Managed IT services

  Managed IT services are a major part of the Centriworks identity introduced during the company's expansion beyond traditional office equipment. The service line supports business technology operations and complements the company's document, printing, and office-infrastructure capabilities.

• Information security services

  Cybersecurity services

  Centriworks provides cybersecurity services to businesses and organizations in East Tennessee. The company has highlighted CompTIA Security Trustmark+ certification and CISSP expertise as indicators of its security capabilities.

• 2019Thermocopy-to-Centriworks rebranding

  East Tennessee · Northeast Tennessee · Southwestern Virginia

  The company launched a rebranding campaign to replace the Thermocopy name with Centriworks, emphasizing its evolution into managed IT, cybersecurity, managed print, and broader business technology.

  Outcome. The new name became the company's principal identity while Thermocopy remained associated with its history.

  Source
• 2008Green Recognition Program participation

  Knoxville · East Tennessee

  The company participated in the inaugural Knoxville Area Chamber Partnership Green Recognition Program and reported environmental initiatives through its green-business activities.

  Outcome. Centriworks was one of ten businesses receiving the initial local certification.

  Source
• 2008GoGreenET.com and Business In The Green

  East Tennessee

  Centriworks helped establish GoGreenET.com and supported the annual Business In The Green contest as part of its environmental and business-community engagement.

  Outcome. The initiatives became part of the company's continuing local sustainability activity.

  Source

• 2019

  Adopted the Centriworks nameStrategy

  Background

  The Thermocopy name was strongly associated with the company's historical office-equipment and paper-dealer origins, while the business had expanded into managed IT services and cybersecurity.

  Action taken

  The company began a rebranding campaign and adopted Centriworks as a more forward-looking identity for its wider technology offering.

  Aftermath

  The rebrand positioned office imaging, managed print, IT support, and cybersecurity as parts of one broader business-technology portfolio.

  Source

1. 1Centriworksen.wikipedia.org