By LAURIE JOHNSON Construction starts on Mail Technology offices By LAURIE JOHNSON The Daily News Construction has started on a new home for Mail Technology Inc. at 2135 Hillshire Circle in East Memphis. The new 5,000-square-foot building will provide the company, which specializes in mail and paper handling systems, twice the amount of space it has at its current location at 5045 Covington Way, said company owner Henry Sanders. "Were moving to a different location because we need to expand," he said. "We have a very nice place here, but were just out of room." The company currently shares a 5,000-square-foot building with Elliott Impression Products Inc. Mail Technology will be the sole occupant of the new facility, which is expected to be completed in May. Sanders said the company will invest about $750,000 in the new headquarters and showroom, which includes land, construction and equipment. A building permit for $330,000 for construction of the new facility has been filed with Shelby County code enforcement. The general contractor for the project is Chris Woods Construction Co. Inc. of Memphis. Professional Design Resources Inc., also of Memphis, served as project architect. Sanders said the new site, which is located at Whitten Road and I-40, was chosen because of its convenience and potential value. "It offers convenient access to the expressway," he said. "Because they are widening Whitten Road in that area, we will have to deal with some temporary inconvenience. But we think that when this is all finished, the property values in the area will appreciate. "It will be a major north-south connector." Founded in 1983, Mail Technology specializes in mail and paper processing equipment, such as postage meters, shredders, check-signers, folders, inserters and mailroom furniture designed to streamline the mail collection and distribution process. Its major competitors include companies such as Pitney-Bowes. "Were the little local guys, and we compete with a Fortune 100 company," Sanders said. "But weve been in business long enough to develop a good reputation, and some people just prefer to do business with a local company." A number of major Memphis companies use Mail Technologys services, including Federal Express, International Paper, AutoZone, the Memphis Convention and Visitors Bureau, Sofamor-Danek and Wangs International. Sanders said the new facility will allow Mail Technology to increase its sales force. The company currently has 12 employees. "Our growth has been limited by the number of people we have," he said. "You can only run so fast." Although Sanders declined to release specific figures, he said company revenues have increased about 20 percent each year.