Marathon purchases Pioneer Window Works

by David Reed

January 8,2010

Marathon Office Interiors has acquired Pioneer Window Works, a 65-year-old company that Larry Schuster has owned since 1984.

Marathon owners Frank Sovice and Gregg Wolff told CBT that they bought the window company on Dec. 31 to further their plans to become a one-stop shop for office remodeling.

Marathon constructed its new building on Paris Road in 2004 with plans to expand. It was a big risk, Wolff said, but one that has worked out. Since then, Marathon tripled the size of its commercial flooring division, expanded its design department and opened a new furniture showroom.

Sovich said there was never a specific plan to expand into awnings and commercial window treatments, Pioneer's specialty; it just happened that way.

“When opportunities present themselves, you either say no or yes," Wolff said.

 Schuster said the deal came about after a casual conversation in late summer when he "whined" to Wolff about the hassles of having to do everything as a small business owner.

  "We'd always been interested in being part of a larger organization so I could focus on my design skills and what I do best rather than all the accounting and marketing that goes with doing it all by yourself," Schuster said.

 Pioneer will retain its name and become a division within Marathon. Schuster has already begun moving into his new office there, and Marathon has retained Schuster's employees.