Hometown Annapolis:
Adam Paper (photo) found his calling in the passenger seat of a blue Volkswagen Beetle. Sitting in his friend’s car at a stop light, Mr. Paper said he heard, and felt, deep car stereo beats coming from a white Toyota Camry nearby and it ‘blew my mind.’
At that moment, the 14-year-old Annapolis High School student knew what he wanted to be: the owner of a car stereo business. Nearly 20 years later at the age of 33, Mr. Paper has realized that dream.
His car stereo company on outer West Street, Automotive Excellence, is serving a niche of car enthusiasts who want high-end sound systems to crank up in expensive cars - and Mr. Paper is watching sales soar as the area’s wealth grows.
From the Hyundais all the way up to Ferraris and Lamborghinis, clients are shelling out thousands of dollars for custom-designed audio systems that make the car one’s castle.
Modern technology has allowed Mr. Paper and his team to install vehicle ‘entertainment systems,’ with bells and whistles that are a far cry from some of the features available when he was still in high school.
We’re talking about iPods connected directly to the car stereo, along with Bluetooth technology, DVD navigation systems and touch-screen
TVs, all choices customers never had before.
The area’s demographics certainly have played a part in Automotive’s sales: The median household income for Anne Arundel soared from $48,850 in 1993 to $76,350 this year, according to county economic development figures.
Mr. Paper said he expects demand for those choices to bring revenue to $1 million this year.
And some customers can’t believe the results.
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