YOUR BUSINESS AUTHORITY
Springfield, MO
YOUR BUSINESS AUTHORITY
Springfield, MO
CenterFlow containers provide a sustainable option to transport and dispense corn and soy seed. A 100% recyclable and reusable product with a 15-year lifespan, it includes design features that improve ease of use for farmers and seed distributors around the nation.
SBJ: What inspired the product?
Jason Gearhart (CenterFlow sales manager): It was designed for safety, convenience and sustainability. We saw a market need. The product is in part used to replace (flexible intermediate bulk container) bags. We’ve been around for 25 years and have 2.5 million of these boxes produced, so have a longstanding history of success. Farmers command this product. If there is a brand that is packaged in a bag versus a box, buying decisions can be made based on the product that is in the box. That is how much farmers love the product. CenterFlow helps protect our nation’s food supply.
Christina Pike (Myers Industries marketing director): These products are moving supply chains. What I love about CenterFlow is how important it is. These seeds are used in so many of our food products and all kinds of different applications. It’s really this hidden gem that is so important to the supply chain and we really get the benefits of it every day.
SBJ: How do the boxes make a sustainable impact?
Gearhart: The box has the opportunity for up to 15 years of usable life. We have created some really nice systems for a circular economy. We bring the product back and grind it up for the next generation of products. So, it’s not just sustainable that you’re not throwing away a poly bag, but it’s also sustainable for the economy that we’re not throwing away any product.
SBJ: What makes the Ozarks a great place for manufacturing Centerflow?
Gearhart: It’s near the corn belt, which is important. The majority of customer demands are in and around that corn belt. One of our goals is to make sure we keep transportation costs reduced. And there are skilled work members around the Ozarks.
SBJ: How does CenterFlow impact the local economy?
Gearhart: The impact can vary one year from the others, but it’s about 9,000 labor hours per month [of operation]. The product tends to follow a demand cycle of harvest.
Pike: These boxes are made by people, of course, so depending on how large they are, you have more people handling boxes through the manufacturing process than some of our other products.
SBJ: How is marketing going?
Pike: We are primarily selling to seed companies and dealers, but it’s really the farmers who are using the boxes that are the ones pulling through that demand. They are the ones asking that their seeds be packed in CenterFlow rather than flexible bags. Our marketing takes two approaches: really elevating that this is the box farmers want to use and also the message to seed companies and other dealers who are actually buying the boxes, the longevity of how long the boxes will last and the value that they will get out of it.
Taking shape on 3.5 acres just east of State Highway H/Glenstone Avenue in the area of Valley Water Mill Park are the Fulbright Heights Apartments – three 23,000-square-foot buildings with 24 units each for a total of 72 one- and two-bedroom apartments.
