NATCHEZ &8212; New product lines and new methods of doing business are some of the ways Kimbrell Office Supply has remained competitive and grown as a company.

Fifty years have passed since his father, the late Fred Kimbrell, opened the business in the 400 block of Main Street. Today Scott Kimbrell operates a business at 520 Main, a larger space and an array of products his father might find surprising.

On Thursday, Kimbrell held an open house, inviting friends and customers to meet some of the representatives of furnishings sold at the store &8212; upholstered sofas and chairs, desks, armoires, occasional tables and more, all of which are equally suitable for office or home.

&8220;We have some new lines of furniture and now have rugs, which we&8217;ve never had before,&8221; Kimbrell said. &8220;We have factory representatives from 10 or 12 of the manufacturers here today just to let folks know some of the new things going on in the business.&8221;

The company has expanded into Brookhaven with an office open there. &8220;We&8217;ve aligned ourselves with an office partners buying group and with Office Furniture USA for about 10 years, which gives us more buying power.&8221;

Kimbrell said his company competes well with the big-box stores such as Wal-Mart and Office Depot.

&8220;Not only are our prices the same or better than those stores, but we deliver; we call on customers; we are knowledgeable about our products,&8221; he said. &8220;What sets us apart is that we can help our customers figure out what they really need.&8221;

The store continues to offer a complete line of core office supplies. &8220;We have an excellent copy center, and we can bind and laminate or print on a particular type of paper,&8221; Kimbrell said.

Stationery continues to be a big item, as are wedding invitations, programs and posters.

Natchez Printing, purchased by Kimbrell in 1988, is in the basement section of the store and has a busy schedule with business cards, brochures and most other kinds of printing jobs.

Also in the basement section, Kimbrell has established a file depot, where businesses may store records to save space at their own offices. &8220;The space is secure, and the records are bar coded for easy access,&8221; he said.

Another service is shredding; still another is putting records on CDs.

Challenges in business change with the times. Today&8217;s customer is savvier, Kimbrell said. Customers use the Internet to narrow down their ideas. In fact, Kimbrell Office Supply sells directly by way of an Internet site.

Kimbrell began working full time at his father&8217;s store in 1969, then moved the store to its present location in 1980.

Among the 18 employees are his wife, Nancy, and his son, Scott Kimbrell Jr.

Many of his employees have worked for him for 20 years. His wife gets the highest praise, however. &8220;She is so good. She knows the people. I couldn&8217;t do without her.&8221;

Son Scott travels to Brookhaven, McComb and in that area of the state to sell machines for office and personal home use.

&8220;Our main products are Xerox,&8221; Scott Kimbrell Jr. said. He began working fulltime in the family business in 1994 and then began to work exclusively with office equipment in 1997.

He remembers his grandfather and the store located in the next block of Main Street. &8220;I grew up vacuuming that store every Saturday,&8221; he said.

The office supply business continues to change, he said. Working in a family-owned business suits him well. &8220;My dad is a really progressive person, and we run parallel in what we do. It&8217;s a constantly changing situation, and that makes it interesting.&8221;