HOME | ABOUT US | MEDIA KIT | CONTACT US | INQUIRE
HOME | ABOUT US | MEDIA KIT | CONTACT US | INQUIRE
How does a third-generation family business sport roots that touch three centuries? Acquisitions. That’s how The Uhlmann company of Kansas City claims its place among the oldest companies in the region—the Uhlmann family acquired a majority interest in its predecessor organization, Standard Milling company, in 1951. As a major milling company, Standard boasted assets across the Midwest and the northeast U.S. The Uhlmann company may be best known for two popular flour brands that date to near the company’s founding, Heckers and Ceresota, but has a wide variety of holdings in various sectors, and is led by Paul Uhlmann III and his son-in-law, Wesley Fehsenfeld.
While Benedictine College itself is just a spry 160 this year, it’s part of a 1,500-year legacy of dedication embraced by the Benedictine order. Older than any of the state’s public universities, Benedictine is sponsored by the monks of St. Benedict’s Abbey and the sisters of Mount St. Scholastica Monastery in Atchison. Its mission is to provide a Catholic liberal arts, residential college (84 percent of its 1,910 students live on campus) education in a community of faith and scholarship. Steve Minnis is Benedictine’s president.
The oldest operating manufacturing company in the Kansas City area—and the state of Kansas—Leavenworth’s Great Western got its start as a foundry, cranking out steam engines, repairing steam boats plying the Missouri River, and turning out wood-burning stoves to support America’s pioneers during the westward expansion. It has evolved over the decades to become a specialist in production of milling equipment, including sifting and screening processes. James Schroeder, whose career achievements include induction into the Engineering Hall of Fame at his alma mater, K-State, is the president and CEO.
Combined, master craftsmen Paul and Les Burchett have nearly 80 years’ of experience producing grave markers and free-standing memorials for the company they co-own, Byrd Memorial. It claims the title of second-oldest business in continual operation in Atchison (trailing only Exchange National Bank, founded in 1857). The Burchett brothers have kept the company going not just through their artistry, but by wedding traditional craftsmanship with modern tools, now incorporating laser etching into a line that includes sculpture, relief carving and ground-level cemetery markers.
Kansas City’s oldest law firm has a new brand—the ampersand is gone—but the same commitment to supporting key sectors of regional commerce, including banking and financial services, construction and development, health care, real estate and energy. Since its inception, it has grown into a national firm, with 300 lawyers manning the parapets in 10 cities, from Los Angeles to Boston. In addition to corporate legal services that include business transactions, employment and employee benefits, environmental, intellectual property and litigation, it has a robust team focused on wealth strategies for businesses, families and individuals. Mark Bluhm is the firm’s chairman; Cameron Garrison is the new managing partner.
This law firm dates back to 1878 and the office of Frank Rozzelle, the lawyer for William Rockhill Nelson, founder of The Kansas City Star and the Nelson Atkins Museum of Art (hence, the Rozzelle Court at the latter). Along the way, it has combined with firms boasting long, rich histories in cities like Minneapolis and St. Louis. “The interesting part of all of this history is the balance struck by our predecessors at key times between a forward-thinking willingness to embrace change and adapt, while staying true to timeless core principles (client service, honesty, financial integrity, meritocracy),” says Mark Hinderks, Kansas City office managing partner. “We live now more than ever in a time of change. Therefore, we enjoy celebrating our history, but know that we must embrace the future so we don’t become history.”
They don’t make ‘em like this any more: St. Paul’s, a boarding school, was founded in a different era, but continues today with a mission of Christian education in Concordia, Mo. For Rev. Paul Mehl, the pastor, teamwork is what keeps the school grounded. “The fantastic people who make up our leadership team are themselves excellent Christian educators and we all share the purpose and vision for our school,” he says. “As long as there are parents, congregations, and alumni who believe in the need to ‘Prepare Leaders to Declare Christ,’ we will continue to have a legitimate purpose for being here.” The challenge ahead: “Cost is always a factor, since public education is always seen as ‘free,’ Mehl says. Thus, St. Paul’s must “show parents the value and benefits of what we have to offer.”.
At its inception, what is now the state’s biggest bank—by far—had a stated goal of helping Kansans secure a piece of the American Dream with financing for home ownership. Today, this full-service bank is more than twice the size of the second-largest in Kansas, with more than $9 billion in assets. But it makes a lot more than just home loans. It’s a first-choice lender for construction, business and consumer loans, and offers the full suite of savings and investment tools. John B. Dicus is the president and CEO.
“Legacy,” says Tyler Nottberg, “is about accepting change as inevitable.” He’s the CEO of a company that has evolved from a metalworking shop in Cologne, Germany, to one of the most advanced and successful mechanical contracting firms in the U.S. But that’s not the end point. “We’ve worked hard as a team to continue developing and implement strategies that move us up the value chain,” Nottberg says. “We’re one of oldest firms in the Midwest, period, and while longevity does not in and of itself constitute greatness, it’s tough to argue that mediocrity is what got us here,” he says. Thus, “our entire frame of reference is the next 125 years—not just five, 10 or even 20 years. We are always thinking about the long-term future, which means getting comfortable with uncertainty. That’s both exciting and daunting.”.
Now based in Topeka and led by owner Ren Newcomer, this family-owned provider of funeral services was founded by a name many will recognize: Ren’s great-grandfather, D.W Newcomer, whose first funeral home was in Kansas City. Today, its family of brands services much of this region, and through acquisitions has spread into states like Colorado, New York, Ohio, Florida and Wyoming. Its family of brands includes Newcomer Cremations & Funerals, Penwell-Gabel Cremations, Funerals & Receptions, Dove Cremation, AraCremation and Mount Hope Cemetery, Funeral Chapel & Reception Center.
Burns & McDonnell celebrated its centennial a generation ago. Looking at it today, one might not recognize it as the same engineering firm. For one, it’s not as limited by design functions; architectural and construction services have given it a considerably broader footprint in the construction sector, and that foot has stepped out to offices around the world. Employee-owned since 1985, it’s one of the area’s biggest employers, with more than 3,500 people at its south Kansas City headquarters. “Some things have changed in the last 20 years and some are the same,” says CEO Ray Kowalik. “Our foundation built from being employee-owned hasn’t changed. Our model to hire the best and brightest and then put customer service first hasn’t changed. What has changed is that we are bigger outside of Kansas City, than in KC now.” The company has made a bigger investment in its communities and workplace to make both better, he said, and “we need to be continuously improving and innovating to keep us growing. And we will do both.”
Twenty bucks. That’s how much A.L. Huber charged to build his first homes. Of course, $20 doesn’t go as far today as it did back then, but then, the A.L. Huber General Contractor of today has evolved into a far more sophisticated construction concern, billing more than $54 million a year. Its work ranges from office buildings and banks to schools, churches and advanced medical facilities, renovations of historic structures. A.L.’s grandsons, Augie (CEO), Joe and Randy (vice presidents), are part of the leadership team, and a fourth generation has started working there; Phil Thomas is president.
This Merriam company was founded in Iola, Kan., where Samuel Mitchell Sifers made bulk penny hard candy, boxed chocolates nickel candy bars. FIve generations later, its chocolate-covered marshmallow filling—a formulation discovered by accident—are still coming off the line, under the direction of the founder’s great-grandson, Russell Sifers.
One thing Gary Gradinger brings to work each day as chairman and CEO of Golden Star is “a sense of gratitude for opportunities created by predecessors, a longer-term perspective and an ethical purpose handed down to us that our present leaders always strive to leverage,” he says. The company takes a vertical-integration approach to the manufacture of cleaning tools sold around the world, an aspect that informs Gradinger’s view of growth. Foreign companies, he says, “have adapted beautifully to cultural changes, always maintained their focus on customers and innovation, skillfully navigated governmental obstacles, demonstrated a willingness to take calculated risks and, obviously, possessed cultures with a penchant for long range thinking. Embracing those traits and avoiding suspect management notions hopefully will serve us well going forward.”
A marine contractor headquartered in landlocked Kansas City? Yep, but Massman does a lot more than just the locks, dams and docks that dot a map of the projects it has completed along major waterways in the U.S. This award-winning heavy construction company, with a rich history of more than 1,600 projects completed, specializes in large-scale public and private projects that include bridges, difficult foundations and power plants, among others, providing both construction muscle and engineering. Henry Massman IV, namesake and great-grandson of the founder, is the current president and CEO.
Making it into a second century, Mike Hagedorn knows, means recognizing and respecting the contributions made long ago that contribute success today. But, says the CEO at UMB Bank, while they are proud of the longevity, his team knows that “future success isn’t guaranteed by legacy. Success comes with our commitment to fostering an entrepreneurial spirit that allows us all to think creatively about how to exceed the financial needs of our clients in a rapidly changing environment.” The state’s second-largest bank overall is No. 1 in the Kansas City market for deposits, and has more than $20 billion in assets. Sticking to its core values and doing what’s right, not always what’s popular, Hagedorn says, “has been a differentiator and continues to be our guidepost.”
A century ago in their mom’s kitchen, Chuck and Frank Cramer concocted an athletic liniment that quickly gained popularity with sports teams, and Cramer Products was off and running. So, too, would be the new field of sports medicine, where the Gardner-based company has been a leader in product development, expanding into athletic tape, hydration, splints, braces, supports and athletic apparel and more. By establishing the National Athletic Trainer’s Association, it helped launch the field of sports medicine, promoting techniques to treat injuries and restore athletes to playing health. After becoming employee-owned in 1985, the company was sold in 2013 to Performance Health of Akron, Ohio, but operations continue in Gardner.
One man doing small-service electrical work. That’s how it started with Frank Shaw Sr., who probably wouldn’t recognize what those early days of installing new lighting and switches, or repairing electrical appliances, have morphed into: A company with family ownership that runs four generations deep and boasts more than 175 employees and a reach that has spanned 25 states. Ryan Blake is the president.
If you grew up in Kansas City in the ’50s and ’60s, you knew Guy’s, a staple of the chips and snacks aisles at Milgram’s, Safeway and other grocers of that era. Maybe you didn’t know that Guy’s is still around, with products on the shelves of retailers in the Midwest and now on-line. The ownership has changed from the candy and nuts company started by Guy Caldwell—potato chips came later—and today is in the hands of Janine Joslin, who bought the brand in 2007 and set up production in Lenexa, and cranking out chips, pretzels and its Tasty Mix brand party snack.
From its Bonner Springs headquarters, this construction-aggregates company operates at eight sites in the bistate region and Oklahoma. In addition to supplying the building sector with masonry and concrete sand, its materials end up on roads during icy weather, on rooftops and streets as roofing and asphalt gravel, and on the weekend landscaping to-do lists of homeowners as pea gravel or decorative river gravel. Among other
uses, that is. Since 2008, it has operated as a subsidiary of Ash Grove Cement company, which itself was sold late last year.
One of the largest asphalt paving and construction companies in the Midwest, Superior Bowen for most of its existence was the creation of two families in the construction sector, and it served both of their business lines as Superior Asphalt, a division of Clarkson Construction company, and Bowen Construction before merging in 2000 to forge the current brand. They’re well known in the heavy contracting world for their work with site development and paving on highway and residential road projects, airport runways, and the large parking lots you find at shopping malls and sports stadiums.
Country Club Bank was already three decades old by the time retired banker Byron Thompson bought it in 1985. In the years that followed, including the span after he handed control off to his children, the former Ward Parkway Bank became a significant player in the highly fragmented Kansas City market. Its assets were up nearly 280-fold before his death in 2015, and Country Club remains one of the 10 largest locally based banks operating here.
Three generations into the family ownership, Co-CEOs Jonathan and Seth Freiden lead a company that provides novelty toys, carnival prizes, and party supplies. With more than 100 employees today, it’s come a long way from the toy rack distributor their grandparents founded in the living room of their apartment. The company sells nationwide through retail stores, by catalog and on-line.
Had the late Jim Stowers followed his grandfather and father into medicine, Kansas City might not have one of the nation’s premier mutual-fund investment companies to count among its own. But after two years of medical school and World War II service, he started Twentieth Century Investments, convinced that a growing middle class would produce millions of investors. He was right. Rebranded in 2000, American Century
Investments serves both investors and the health-care world with Stowers’
bequest to direct profits to the company to the Stowers Foundation for Medical Research. Jonathan Thomas is the CEO of the firm, which has more than $160 billion in assets under management.
The Missouri River’s ability to divide this region is perhaps nowhere as strong as with our health-care assets—so few people live north of it, comparatively, that many are surprised to learn that North Kansas City Hospital is one of this region’s five busiest, in terms of annual admissions (nearly 22,000). It is not, however, a suburban hospital; it’s almost as close to the heart of Downtown Kansas City as are Saint Luke’s Hospital or the Univ-
ersity of Kansas Hospital. A full-service medical center offering care for heart disease, stroke, cancer, trauma and other ailments, NKCH is led by Peggy Schmitt, president and CEO.
Technically, the organization is three years older, but there were no Kansas City Chiefs in 1960, when they debuted as the Dallas Texans. The move north re-incorporated them as a KC company, and we’re going with that. Across 5 ecades, there have been immeasurable highs and heart-breaking lows—a recent one comes to mind; thanks, Tennessee—but the Chiefs have established their kingdom with nine division championships, two AFC championships and one Super Bowl trophy in their history. Clark Hunt, son of founder Lamar Hunt, is the owner.
When the weekend warriors of residential landscaping show up at Suburban Lawn & Garden, the looks on their faces suggest kids in a candy store. From young Bill Steuck’s ambitions mowing lawns—while he was still in grade school—has come a retail, wholesale and service organization offering landscaping materials and stone, trees, flowering and green plants and grasses, and consultation, plus commercial and residential grounds maintenance from its two facilities in south Kansas City.
Values, says Mark Radetic, helped establish MarksNelson half a century ago, and those same values—integrity, honesty, hard work on behalf of clients—are driving it into its next phase with the acquisition this month of
a tech company, Blue Ocean Consulting. “Technology is transforming the way accounting firms do business,” says Radetic, the firm’s managing partner. He runs Kansas City’s largest locally owned accounting firm, which will have more than 175 employees with the new additions.
Business cards, brochures, invitations or labels, Quality Litho, based in Kansas City, Kan., has mastered the craft for 50 years under owner and founder Jim Muiller. The company also offers binding, digital printing and print design for high-volume jobs and small special orders, all on high-quality print stock. Ingram’s has used Quality Litho for decades as a commercial printer and we know first-hand how terrific of a vendor they are, says Publisher Joe Sweeney.
For a small engineering firm, Taliaferro & Browne packs a big wallop with its expertise in both civil and structural engineering, capable of taking on even large-scale waterworks project. But it also offers planning, surveying and development services, along with landscape architecture and inspection services. Headquartered Downtown, it also has an office in St. Louis. Hagos Andebrhan is the CEO.
Carpet Corner didn’t get to be half a century old by standing its ground. This second generation, family-owned company has grown to six stores in the metro area, with nearly 90 employees, by understanding that there’s more than one way to skin a cat—or deal with a floor. In addition to wall-to-wall carpet and area rugs, it offers hardwood of flooring options, vinyl coverings and laminates, along with installation and design consultation.
Since introducing the Milestones feature in 2015 to spotlight companies celebrating key anniversaries each year, Ingram’s has combed tens of thousands of state and city business records to verify dates of origin for these organizations located in the greater Kansas City region. The challenge with those, however, is that they were only a starting point. There was no universal reporting standard 150 years ago—or even 50, we’ve learned—to distinguish the precise date a company opened its doors, as opposed to the day it might have filed for a business license or registered to do business here after relocating from another state. Additionally, some companies founded in Missouri are now located in Kansas, and vice-versa, creating conflicting records about dates of origin. After parsing those records, we supplemented that work with our own research team’s efforts to identify companies in many dozen business sectors each year, data that help produce more than 65 ranking lists published over the course of our 12 monthly editions. As a final step, we sweep company Web sites and do the nitty-gritty work of making phone calls to seek verification. Each year, our understanding of business-creation dates improves, but given the vagaries of reporting standards from so long ago, we’re always ready to make updates and additions. If your company is at least 40 years old and not on this year’s list, please contact us at 816.842.9994 to let us know.
