ARLINGTON 50th Anniversary
What was happening in our early years?
“We were cleaning used typewriters in the bathtub of our first office, a leased house near Uptown Charlotte when we first opened Hank Welfare’s company before it became known as Carolina Wholesale or ARLINGTON. Service and support was a big part of our business from day one.”
Larry Huneycutt – President of ARLINGTON
The Hank Welfare Company would later be renamed Carolina Wholesale.
Later they would purchase Arlington Industries and together became ARLINGTON.
Larry Huneycutt, Mike Stanley, and Alan Friedlander were key contributors to our companies growth over our first 50 years
Let's take a look back at all the remarkable events throughout the years, beginning with our first 9 years of business.
A lot has changed since our start in 1972, but our commitment to excellent service remains unchanged.
1972
- Hank Walfare Company opens in Charlotte, NC
- The Godfather opens in Theaters
- Apollo 17 Last Man on the Moon
1973
- Arlington Industries was Founded in Illinois
- IBM Correcting Selectric II Released
- Elvis Plays 113 Shows in Las Vegas
1974
- HP-65 Handheld Calculator Introduced
- Watergate Scandal
- All In The Family is Top TV Show
1975
- Microsoft Founded in New Mexico
- Vietnam War Ends
- Jaws Terrifies Movie Goers
1976
- Apple Founded in California
- Canon Enters the Fax Machine Market
- Rocky Opens in Theaters
1977
- Star Wars is summer blockbuster
- The King of Rock & Roll, Elvis Presley, Dies
- The Apple II microcomputer introduced
1978
- Bee Gees rule the Billboard Top 10
- Xerox 9700 laser printer released
- First computers installed in the White House
1979
- Dukes of Hazzard debuts on CBS
- Canon LBP-10 first desktop laser printer introduced
- 1st Hank Welfare Company catalog released
1980
- Pac-Man video game released
- Microsoft develops ROM BI-OS for IBM
- US defeats USSR in Winter Olympics
1981
- Hank Welfare Company renamed Carolina Wholesale
- IBM PC launched
- Iran hostage crisis ends after 444 days
“Hank published his first office machines catalog in 1979. The company experienced immediate success with this platform and expanded product lines and vendors in the subsequent years to follow. We didn’t realize at the time this would be the first of over a hundred catalogs created over the years.”
Larry Huneycutt – President of ARLINGTON
The Hank Welfare Company would be renamed Carolina Wholesale in 1981 and our first “Carolina Wholesaler” catalog was published the Fall of that same year. VICTOR was one of the many vendors that benefited greatly from increased exposure to resellers in early Carolina Wholesaler catalogs from 1979 through this year’s Arlington Machine Catalog.
The 80s were a period of tremendous growth in the office machine and print industry.
As we entered the 1980s, we entered a new era of digital technology, an emerging print demand, and growth in distribution.
1982
- Canon PC-10/PC-11 Copiers Introduced
- Commodore 64 home computer released
- Larry Huneycutt purchases 50% of Carolina Wholesale
1983
- Arlington Industries publishes first 12 page catalog
- Founder,Hank Welfare, passes away at age 33.
- Microsoft Word is released
1984
- Canon PC Printer 70 Plain Paper Printer Released
- Arlington Industries expands into 2nd distribution center in Atlanta
- HP introduces LaserJet line of printers
1985
- Carolina Wholesale business booms along with sales of Canon PC-25
- Microsoft Windows released
- Carolina Wholesale begins Canon distribution sales program
1986
- Soviet Nuclear reactor at Chernobyl explodes
- Canon FC-3 and FC-5 copier released
- Comet Halley reaches the closest point to the Earth
1987
- The Simpsons cartoon short is shown on The Tracey Ullman Show
- Canon CLC-1 full l-color copier introduced
- “Carolina Wholesaler” catalog surpasses 100 pages
1988
- Carolina Wholesale moves to current University area location in Charlotte
- Arlington opens Los Angeles distribution center
- XV Olympic Winter Games, were held in Calgary
1989
- Arlington Sales changes name to Arlington Industries
- Berlin Wall comes down
- Nintendo releases the Game Boy
1990
- HP LaserJet IIP first sub-$1,000 laser printer released
- “Carolina Wholesaler” catalog surpasses 200 pages
- Final episode of Miami Vice airs.
1991
- Become authorized distributor of MBM
- Operation Desert Storm
- Business explodes with demand for HP laser toner and ink
“Fax communication overtook the office and home. Our business boomed and our facilities expanded as we required more space for the inventory in demand during the late-Eighties and early Nineties.”
Larry Huneycutt – President of ARLINGTON
As our business grew into the decade of the Nineties, it was clear fax technology was where it was at.
In 1988 we moved our North Carolina office and warehouse to our current space on Arrowhead Road in Charlotte.
ARLINGTON’s current owner, Larry Huneycutt, purchased 50% ownership of the company prior to founder Hank Welfare’s passing in 1983.
Both Carolina Wholesale and Arlington Industries expanded into larger warehouses and additional distribution centers with the introduction of our Atlanta, Georgia location.
We look back at the turn of the century & the expansion of the internet age.
As we welcomed the new era of the 2000s a new kind of communication broke onto the stage. We take a look at the internet age, and how the world is changing & evolving because of it.
“At the dawn of a new Millennium, we saw a new form of superstores appearing online that would change our business forever. The internet was clearly here to stay.”
Larry Huneycutt – President of ARLINGTON
All Three Distributors, Arlington Industries, Carolina Wholesale, & Digitek launched their first websites at the turn of the century.
The earliest of our websites were very basic and featured limited storefront and shopping options. Still the power of these new sites made an immediate impact on our growth as a distributor.
In 1998, Paul Martorana commences distribution of imaging products to supplies resellers and government accounts from Sterling, VA. This new online distributor is known as…
With Laser Print established, the growth of MPS & Cloud Services led to new methods of managing print fleets heading into the 2010s.
As we entered a new century, The world witnessed an amazing decade of innovation changing the way we would do business forever!
2002
- XIX Winter Olympics were held in Salt Lake City, Utah
- PayPal acquired by eBay
- The Euro becomes the official currency of twelve of the European Union’s Members
2003
- Carolina Wholesale Group founded as parent company of new acquisitions
- Carolina Wholesale Group acquires Arlington Industries
- Hewlett Packard wi-fi laser printer introduced
2004
- Carolina Wholesale Group acquires NEAMCO
- Canon Inkjet printer shipments reach 100 million units
- Facebook is launched
2005
- Hurricane Katrina devastates New Orleans
- YouTube is launched
- Google Maps launched
2006
- Nintendo Releases Wii Gaming Console
- Skype reaches 100 million registered users.
- Twitter social networking service launched.
2007
- Carolina Wholesale launches new www.cwholesale.com with E-Business Central
enhanced e-commerce catalog. - First Apple iPhone sold for $599. 1 million units sold in first 3 months.
- American Idol top TV series in U.S.
2008
- HP announced 20-year shipments of more than 240 million Deskjet printers and all-in-ones since 1988
- Digitek expands distribution centers to 3rd location in Chicago area
- Fidel Castro steps down as president of Cuba after almost 50 years in power.
2009
- Digitek named INTEC 2009 Wholesaler of the Year
- Carolina Wholesale/Arlington introduce environmental friendly e-invoicing options for payment
- “King of Pop” Michael Jackson dies
2010
- Apple iPad tablet introduced
- Digitek acquires Capital Media Group
- A magnitude 7 earthquake hits Haiti and devastates the country
2011
- Osama Bin Laden had been found and killed by US Navy Seals
- Nuclear disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant
- Snapchat image messaging and multimedia mobile application
“The reduction in the acquisition cost in laser printers and MFPs resulted in a surge of supplies and equipment sales opportunities in the channel.”
Larry Huneycutt – President of ARLINGTON
Carolina Wholesale’s new logo and branding in 2007 would evolve into current ARLINGTON logo 10 years later.
The Arlington & Carolina Wholesale flyer and catalogs transitioned to full-color during this period.
Managed Print Services & MPS-Ready Laser Printer sales took off during a new era of print fleet management. ARLINGTON’s Premium laser supplies became instrumental in offering consumers a reduced CPC increased profitability.
Living in A World of Mergers & Acquisitions
As the imaging business boomed in the 80’s & 90’s, consolidation and new found partnerships came into play in the early 2000’s.
“Without question, the ARLINGTON we know today would not exist without the diversity within each company we purchased the past 20 years.”
Larry Huneycutt – President of ARLINGTON
Beginning in 1998, Carolina Wholesale Group was intentional about growing through strategic acquisitions.
The acquisition of Digitek in 2016 expanded our distribution network into Texas and added data media products to our catalog.
In 2016, ARLINGTON’s Premium brand alternative supplies received a facelift with the introduction of NXT Premium Supplies.
These acquisitions lead to enhanced internal employees, breadth of product offering, and reseller relationships.
The evolution of laser printers and managed print services seem destined to collide in the early-2000s.
1969
Gary Starkweather invents the first laser printer in the Xerox research lab.
1976
The IBM 3800 is released as the first commercial laser printer. It’s capable of printing at high speeds up to 215ppm.
1984
Apple Computer & Lotus Development partnered to create the LaserWriter and Hewlett Packard introduced the LaserJet line.
1989
The HP LaserJet IIP is released as the first laser printer priced
1995
Apple releases the Color Laser Printer 12/600PS, their first color laser printer. Priced at $7,000.
1998
FMAudit is founded in Jefferson City, MO. They will become a big innovator in Managed Print Services and data collection agents.
2001
PrintFleet joins FMAudit as the managed print services giants. The two companies will compete in the modern MPS market for next decade plus.
2022
PowerMPS provides cloud-based MPS services bundled with ecommerce and service support center all included in one solution.
Get to know us a little better.
Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel for weekly videos with our employees sharing their experience during our 50 years of business.
Congratulations to our $500 Gift Card Winners:
- January – Cory S.
- February – Chris V.
- March – Denise L.
- April – Wayne C.
- May – Dale B.
- June – Daniel P.
- July – Terri Z.
- August – Keith C.
- September – Jean D.
- October – Steve P.
- November – Brian B.
- December – Sid N.
