At Business Records Management, Document Storage is Job One
3/12/2002
If you stacked all of the document boxes stored by Business Records Management Inc. together, they would stretch 400 miles, nearly the distance between
“It’s probably a little longer if you count the larger boxes,” said Steven Wright, company president.
But that’s not all that the North Side-based company does. In addition to storing paper records for more then 1,000 firms, BRM also stores computer data and will shred and dispose of confidential documents. Plus, it offers disaster recovery services for businesses and stores some courtroom exhibits.
BRM was started in 1985 by Mr. Wright’s father, Tom Wright Sr., who was a co-owner of a North Side relocation firm. Steven said his father discovered that many of the clients he was moving needed document storage services and started the operation.
The company initially had a single warehouse, one van and three employees. Steven, who is an attorney, began running the family business in 1995. His brother Tom Jr., who was a corporate attorney in
“We Pittsburghers always come back,” said Tom, who serves as executive vice president and oversees company-wide projects.
Steven supervises its day-to-day operations.
“I’m more laid back,” Tom said. “Steven is more type A.” Their father now serves as an adviser.
The division of responsibilities has worked well for the Wrights, so much so that they say revenue is growing at an annual rate of 15 percent, which is slightly higher then the industry average. They didn’t release revenue figures.
“Clients don’t leave,” Steven said. “It is a service that everyone needs. We are also actively pursuing clients through our telemarketing and sales staff.”
The Wrights say they serve 90 percent of the Downtown law firms and most of the large publicly traded Downtown companies. Much of BRM’s business is conducted with clients in immediate need of a particular service, such as document disposal.
The Wrights would not identify any of their clients, citing confidentiality concerns.
The company now has 88 full-time employees, 20 vans and 12 buildings with a total of 500,000 square feet of storage space. Besides having 10 buildings on the North Side, it also has a site in
All of its storage locations have video cameras and are fireproof. Its three computer data vaults – on the North Side, in
Business Records Management is a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week operation. It’s not uncommon for the company to get calls from a client at 3 a.m. requesting records, Steven said. In most cases thought, if a client calls in the morning, records will be delivered by that afternoon, he said.
In order to keep track of the four million files, each box and individual file is bar coded. The Wrights, just as they do for their clients, back up their own computer records daily. BRM has spent nearly $1 million upgrading its technology during the last three years.
Part of that investment is to ensure that the company will remain viable as the modern day workplace becomes less reliant on paper documents.
“I don’t see it happening in my generation, but it could happen in my child’s,” said Steven, who is the father of a toddler.