Banta moves from produce to food-service partner

by Kris Ann Hegle

SBJ Contributing Writer

Chuck Banta wanted to be a professional football player. A standout college athlete, he hadn't planned on returning to Springfield. But when his father Charlie Banta had a heart attack in 1977, he decided to go home and work at the family's business.

Although he had some reservations at first, in time Chuck Banta came to realize his decision was a wise one. As the president of Banta Foods, he oversees a 175-employee, 7,000-item food-service business with sales of more than $70 million and a customer base that extends beyond Missouri into Arkansas, Kansas and Oklahoma.

Chuck Banta is the fourth generation of his family to head up the business. His great-grandfather, W.H. Jezzard, founded the business, which originally was called Stewart Produce Co., in 1895.

The company's name has changed several times during the intervening years, from Stewart Produce Co. to Jezzard Fruit Co. to Jezzard-Banta Fruit Co. and then Banta Fruit Co. In the early 1980s, the name was changed a final time to Banta Foods, which reflected the company's new focus to provide a wide range of items to businesses.

Several Springfield restaurants, including such chains such as Applebee's, Rio Bravo, Amarillo Grill, the St. Louis Bread Co. and The Village Inn, get their food-service supplies from Banta Foods. Banta Foods competes with 15 industrial food service providers in the area.

"We're big enough to take care of our customers but small enough to make them feel special," Banta said. "If they have a problem, we can react to it a lot quicker than a larger company. Customer service is the biggest single reason that we're able to compete in such a highly competitive market."

While the company has made many changes over the last century, the more significant ones have taken place during the past two decades, according to Banta. The biggest single change to affect the company has been computers.

From its inception until the mid 1970s, most of the company's inventory was tracked on paper. Today, everyone from workers in the warehouse to members of the sales force perform all of their daily tasks via computer. Even drivers, who deliver goods in colorful company-owned trucks that bear Chuck Banta's image, have a computer on board that allows them to track and monitor deliveries.

Several of Banta Foods' customers also access the company's computerized network to place orders. Through a computer supplied by Banta, customers can log on to the company's intranet and access menus and recipes, which come complete with a shopping list of how much of each food staple is needed for purchasing and planning purposes. The system also allows customers to immediately see the price of produce and other commodities.

Automation has its price, however. Because of the Year 2000 computer glitch, the company has spent many man hours during the last 18 months updating its systems, and the company is using several new software packages that are popular among food-service distributors.

Banta Foods also has added a dietitian and a chef to its staff. They work with food-service directors, such as those at local schools, nursing homes and hospitals, and help them plan menus.

Banta Foods' plant size has increased as well. In 1985, the company moved from its original building, which was located on Wall Street just below the Grant Avenue viaduct, to its current location on North Packard Road just off Division Street near Highway 65.

The move reflected a change in the way the company receives and handles its inventory. During the early days of the business, most items arrived by rail car. Today, most of the inventory is received by truck. Some items, however, arrive by air freight.

Most of the produce received at Banta Foods leaves the warehouse in less than 72 hours. Other items, such as frozen foods, have a longer shelf life. Overall, however, Banta Foods has a quick inventory turnover rate, and, the company stays open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Approximately 60 percent of all truck deliveries to the business' 100,000-square-foot warehouse take place on the weekend, according to Banta.

Currently, Banta Foods is working with Marlin Advertising to update the company's image. Part of the new marketing strategy includes adopting a new corporate motto, "Delivering more to the table," which reflects Banta Foods' new focus.

"The whole strategy behind our new marketing campaign focuses on who we are now," Banta said. "We sell a lot more than just fruit. We act as consultants to our clients. We show them new ways to improve their food service, we keep them abreast of new products, and we even provide them with recipes."

Banta Foods is expanding into some new markets, such as Tulsa, Okla., and Kansas City. According to Banta, the company did between $6 million and $7 million of business in Kansas City alone this year.