In 1986, Debsan had 10 employees each with their own computers, an innovative idea that put Debsan far ahead of the curve in this industry at that time. Since then, they’ve maintained customer purchase records and color selections. When a customer wants to reproduce a color-whether paint or carpeting, or other product, that information is readily available.

Born out of a “eureka moment,” Ben introduced the Rent-A-Quart program in 1995. He had attended a trade show where he saw a company that manufactured plastic screw top covers. Two weeks later he visited a paint store in RI that had a small paint rental program with 50 available colors. He simply combined both ideas and expanded on the rental concept. Debsan now stocks 15,000 quarts of paint in its basement.

In creating Debsan’s Rent-A-Quart program, Ben Greenberg made choice easy and quick for customers. They can select from over 5,000 Benjamin Moore and paint colors. If you can picture the difficulty of prying paint cans open with a screw driver, you can readily see how welcome the screw tops are to customers.

Technology: The business is fully computerized and all members of staff know how to use these tools. Debsan also has a state-of-the-art color-matching computer that is capable of cross-referencing paint and stain colors from every manufacturer. This technology breaks the formula down into the smallest of units, thus allowing Debsan to produce an exact matching formula.

Eco Sensitive: Debsan is among the first wave of independent retailers in the Northeast to bring Aura™, Benjamin Moore’s revolutionary new paint, to his store. According to Ben Greenberg, “bringing Aura paint to our customers is a no-brainer given the high interest in preserving the environment.” Aura is eco-friendly and it is a rarity to find an ultra performance product that can also stake claims on greenness. This paint is also considered cutting-edge because the paint locks in color enabling Aura to cover most surfaces in a single coat.