Minneapolis-based PC Solutions Inc. today announced the acquisition of LBC Technology LLC, a West Des Moines-based technology partner for small and mid-sized businesses.

The acquisition provides PCS access to the Greater Des Moines market as well as greater economies of scale, said Mark Berndt, president and CEO of PC Solutions. The combined organization will also benefit from an increased level of research and development investment for new products to be offered in both the Twin Cities and Des Moines markets, he said.

“For over a year, we conducted an extensive search for a company in a new geographic market whose people matched our culture perfectly,” Berndt said in a press release. “In early talks with LBC, it was apparent that the IT professionals at LBC were just as committed to the long-term business success of their clients as we are at PCS throughout our nearly 40 years in the IT services business.”

PCS, already a leader in managed IT services, will now be able to deliver a higher level of expertise in virtualization and storage area networks, as well as offer document management and document imaging technologies, Berndt said.

In Central Iowa, “this acquisition will put our existing and future customers on a fast-track to next-generation small-business IT support,” said Peder Malchow, former president and CEO of LBC and current general manager of the combined companies’ Des Moines market. “We’re excited to join PCS since they have already made significant investments in the people, processes, and technology it takes to do managed IT services correctly.”

As part of the acquisition, PCS has assumed a long-term lease of space within LBC’s Tier 3 Data Center in Des Moines that will provide its clients unparalleled business continuity, disaster recovery, and offsite data replication capabilities.

“It’s very unique in the small to mid-sized market to have an IT partner who can offer access to such a sophisticated facility at an affordable rate,” Berndt said. “If a client’s company burns to the ground or suffers overwhelming flood damage, we now have the ability to get them back online.”