CEO Profile: Chad Buckmaster, Processing Point

You often hear the term “above and beyond” to describe a business or its CEO, but when you visit Processing Point in Carlsbad, California, you can actually see and taste that famous corporate adage.

Sitting in the spacious shared office occupied by the company CEO, Chad Buckmaster, and COO, Andrew Newby, you can look out over a full basketball court in the office warehouse and sip coffee that these tech company leaders decided to create and distribute in addition to their popular cloud connected business solutions. Processing Point’s marketplace slam dunk is creating the most sophisticated products for the most affordable prices, which includes uPunch™ Time Clocks, uAttend™ Employee Management Systems and uAccept™ Point of Sale Systems.

A company that innovates coffee while simultaneously developing ground-breaking cloud connected business tools is truly soaring “above and beyond.”

Processing Point’s Sessions™ Coffee is rated based on percentage of caffeine—you can try the 150% Hyper Caf or the 200% Super Caf if you need a serious jolt. The Lite Caf offers 25% caffeine or the familiar Decaf at 0% is now just a starting point in a ranking category we never realized was needed in every office coffee cup.

Buckmaster, who serves as CEO of Processing Point as well as Chairman of Sessions Coffee and Beverage Company, describes the Carlsbad lifestyle as a good balance of work and life that has translated to his unique business and office culture.

When asked how his employees get any work done with so many fun distractions at the company, Buckmaster explains that the basketball court, games, lunches and lounges are not a distraction but rather a support system to keep his team happy, healthy and challenged. In fact, walking through the halls at Processing Point, you will see a video game lounge where employees can take a break and play Ms. Pac-Man or enjoy delicious smoothies and healthy lunches, all complimentary for guests and employees.

Buckmaster also describes detailed and specific company goals that are closely measured and monitored. The metrics cover product launches, individual department goals and customer satisfaction rates.

“If our business objectives are being met and surpassed,” explains Buckmaster, “then we don’t care who is playing video games during their break. We have actually found that people are committed to working for our mutual growth objectives because more growth has resulted in more benefits, particularly as it relates to our shared workspace.”

The company location also plays an important role in this combination of hard-charging and yet enjoyable and relaxing corporate culture.

“People who want to be based in San Diego in general and Carlsbad in particular tend to value our culture for similar reasons,” says Buckmaster. “It’s, for obvious reasons, not an inexpensive place to live, so a young worker who is committed to making it here will take his or her career seriously and be very focused on the career opportunity.

“Over time, you start to see like-minded individuals in terms of culture and a valuable ecosystem develops, not just within our company but in the region. It’s exciting!”

Buckmaster has observed a continuous increase and improvement in local tech talent. “Five to six years ago, it was harder to find software developers—mobile app producers, firmware engineers, full stack developers, and system architects,” he says. “But now we see a surge of applicants who are available locally.”

A Florida native, Buckmaster recalls seeing a San Diego picture book on a coffee table in a friend’s college apartment, and he fell in love with the Southern California images. He loved the water and boating, and told himself he would live there one day. Working his way through Montana and Northern California, he finally arrived in San Diego County and settled into Carlsbad.

A lifelong entrepreneur, Buckmaster found that the City of Carlsbad was not only business friendly for Processing Point, but the natural landscape is also a tremendous benefit for its founders and employees.

“Paddleboarding is huge for us,” explains Buckmaster. “We have 12 stand-up boards that we keep in the warehouse, and a group of us will go out paddleboarding through Carlsbad’s Agua Hedionda Lagoon to relax and exercise together. We encourage any employee to use the boards, and it really is an extension of our office and office culture.”

The team has more time to enjoy the Carlsbad lifestyle when the local government and support resources make it easy to do business and grow. “Operating in Carlsbad is a piece of cake,” says Buckmaster. “Getting permits was very easy, and working with the city has always been smooth through quite a bit of renovations in our new location with unique features.”

“The vendors and contractors here in Carlsbad are also terrific, very professional,” he says. “Whether it is CPAs or attorneys, the Carlsbad business ecosystem covers the spectrum of every business need.”

Processing Point’s growth over the decade it has been in business is also outstanding. The company currently serves over 50,000 customers nationwide and thousands more internationally, distributing its cloud connected business solutions (and coffee!) through Staples, Costco, Office Depot, Amazon, and other major national distribution networks.

Buckmaster explains that a major source of growth and insight comes from the feedback and analytics their systems produce.

“We read every ticket to see what customers are saying, not only to manage customer service but to understand how each product or feature impacts our clients.”

Future plans are focused on “continued growth” within Carlsbad, says Buckmaster.

“We’re never leaving Carlsbad, we love it here,” he says. “There’s nothing that could get us to move out. We could probably save money by relocating, but we are here to keep growing and enjoying our work, our lifestyle and turning out great solutions for our customers.”