In business since 1970, Lebanon metal fabricator Carmeco Inc. has seen its share of ups and downs.
But when the company lost a contract earlier this decade that accounted for about 60 percent of its work, a change in direction was required.
"At that point, we decided ... we need to work and develop our own products to have more control of our own destiny," said sales manager Jared Carr, whose grandfather founded Carmeco.
The Carr family took a look around and found Osage Canoes. The Lebanon aluminum-canoe maker had been in business since 1976, and the Carrs knew a little bit about the company.
"We knew they had a good name and were a national brand," Carr said.
Given the amount of aluminum work Carmeco already was doing, taking on canoe construction seemed a good fit. The family bought the company in December 2003.
The Carrs tweaked the manufacturing process to reduce labor costs and altered the design to move the canoes' front seats back about six inches to offer more space. Other than that, the canoes' design remains unchanged from the 1976 original.
The canoe line began as Osagian Canoes, but the name was changed in the mid-1990s to Osage Canoes. In 2006, the Carrs reverted to the original name and had a new logo designed.
While Carr declined to disclose revenues, he said the Carmeco subsidiary sells between 675 and 700 canoes a year.
The canoes range in price from $869 for a basic 17-foot canoe to $1,445 for a 17-foot square-stern canoe.
"We're just a speck on the map," he said.
Osagian also produces its Vantage series boats for water gamesmen. These boats can float in three inches of water and are suited for waterfowl hunting, fishing or gigging. They sell for $1,744 to $1,830 apiece.
Carr said outfitters account for about 80 percent of the company's business, with dealers and individual buyers rounding out the mix.
Linda Patrick, owner of Adventures Float Trips and Campground on State Highway 64 near Lebanon, is among the outfitters who use Osagian Canoes. She uses them because "they were such an outstanding canoe and easy to repair."
Patrick, who's been in business for 20 years, remembers one canoe in particular that she thought would need repairs.
During flood conditions, she said, an Osagian canoe sank in the Niangua River. The people who rented the canoe were fine, but Patrick couldn't find the canoe.
"It was on the river for two months under water when it was found," Patrick said. Surprisingly, the canoe wasn't damaged, and Patrick said her company was able to float it the next day.
"Nothing was bent, not a broken cross bar - nothing," she added.
Johnnie Burns, manager of Niangua River Oasis Canoe Rental near Bennett Springs, has been using Osagian Canoes since the 1970s. He said they're "top-of-the-line canoes." He said they're easy to repair - "in the rental business, you always have repairs" - and he likes the fact that they're made locally.
While Osagian does a fair amount of trade with regional outfitters, the company has shipped canoes to most states in the U.S. and to Africa, Central America and Japan.
"There's no real limitation where we ship to or what we're willing to do if they want a canoe," Carr said.
Perhaps one of the more unusual orders for canoes came from artist Nancy Rubins, who ordered 88 canoes in 17 colors for a permanent installation at CityCenter, a 67-acre MGM Mirage mixed-use development in Las Vegas.
The installation, which includes watercraft of all types, is to be dedicated later this year, and Carr said his family plans to be there.
Carr expects this year's sales to be the same as last year's, because of the flagging economy. But this year's launch of a redesigned Web site, www.osagian.com, has increased the volume of inquiries and resulted in some sales.
"It's really helped out a bunch," Carr said. "If we hadn't done that, I think we'd be ... hurting right now pretty bad."[[In-content Ad]]
