Kapco takes over Postal Pack & Ship

(Photo by Russ Mitchell) Moving day arrived for Kapco Pack & Ship owners Tom and Angela Chavez. They acquired Postal Pack & Ship in August. Monday, they closed down Postal's location on Grand Avenue and moved services to Kapco's West Sixth Street location. [Order this photo]

One perk of moving a shipping business from one location to another?

Rounding up the packing peanuts and bubble wrap shouldn't be a problem.

In August, Kapco Pack & Ship owners Tom and Angela Chavez purchased Postal Pack & Ship, which operated out of a small store at the corner of Seventh Street and Grand Avenue in Spencer.

The Postal Pack location closed Monday, but the services, and two employees who worked there, have been moved to the larger Kapco location at 112 West Sixth Street in Spencer. A sign in the window of the now-shuttered building on Grand Avenue directs customers to the Kapco location.

"It was the same type of business and there was a lot of overlap with what Kapco did," Angela Chavez explained. "It just seemed like a good fit and the previous owner was looking to move back out of state."

The Chavez family is acquiring a business started nine years ago by Laurie Ray as Mailboxes & Parcel Depot. Ray sold the business about three years later to Theresa Klein, who renamed it Postal Pack and Ship.

The Chavezes have operated Kapco Pack & Ship on West Sixth Street since April 2005, but their company's roots go even deeper. Kapco was founded in 1994 as a Spirit Lake inventory and storage company, with clients like Pure Fishing, Eaton, 3M and Energizer.

As word of their shipping resources spread, they began handling individual packing and shipping requests as well. Kapco maintains its location in the Iowa Great Lakes region to this day.

"We can pack and ship just about anything of any size," Angela Chavez said. "We ship UPS, FedEx and SpeeDee Delivery Service. We can utilize truck lines, UPS mail shipments, we also have a business center here that's fairly new. We can do copies, laminate, we have a gift-wrap center, fax, we have notary service -- lots of different little things."

It takes four or five employees to operate the Spencer location, depending on the time of year. Within the next two weeks, shipping deadlines start getting tight for customers who want the gift to arrive in time for Christmas.

"If you can get here early, that's great, but there's always a way to get it to someplace in time for Christmas," Angela Chavez said.

To make room for the Postal Pack & Ship business, the Spencer Kapco moved its indoor golf simulator to the Spirit Lake location. Kapco continues to serve as a drop off point for Campus Cleaners in Spencer and is an eBay auction operator.

Their hours are 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday.