Iowa State’s printer provider has made a new addition to its company.

Laser Resources Inc., or LRI, a printing company based in Urbandale announced Jan. 21 that it has merged with Freaky Fresh Marketing. Freaky Fresh is a marketing firm based in Johnston and has been in business since 2012.

A press release stated that merger of the two companies combines the strengths of LRI and Freaky Fresh Marketing. They do this by mixing LRI’s reputation for printing resources with Freaky Fresh Marketing’s local marketing knowledge to create a unique collection of products and services to Iowa businesses.

Bob Lashier and Andy Lashier, an uncle and nephew combination, own LRI. Thomas Lashier, the son of Bob Lashier, and Austin Jensen founded Freaky Fresh Marketing. All four men are ISU graduates.

LRI signed a contract with Iowa State this past summer to be responsible for supplying Iowa State’s printers and copiers. The change from the current systems to those owned by LRI will take place during the next five years.

The two companies talked about merging for most of last year, and this month made it official.

“Our acquisition of Freaky Fresh Marketing enables us to broaden our product offering to include online marketing services, graphic design, video production, digital signage and large format printing capabilities,” said Bob Lashier, president and CEO of LRI.

Thomas Lashier and Jensen are also excited for the change.

“We’ve been serving customers since 2012, but we’re a small team,” Thomas Lashier said. “We weren’t able to reach as many people as we wanted.”

The merge will not affect the number of employees at either company, but Freaky Fresh will move into LRI offices in Des Moines.

Bob Lashier said he believes this is the right move for Laser Resources because it will allow it to expand its service portfolio and thereby drum up more business.

“It will give us the ability to provide multimedia,” Bob Lashier said, something Laser Resources wasn’t able to do up until the merger.

Thomas Lasier of Freaky Fresh said the merger is mutually beneficial.

“This will make LRI more marketing-minded and provide more services for us,” Thomas Lashier said. “It’s a natural transition.”

Laser Resources has been serving Iowa since 1991 with its range of products. These products include printers, scanners, fax machines, as well as mailing services.

As far as the future of LRI, Bob Lashier said there are no current plans to merge with any more companies. The company does, however, have some ideas for its future.

“We hope to grow as a company and provide a more full product line,” Bob Lashier said. “We hope to provide ISU with more products and services.”

The four men said they are excited for the future of LRI and are happy to be working in a family-owned company.