Growing companies expand into Roselle headquaters

Q: Tell us a little bit about the business.

A: We are a full service office furniture dealerships with two separate companies working out of our new corporate headquarters. We have Affordable Office Interiors, located on the south end of our building, providing new and used office furniture to companies looking to maximize their office furniture purchasing power. We have a large showroom of products on display. On the north end of our building we have BOS, a Best In Class Haworth furniture dealership. We help clients create interior environments that promote work culture and inspire productive offices. We have a state of the art working showroom displaying all of the current workplace trends along with team meeting areas and digital displays to promote workplace culture.

Q: You recently expanded. Tell us about that.

A: Early in 2016, we moved into our headquarters to 501 S. Gary in Roselle, after spending the last 20 years in Carol Stream. Built from the ground up, this 150,000-square-foot space is home to both BOS and AOI Illinois.

Q: What about the history? How did the company start?

A: BOS started in 1948, in Elk Grove Village and we started as a movable wall company and office supplies. AOI started in Batavia in 1995, and started with a used and remanufactured office furniture focus. Both businesses began as family owned and operated corporations, and both are now employee owned through an employee stock ownership plan.

Through the years, both companies have outgrown several facilities and currently maintain four locations throughout the Midwest. These include our corporate headquarters in Roselle as well as our new showroom in downtown Chicago. AOI also has locations in Madison and Milwaukee.

With our long standing presence in the furniture industry, BOS and AOI have built solid relationships with our manufacturers. We have established purchasing power in our industry, which permits us to provide competitive pricing to our clients. This, combined with our capability to provide refurbished furniture, sets us apart and allows us to customize solutions to each of our clients' requirements.

Q: There have been many changes in the industry. What is the biggest change?

A: Our industry has gone through dramatic change over the last five years. The changes has been driven by wireless technology, the need for companies to reduce real estate overhead and the end to the baby boom dominance in the workplace and the attraction of the millennium workforce.

Q: What trending?

A: Trending is the new Millennium workplace, benching, the mobile worker, wellness, fun offices and sit stand workstations.

Q: Describe your typical client

A: We work with clients of all sizes, from the world's largest corporations to new startups.

AOI often focuses on privately owned, mid-sized companies and startups. BOS handles major corporations, health care and higher education.

One of the great things about our business is that we get to be there as our customer's grow and prosper. We've journeyed with a number of brands who started off purchasing used furniture through Affordable Office Interiors and now have high end Haworth workspaces procured through BOS. It's incredible to be part of those success stories.

Q: Tell us a little about yourself. What is your past experience in the industry?

A: I have been in the industry for 30 years. I started my first office furniture dealership 29 years ago when I was 30.

In 1986, I co-founded Corporate Business Systems, a premier contract office furniture dealership. In 1995, understanding the need for affordable quality office furniture and having a keen perception about the abundance of quality used furniture available for purchase; I sold Corporate Business Systems and created Affordable Office Interiors, which is a profitable, debt-free corporation acquired by BOS Holdings in 2001. BOS has been in business since 1948 and under our leadership, will be there for many years to come to service our clients' needs.

Q: Tell us one interesting fact about the business that most people may not know.

A: That we are an ESOP organization, 100 percent owned by all of the team members of BOS Holdings.

Q: What is one business tip that you are willing to give away to our readers?

A: I try to live by what I call the Golden Circle of Business. "If you do right by your clients, your employees and your vendors, they will appreciate the relationship and the investment and will, in turn, do right by you." Our clients deserve a great price but not at the cost of service. We understand we need to be competitive with our pricing, but what drives us is providing fantastic service in a complicated business. We do this by controlling all of our deliverables in house, like delivery and installation.