By Leslie Stroope

The confetti has barely been swept up from Chilcote Co.'s official 100th birthday celebration on Oct. 4, and already its president is planning the company's next century.

The Cleveland company manufactures photographic packaging and printing products such as albums, sports team photo frames and keepsake photo folders sold to amusement park patrons as mementos of their plunge down a rollercoaster.

Chilcote president David Chilcote, the third generation of family in the business, said he already has a roadmap for the first step of the company's next 100 years. During the next five to seven years, he wants to increase the company's current $50 million in annual sales to $100 million through a mix of organic growth and acquisitions.

Chilcote has been ramping up its acquisitions, having bought six companies during the past 10 years. Those companies serve Chilcote's existing markets, manufacturing everything from wedding albums to scrap booking materials, but they also provide the opportunity for Chilcote to branch out into additional markets through other items they make, such as mirrors and media packaging.

These acquisitions also have extended Chilcote's geographic footprint to Texas, Massachusetts, Oregon, California and Kentucky.

But despite having locations across the United States, the company August Chilcote founded in 1906 still occupies its original headquarters, a five-story, 190,000-square-foot brownstone that takes up almost an entire block at 2160 Superior Ave. August Chilcote's 86-year-old son, William Chilcote, is the company's vice chairman and his grandson, David Chilcote, is president.

David Chilcote earlier this month visited Buffalo, N.Y., to look at a company that manufactures folding cartons for promotional items.

David Chilcote played the visit's details close to the vest, declining to name the company and saying there were "no imminent acquisitions," adding that, "We're always looking to grow and diversify and expand our sphere of influence."

That diversification is a critical component to succeeding in a world where digital photography has changed the face of traditional print photography market that had been the company's bread and butter for the last century, according to William Chilcote.

Chilcote had this strategy in mind when in April it acquired Long Island City, N.Y.-based Enbee Plastics, a company that makes plastic sleeves for photo albums as well as compact discs. Chilcote moved Enbee's operations to its Middleboro, Mass.-based Winthrop subsidiary, which makes photo folders, as well as folders for business presentations and restaurant menus.

David Chilcote divulged that the unidentified Buffalo company also makes candy boxes.

But even as the company draws a roadmap to its bicentennial, the Chilcote family's future role in the business remains unclear.

William Chilcote said many of the companies Chilcote has acquired during the past 10 years have been family-owned businesses in which the owners were retiring. He acknowledged his son may be the last member of the founding family in the business.

Chilcote's employees already own 34% of the company through an employee stock ownership plan, with David Chilcote and William Chilcote owning the rest. William Chilcote said he and his brother, Lee Chilcote, in 1984 started the employee stock ownership plan so the company could continue "in perpetuity," freeing itself from a reliance on family succession.

"I think someday the company will be 100% employee owned," William Chilcote said.

But David Chilcote said they'll have to see what develops. His father encouraged him and his two brothers to spend some time in the world before deciding if they wanted to join the family business. William Chilcote Jr. became a radiologist, Thomas Chilcote became a professor, and David Chilcote spent 10 years in banking and venture capital.

While he was working for KeyBank, David Chilcote helped structure a loan agreement for his family's business, after which his father turned to him and said, "You've helped us borrow all this money, now come help us pay this back," David Chilcote said.

And he did just that, joining the company in 1992.

David Chilcote said he's taking the same approach with his children, deeming it too early to tell whether his 19-year-old daughter or 16-year-old son will join the family business.

"If they're interested and there's an opportunity, we'll see what happens," David Chilcote said.

This article was originally published on Oct 13, 2006 on Crain's Cleveland Business Online