“I enjoy working with John, because he is a customer oriented, make it happen type of guy! You never have to wonder what he’s thinking; he always lets you know straight forward what to expect.” says Sandra Esco, one of John Davis’ employees he’s been working with the longest. Her feelings must echo that of other members of the staff. The key officers who started with him nearly 20 years ago are still with the company and share in the success of Alabama Graphics!
When John is not with his teams at Alabama Graphics or involved in an industry board meeting, he enjoys spending time traveling and going to the lake with his wife. You might find him fishing on the lake any given weekend throughout the year. Some of his travels over the past few years have included going on safari in Africa, touring the wine country in Napa Valley, and even a recent trip to Alaska, where this picture was taken.
In addition to his daily life in the office, John is very active in the AEC and printing communities and has served on many boards such as the IRGA, RSA, and CC Converting. He is also a member of Fire Power, a group that meets 3 times per year. He enjoys this group so much because of the intensity of their meetings (each time they meet it is for a day and a half). They share ideas and visions and best practices in this peer group, which allows John to regain focus to bring back to his team.
One of the biggest challenges John faces is finding additional revenue streams. However, he takes this on as a learning experience by looking at avenues outside of the AEC industry. Stay tuned in 2012 for more on this.
If you are wondering how John got started, it’s all in the family! In 1979 John’s brother Jeff and their father started Service Blueprint and John joined in a few months later. Their father moved to Montgomery and bought a small blueprint company. Jeff ran that location. In 1990 they merged with Patton Harris Company and changed their name to Alabama Graphics at that time. They merged two Birmingham locations, kept the Montgomery location and even had a place in Mobile, until they sold it three years later. John and Jeff had a partner in their business, Murray Smith, who retired in 2005. John and Jeff purchased the company at that time.