Professional shredding protects businesses, Greencastle-Antrim chamber told

Protecting businesses from breaching client privacy was the top priority for All-Shred Inc. Sales representative Barb Karr shared the company philosophy and practices at the Greencastle-Antrim Chamber of Commerce breakfast recently, held at John Allison Public House. She spoke of behalf of owner Mary Pat Kulina, whose 15-year-old service operated in five states.

Kulina realized an opportunity when she lived near a landfill in Maryland, and constantly found paper refuse in her yard. She researched the shredding industry, and started her own business, driving the first truck. It has since expanded from Middleton, Md. to a corporate office in Frederick, Md., six trucks on the road daily and three sales reps, with Karr covering Franklin County in her territory.

All-Shred does on-site shredding, filling three semi loads weekly, said Karr. Despite the shift to electronic record-keeping, she was sure there was a steady market for document disposal.

"Is there going to be a reduction in paper? I don't think so," she said.

The security of customer data was highly regulated by the government, with severe penalties if someone's identification was stolen, Karr noted. Investigators would try to find the source of any breach. All-Shred had the highest rating with NAID (National Association for Information Destruction) and passed unannounced audits with flying colors. All of the employees went through background checks, were fingerprinted and were American citizens.

Therefore, Karr said, their clients could feel safe that their disposed paperwork was not the cause of any privacy leaks. It had been cross-cut into tiny pieces, mixed with other shreds, and baled, then taken to a facility to be recycled into things such as paper towels and boxes. All-Shred could even destroy computer hard drives and thumb drives in seconds.

"We provide you with the legal documentation that your material is shredded," said Karr. "The 'Certificate of Destruction' protects your company."

She said their services reduced the shredding expenses of a hospital by two-thirds. Previously it had an employee doing the work manually three days a week. And every client was valued. They could work out an arrangement with anyone.

"Our small customers are as important as our big customers," Karr said.