Coming to fruition after 14 years of home-based operations, CJ Computer Services opened shop in Cartersville to better suit the needs of their customers.

Family-owned and veteran-operated, Stan Ford and Joe Morelli together run this full-service computer shop. Morelli served customers throughout north Georgia and metro Atlanta for years from his home, but with aggressive expansion he and his business partner have opened their first two shops within months of each other.

The first location opened in January serving Lithia Springs and the surrounding area followed shortly thereafter by the Cartersville shop at 509 N. Tennessee St. in the Richmond Square shopping center.

"Our motto has always been, 'If you can't come to us, we'll come to you.' By opening up this store we thought the community would be better off if we had a store here than to dispatch out of Kennesaw or Lithia Springs," Morelli said. "I've been servicing Cartersville for like 14 years now from Kennesaw and I used to go all the way to Rome and I decided to make it easier for the people we'd open up a store."

With both partners having 30 years of hands-on computer experience, the owners are confident in their ability to diagnose, repair, upgrade or rebuild any systematic failures that they encounter. Services range from virus protection or removal to custom builds.

The team still retains the on-site service that they were founded on and will travel to a home or business for service needs. Drop-offs and walk-ins also are welcome. On top of guaranteeing all of their work, CJ Computer Services strives to maintain a quick turnaround. Repairs, depending on the severity, are typically ready for same day or next day pick-up.

Morelli's experience lies in the construction and repair of computer components and is referred to by Ford as the "master technician." Ford on the other hand comes from a business IT background enabling him to serve customers wishing to establish networks and systems or optimize existing networks for business or residential needs.

Specializing in refurbishment and upgrades, CJ Computer Services has found growth within their niche during times of economic struggle.

"It's like all facets of life, people aren't buying as many new cars, they're repairing the used cars, they're keeping their cars longer, they're upgrading them. So it's following on that same point that we're getting away from the disposable society to trying to keep things longer and use them longer," Ford said.

The growing trend that Ford and Morelli have seen for the reuse of technology is exacerbated by the demands placed upon those machines by their owners, Ford said. The needs that are now fulfilled by desktop and laptop computers are more complex than ever before and have urged many consumers to hold on to their current computer for longer than they may have in the past. As Ford explained, in the past as the PC market exploded current models were made obsolete every six to eight months.

"A lot of people because of the complexity of computers now and the applications and the data they have on the computer they don't want to change to a new computer as often as they use to," Ford said.

Also offering new, used and custom built computers, the owners of CJ Computer Services pride themselves on being environmentally conscious as they recycle and reuse parts as well as properly disposing of harmful materials commonly found in specific components.

For more information, call 770-383-9884 or visit www.cjcomputer.com. Store hours are Monday through Friday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.