Business Spotlight: All Charged Up

If batteries are daily electronic fuel, then Battery Outfitters Inc. is like a gas station. Selling and servicing everything from watch to desk-size batteries for telecommunications systems, Battery Outfitters works to provide the fuel required.

“The idea is that if you come to our store, we’re going to have it and although that’s impossible, that’s our goal,” says owner Lane Shumaker, who began working for his family’s Golden-based company at age 19. “That’s 32 years of hard work.”

Battery Outfitters, now a six-store regional chain with a May 28 opening in Springfield, got its start from the tire business. Shumaker’s father, Keith, founded Shumaker Tire in Golden, 70 miles southwest of Springfield in 1961, and from it the family added automotive battery distribution.

“The battery business was new to the family so we decided to split the two up. I took the battery business and separated it from the tire business,” Shumaker says of his role beginning in spring 1984 to shape Battery Outfitters.

The company primarily distributed batteries to the automotive, commercial and marine industries. That changed in 1996, when Battery Outfitters branched out from wholesale and opened a retail branch in Joplin. Battery Outfitters also operates in Columbia and Little Rock and Rogers, Ark., covering a territory that spans nearly 400 miles.

The 6,000-square-foot Springfield store features two service bays for automotive battery installations, along with a technical center for specialty installations and custom-built packs for such devices as power tools, dog collars or electric razors.

Battery Outfitters distributes batteries to area farm supply stores, auto parts shops and hospitals, and Shumaker says the most popular retail purchases are for pickup trucks, watches and cordless phones. Declining to disclose annual revenues, Shumaker says the majority of sales are in the Pro-Series line manufactured by Johnson Controls Inc.

Shumaker says Johnson Controls builds six out of 10 lead-acid batteries globally, operating 50 plants worldwide. The majority of the batteries purchased by Battery Outfitters come from a plant in St. Joseph. Shumaker says the Springfield store and others receive full truckload shipments directly from Johnson Controls, and Battery Outfitters’ trucks fill in with deliveries to the other locations. Battery Outfitters is also one of 10 national master distributors of the Trojan Battery Co. brand and holds the distribution rights for Missouri, Arkansas, eastern Kansas and eastern Oklahoma, according to TrojanBattery.com.

The Trojan and Pro-Series lines were popular with C&T Printing owner Troy Eakins, during his 10-year career as a professional angler. Eakins was sponsored by Battery Outfitters and went through around 25 of its batteries while motoring lake waters on his fishing boat.

While Battery Outfitters no longer sponsors Eakins, his Nixa print shop handles the battery company’s promotional fliers. Today, Battery Outfitters sponsors roughly two-dozen fishing guides in the area.

Battery Outfitters had serviced Springfield Brake Co. until a late 2010 acquisition by FleetPride Inc., an aftermarket distributor of heavy-duty truck and trailer parts. Outside sales representative Allen Lumley worked directly with Shumaker to order heavy-duty truck batteries.

“They know the value of their customer. They don’t just want their business today. They want it tomorrow, also,” Lumley says.

Battery Outfitters currently employs 60 individuals, four of whom operate the Springfield store. The small number of employees is purposeful. To help with the hiring process and job interviews, Shumaker says a business psychologist was hired.

“We’ve always been very picky on the associates we hire. It’s been very challenging to find the type of people that would want to come and get what our culture and company is all about,” Shumaker says. “If you think about batteries, it’s not the most glamorous thing in the world. But it sure is nice whenever you need one and it works.”