Imperial Mailbox Systems (IMS) in Millbrook is a local business with a distant reach. Their aluminum mailboxes, street signs and lampposts can be found nationwide. And though IMS is a national authority in its field, the business has a family at its heart.
John H. Clark Sr. formed IMS in 1989. Clark got his start manufacturing storm doors. When he saw the opportunity to expand his business into mailboxes and other curbside items, he jumped in headfirst.
“Dad was able to see the potential for this business immediately,” recalled his daughter, Pamela Raymond. “He filled up the mini storage units across the street with mailboxes before he ever sold the first one. But he believed in it that much.”
Raymond is the current owner and manager at IMS. She has lived in Millbrook nearly all her life and has been involved with her father’s work from the beginning. In the four years since she took over Imperial, Raymond has worked to maintain the company’s production standards.
Those standards are set very high.
It’s not an exaggeration to say Imperial wrote the book on mailbox manufacturing: In the 1990s, the U.S. Postal Service invited IMS to write the official rules for the size and dimensions of curbside mailboxes. The company was chosen for the task because of the unique “breakaway” design of their mailboxes, Raymond said.
“The company had developed a unique bolt up system versus a welded product,” she explained. “This allows for part replacement if damage occurs, instead of replacing the whole system.”
All IMS products are built along this breakaway design, which makes them an affordable choice for personal use, as well as large-scale projects such as street signs in a new housing development.
Raymond works with a team of 24 employees to ensure that every order, no matter how large or small, upholds the IMS reputation for quality.
“Our staff is family, and I’m extremely proud to be able to provide employment in Millbrook. We have jobs here that can be stepping stones for young people that want to learn a skill,” she said.
The number of skilled jobs at the company continues to grow, as this year, Raymond opened Imperial Powder Coating in the Millbrook warehouse.
Powder Coating is a different way of painting. A surface is covered in colored powder; and then, the hardware is baked in a huge oven. The heat causes the powder to stick to the surface, creating a shiny finish that looks the same as traditional paint but is more durable.
“I’m getting that business going now,” she said. “We did it, because nobody around here was big enough to support what I wanted to do. We just dove in!”
This eager attitude towards business runs in the family. Raymond’s nephew, John, is now the head of the IMS sales department and product development, and her son, Mitchell, is instrumental in the powder coating business.
“If something’s in your blood, it’s in your blood,” Raymond said.
And apparently, entrepreneurship is in the blood at IMS.
For more information about Imperial Mailbox Systems visit www.imperialmailboxsystems.com or visit the Facebook pages for Imperial Mailbox Systems and Imperial Powder Coating.
