Business Spotlight: AVP directs move to new digs, shoots for growth

The walls and ceiling of the studio at Associated Video Producers are black. The studio itself takes up more than 5,000 square feet. Owner Craig Kauffman joked that it's big enough to hold a semitrailer rig. And it may very well do so, if this full-service production company starts shooting TV commercials for trucking companies in the future.

Previously, Associated Video Producers worked out of a small office located on East Meadowmere. Most of the work done for clients was shot on location or in rented studio space. All of that changed in December, however, when AVP relocated to its new custom building at 2034 W. Vista.

A well-known cameraman in the area, Kauffman got into the production industry years ago when a local TV station promoted him from groundskeeper to cameraman. In 1982, he joined AVP, an independent video production company in Springfield, founded a year earlier.

He worked alongside business partner Jim Lewis for 12 years. Then, in 1994, Kauffman and his wife, Michele Kauffman, bought out Lewis's interest. Michele Kauffman, a bookkeeper, joined the business at that time and became the company's controller.

"I joined the business because I wanted my own office," Michele Kauffman said and laughed. "Seriously, though, if Craig and I were going to run this business by ourselves, I wanted to make sure that we had control of the money so we could determine the direction the business would take in the future."

Before too long, the Kauffmans began discussing expansion.

"Building a new facility took guts," she said. "But it was a well-planned expansion. We've built a custom facility that will allow us to attract more clients both nationally and locally."

Among the production companies in southwest Missouri, AVP is probably best known for providing quality camera work. In fact, it was one of the first production companies in the area to incorporate booms, dollies and film-style lighting on location shoots. It also is one of the few companies in the area that does 35mm camera work, which is used in national commercials and presentations.

"This is a hard business to be in," said Craig Kauffman. "It takes a lot of equipment to get started; your overhead is always high, and almost everything you do is labor intensive. Experience really counts because it allows you to produce a quality product quicker, which saves the business and the client money. Among our six full-time employees, we have more than 90 years of experience in the industry."

The Kauffmans estimated that 40 percent of AVP's clients are referred through local advertising agencies in the area and 40 percent come through direct contact. The remaining 20 percent are referred from one of four national booking agencies that count AVP as a member. These agencies match clients with production companies and crews located throughout the United States and overseas.

Many of the company's national jobs have come through referrals from booking agencies. AVP has shot or produced work for companies such as American Express, Weight Watchers, MCI, McDonald's and Motorcars International. AVP also has videotaped segments for national broadcast and cable network stations such as NBC, PBS, ESPN, and CNN, as well as syndicated programs such as "Hard Copy," and "America's Most Wanted."

Most of these productions were shot on location, but in the future the Kauffmans anticipate much of their work will come from shooting and producing training films and TV spots in-house. Having a larger studio will also allow AVP to rent the studio for still photography and catalog work.

In addition to increasing the scope of services offered to clients, AVP's new building has allowed the company to bring back in-house many production aspects that had previously been contracted out. The new building contains a state-of-the-art video editing and duplication facility, and the Kauffmans are adding a PC-based animation system.

"I expect we will be attracting more national clients in the future, but we will continue to offer competitive prices to our clients in the local market," Craig Kauffman said. "We're local, so we don't pass on a lot of travel expenses to our clients. We're also doing more editing in-house, which saves our clients time and money. All of these factors help us put out a better product at a better price, and we're more competitive in the local market than ever before."

Still, no business can increase its client base overnight. To help pay for the expansion, which was funded through the U.S. Small Business Administration and commercial banking sources, AVP rents out its studio and equipment when they're not in use, to generate additional revenue.

According to Michele Kauffman, business revenues have increased by at least 20 percent each year and sales have increased 10-fold since AVP was founded in 1981.

"Even though we've been in business 19 years, in some ways, I feel like we're in the infancy stages in terms of our growth potential," she said. "We're bigger; we offer more services now, and we're marketing ourselves. I think we're on the verge of significant expansion."

Associated Video Producers

Year founded: 1981

Owner's name: Associated Video Producers Inc.

Address and phone number: 2034 W. Vista 65807; 881-7090

Web site: www.a-v-p.com