After 50 years in business, JIMAPCO has closed its flagship building on Route 9 in Clifton Park in order to decentralize its operations.
It also involves a change in ownership.
When Dave Fisk’s father, Jim Fisk, started the new speculative map-making venture in 1966, neither of them had any idea that the company would still be in business 50 years later.
“In those days, we’d split $60 at the end of the day and consider the day a success”, said Dave Fisk, president of JIMAPCO. “Now the company is 50 years old, and still synonymous with premiere mapmaking, including custom, retail, online, mobile, and digital production.
But he and his wife sought retirement, so it was time for some changes.
“Fortunately our long-time employees want to keep JIMAPCO moving into the future, so we are delighted to report that the business will essentially continue, just at different locations and under different leadership,” he said.
Paul Hein, JIMAPCO's cartographic and production manager will assume ownership of the cartography division, continuing the creation of the company's well-known retail and custom mapping operations, while Sherri Odell, who helped manage the retail operation, will absorb JIMAPCO's brick and mortar store function as part of her new retail store, Wilderness, Water, & Woods in Parkwood Plaza, 1758 Route 9, Clifton Park.
The JIMAPCO online store and house accounts will remain with JIMAPCO Inc., managed by Odell. The direct-store delivery operation was sold in 2013 to JIMAPCO Distribution Services, an independent company, and that also continues.
JIMAPCO was started in 1966 by Jim Fisk, well-known host of the "Freihofer Breadtime Stories" television show of the 1950s and 1960s. The first JIMAPCO maps covered the local area, starting with Burnt Hills and Schenectady, but the demand escalated rapidly until the company was perpetually in production on nearly two hundred titles covering geography from Maine to Virginia.
The company forged important relationships with retailers, distributors, and even competitors such as Rand McNally and American Map, delivering millions of maps through such retailers as Stewarts, Price Chopper, Wal-Mart, Target, Barnes and Noble, and hundreds of others.
In addition to the retail maps, JIMAPCO has made thousands of custom maps for business customers, fire companies, school districts, chambers of commerce, and government agencies and others around the country.
"Thanks to Paul Hein and our cartographic team, JIMAPCO has always been very creative and agile enough to take advantage of many interesting options and opportunities over the years," said Chris Fisk, vice president and general manager. "As we pass the torch to new leadership, JIMAPCO will continue making retail folded maps, but will be particularly well positioned to respond to the increasing demand for highly customized product, presenting businesses more graphically, showing not only location, but also data, sales potential, metric analytics, etc."
"A professionally created product–be it online, mobile, or just on the wall in the boardroom or sales office–can make a customer's business 'speak.' One of our customers says, 'One map is worth a thousand spreadsheets.' The cartographic sensibility–really understanding how to make a real map–is where our team truly excels," he said.
"We have thoroughly enjoyed all the work and challenges we've faced over all these years," said Dave Fisk, "and we especially want to thank our customers who have been wonderful partners in this business. We look forward to the evolution of JIMAPCO's next chapter.
The company website is www.jimapco.com.