2015 Business Class Honoree: SMC Packaging Group

There aren’t many industries that consider themselves successful when everyday people don’t think about their product, especially one that touches so much of everyday life.

But that makes sense if your company manufactures corrugated packaging and related infill – cardboard boxes and packing peanuts.

“Everything that you buy has come in a box at some point in time,” says Kevin Ausburn, chairman and CEO of SMC Packaging Group. “If we have done our job well, people don’t think about the packaging after they bought the product. The only time you think about the box is if the product inside is broken.”

Protecting products is how SMC built a multistate company that has weathered recessions, the decline of U.S. manufacturing and industry consolidations, thanks to innovation and a dedication to customer service that dates back decades.

SMC was founded in 1972 by Ausburn’s father Ross Ausburn and his business partner Chuck Bachus. Prior to starting SMC, both men worked for a local manufacturer. Kevin Ausburn says after several company expansions, the men were at a point in their careers where their next moves were probably transfers to other locations.

“They really liked the Springfield area and both had visions of running their own operation,” the younger Ausburn says. “They decided the time was right for them to start SMC.”

The shoestring startup thrived because of its founders’ knowledge of the industry and a loyal, albeit small, customer base, Ausburn says.

Investments in equipment, development of new products and services, and expansion into new markets positioned SMC to stay profitable at a time when manufacturing in general, and the containers industry in particular, took a hard hit.

“Starting about 15 years ago, there was a lot of exodus of manufacturing from the United States,” Ausburn says, noting it was cheaper and easier for overseas plants to buy packing materials locally. “Consequently, that had a big impact on box demand in the U.S.

“Everybody was chasing a smaller and smaller market.”

SMC bounced back quickly, Ausburn says, by expanding its services and product offerings and focusing on flexibility, creativity and quickly turning around orders.

“We do a lot of work with customers on how to take costs out of their packaging needs,” he says. “We make sure the boxes we are selling them are the most cost-effective and efficient way to get their products to their customers. They look at us as a total supplier of their packaging needs, not just the box.”

To fulfill its promise to its customers to be their “one-stop shop” for shipping materials, SMC has invested in its graphic capabilities to now print full-color boxes, offer contract packaging of products for direct shipment to the customers’ customers and sell packaging equipment to help clients automate their packing lines.

“We are a very entrepreneurial organization,” Ausburn says. “The last couple of years have been very prosperous and strong for us thanks to our customers and their support, and 2015 is looking pretty good right now as well.”[[In-content Ad]]