The Times Herald (Norristown, PA)
Exposure for a Chester County firm
UWCHLAN » Musicians around the world know the name J.W. Pepper & Sons as one of the world’s leading retailers of sheet music. This week, the 142-year-old company’s name will likely become known to a wider audience.
J.W. Pepper — headquartered in Uwchlan — will be featured on Fox Business Network’s “Manufacturing Marvels” segment, which will air Tuesday, Oct. 30, between 10:30 and 10:44 p.m., and again Wednesday, Oct. 31, at 9:30 and 9:44 p.m.
According to J.W. Pepper President Glenn Burtch, he often encounters people who are surprised by the complexity of his company’s business.
“Not a lot of people wonder how their children receive sheet music each year that’s just right for the students’ grade level or how their church found that perfect song,” he said in a press release. “Our staff is very dedicated to making that possible.”
The company, with headquarters at 191 Sheree Blvd. in Uwchlan, operates 12 stores across the country and two distribution centers in Georgia and Utah. Of the company’s 250 employees, 135 work in the Chester County headquarters, which relocated from Paoli in October 2013.
According to Kathy Fernandes, chief marketing officer, J.W. Pepper corporate functions are carried out at the headquarters — including a customer service center, accounts payable and receivable, inventory, product selection and marketing, as well as technology systems. In the store, customers can look at and buy sheet music and resources for the music classroom, choir, band, orchestra, pi-
ano, voice and other instruments.
J.W. Pepper keeps more than 125,000 products on the shelves, in addition to more than 50,000 products ready to ship to customers as soon as they are received at the warehouse, according to the company.
“The hardest part of our distribution job is receiving that much product,” Nick Buddock, J.W. Pepper vice president of operations said in the release. “I’m hoping the television feature gives viewers a better understanding of what happens behind the scenes.”
Until about 10 years ago, the company manually filled orders from 15 locations. Now, shipping is centralized and customers have an ePrint option for more than 200,000 music compositions, letting them print their own music, according to the release.
The Fox Business segment uses drone video footage shot at J.W. Pepper’s 76,000-square-foot distribution center in Lithia Springs, Ga.
Taping for the segment took one day, according to Fernandes, and included footage of the inside and outside of the warehouse, as well as employees at work.
“The people in our Atlanta distribution facility are very hard working and do their best to keep our customers happy and our business strong. We’re so happy to have their good work featured in the broadcast,” Fernandes added.
“Our staff is filled with people who recognize the great importance of music in our society,” Burtch said in the release. “I’m hoping this piece gives insight into how much we care about serving our customers.”
J.W. Pepper & Sons was founded in 1876. In addition to providing music accessories, various music software products, and music for state contests and music festivals, J.W. Pepper also offers choral, band, orchestra, church, classroom, instrumental, piano and vocal music to directors, teachers and other professional musicians around the world.
To find a local Fox Business Network channel visit https://www. foxbusiness.com/f bntv.
For more information on J.W. Pepper visit jwpepper. com.
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