Business Spotlight: SMC Packaging Group

Owner: Ausburn and Bachus families (majority shareholders)

Founded: April 1, 1972

Address: 3131 E. Division St., Springfield, MO 65802

Phone: (417) 831-2685

Fax: (417) 866-6232

Web site: www.smcpackaging.com

Services/Products: Corrugated boxes, packaging supplies and graphic capabilities

2006 Revenues: $50 million

Employees: 310

While the majority owners of SMC Packaging Group share a sense of humor, the company’s founding was no joke – even though the business was started on April Fools’ Day 35 years ago.

Ross Ausburn and Chuck Bachus started Southern Missouri Containers Inc. on April 1, 1972. The predecessor to SMC Packaging Group began with 15 employees on Dale Street in Springfield.

SMC Packaging Group, which now employs more than 300, has a service and product list that includes corrugated boxes and packaging supplies such as tape, shrink wrap and glue, as well as graphics capabilities.

Officials say corrugated boxes dominate the company’s business, accounting for more than 90 percent of the SMC Packaging Group’s nearly $50 million in 2006 revenues.

Breaking out

Co-founders Ausburn and Bachus decided to go out on their own after being affected by merger activity while working for Horner Box, according to Kevin Ausburn, SMC Packaging CEO and son of Ross Ausburn.

“They decided they liked Springfield and they wanted to make this home,” Kevin Ausburn says. “That’s when they decided to walk out on their own.”

Ross Ausburn and Bachus are both semiretired now and have left day-to-day operations to Kevin Ausburn, chairman and CEO for nearly five years.

SMC Packaging Group consists of three divisions that operate autonomously: Southern Missouri Containers Inc. in Springfield, Arrowhead Containers Inc. in Kansas City and Wonderstate Box Inc. in Conway, Ark. Arrowhead Containers, which manufactures corrugated boxes similar to the ones at Southern Missouri Containers, came into the fold in 1982 via acquisition from Georgia-Pacific. Five years later, Southern Missouri Containers opened Wonderstate Box, another corrugated-box producer that also operates a graphics department.

“We actually created the SMC Packaging Group 10 years ago to convey to the market that we are larger than just any one operation, that we all operate under that (umbrella),” Ausburn says. “But at each facility, we have individual identities.”

Each division faces its own challenges, but as a whole, Ausburn says the manufacturing industry is shrinking either through consolidation or outsourcing. Because this activity may result in fewer orders or lost business altogether, Ausburn says SMC Packaging Group responded by investing $10 million in equipment and technology upgrades in recent years. The company is now evaluating its next three-to-five year capital expenditure plan.

Day 1

Tom VanHooser is among five employees who have been with the company since it opened its doors.

VanHooser had just been discharged from the U.S. Marines after serving in Vietnam and was looking for a job when he was referred to Bachus. VanHooser was hired as a sales trainee and has worked his way up to senior vice president of SMC Packaging Group and general manager of the Southern Missouri Containers division.

VanHooser says it’s been a real adventure being with the company for so many years, and he credits the work environment and family aspect on which the company thrives for his longevity.

Also on board since Day 1: client Blair Cedar and Novelty Works in Camdenton.

Blair Cedar and Novelty Works is among SMC Packaging Group’s 2,000 customers, which are primarily located in Missouri, Arkansas, Kansas and southern Iowa.

“They are great people to work with,” says John Blair, CEO of Blair Cedar and Novelty Works, a manufacturer and distributor of cedar souvenirs and gifts. “We know them personally, and we enjoy the great working relationship.”