MIDDLEBURY — As the president and CEO of eDoc Innovations, Bret Weekes is used to helping other firms electronically organize and manage their information.
Monday saw Weekes organizing his own corporate infrastructure as part of eDoc’s relocation to more spacious quarters at the Carrara building at 1197 Exchange St. in Middlebury. The move from 800 square feet on Court Street to the 5,800-square-foot location in Middlebury’s industrial park is a precursor to anticipated growth at the high-tech company that laid down its Addison County roots in 2005 with a single representative — Weekes.
He anticipates eDoc’s current Middlebury workforce of around 12 could mushroom to 30 within then next three- to five years as new opportunities emerge and other employees are brought into the fold from eDoc offices in other parts of the company, including Utah.
“We expect all of our growth to come through this office,” Weekes said. “Our business model is sound, and financially we’re very sound as well.”
Weekes described eDoc Innovations as a “green firm” that develops software and provides professional services for document imaging and electronic payment processing. In essence, eDoc helps businesses of all sizes more effectively store information and send it to the desired destinations.
“Our solutions are designed to help businesses go paperless, or go green; so we enjoy being in the ‘green state’ as a green business,” Weekes said.
He explained that companies have historically depended on paper for storing information and making transactions. But advances in computer technology have dramatically changed the way in which companies can store documents and correspond with clients. Large, paper-filled archives are becoming a thing of the past as firms increasingly make the transition to electronic, space-efficient document storage. And eDoc is helping businesses make that transition at all stages — from the nascent business to a long-established one that needs to transfer information from paper to computer database.
 “We have a service for businesses where we scan — we do paper processing, paper conversions to get them electronic, or if they don’t have systems in place — to eliminate paper,” Weekes noted.
Presently, eDoc is helping small, medium and large companies — 500 clients in all — in 45 states manage their information, whether it be of a financial, medical, educational or other nature.
“Anywhere where paper gets generated,” Weekes said.
Some of the information management work can be remotely done at eDoc headquarters in Middlebury. Some tasks require eDoc staff to travel to the client to set up a system that can then turned over to, and managed by, the client.
Some small businesses have elected to purchase a package of services from eDoc that allows them to, among other things, make remote deposits to banks (by scanning their checks); establish a Web presence; store documents electronically; and take credit card payments for services.
“Most small business is interested in their business and not in managing their content,” Weekes said. “So having a partner who will manage their content for them so they can manage their business is strategically a key.”
Larger clients will tend to have tech people already on board and have the capacity to manage information on their own, Weekes explained, so the services eDoc supplies to the big businesses tends to be less comprehensive.
It’s all been a winning entrepreneurial formula for eDoc.
eDoc was last headquartered in Utah, but has been transitioning to Vermont. Weekes could probably have taken his pick on where to locate eDoc, but chose Middlebury, Vt., largely because of its quality of life, “green” reputation, the presence of a major hotel, and its relatively close proximity to the financial hubs of Boston and New York.
He has been pleased with the quality of applicants who have applied for eDoc jobs.
“We have seen good local talent and have not had to go very far (to recruit),” Weekes said, noting the availability of University of Vermont and Middlebury College graduates, as well as other area residents with high-tech education/experience.
Reporter John Flowers is at [email protected].