Company Background
In 1988, entrepreneur Carl Carpenter saw an opportunity to turn some used sheet metal rolling equipment into a small business based in Rogers, Arkansas that would sell metal building components. The business soon took off, and the company moved in 1990 to a larger facility in Lowell, AR. Not only has that facility grown exponentially, so, too, has the company as a whole as it now operates five facilities (in Lowell, AR; Michigan City, IN; Cedar Hill, TX; Jasper, AL; and Mount Airy, NC) and employs 400. On the strength of more than 2,000 post-frame, commercial, residential, and architectural customers across 26 states in the U.S., the company earned revenues of more than $250 million in 2011.
Business Challenges
While their competitors cut back on product lines and services offered in the wake of the recession, Central States, which is 100% employee-owned, decided to get aggressive by expanding geographically – something the management team needed its associates’ help with. “We told everyone we were going to hit the mar-ket head on,” says Donna Leger, the company’s president. “We were taking a chance and we needed everyone to be behind us.” Because the company’s operat-ing revenue and margin are so dependent on the price of steel, they also rely heavily on their associates to minimize mistakes and waste.
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