At Central States, we are employee-owners.  This means that our company is owned by an ESOP, and the employees are partners in that ESOP.  We practice open-book management to make sure our employees are empowered to make decisions that best serve the customer.

Every year, employees are given stock in the company above and beyond their normal paycheck.  It is our way of making sure that our employees are prepared for retirement and long-term financial success.  And in the short-term, it gives our company a workforce that is focusing on growing the company profits, because it benefits all of our families.

We believe that business should be kept as simple as possible.  Life is complicated enough, and we strive to be easy to do business with.  As a supplier, we accomplish this by being dependable and accurate.  This is reflected in our Hedgehog Concept:  Right, On Time, Every Time.  This means that we will get you the right product for your job, we will do it accurately with no mistakes, we will deliver it when you need it, and we will be consistent, so you can focus on your business, not on your supplier.

We accomplish this by being process-oriented and focusing on continuous improvement.  Each customer credit is ran through our RMA evaluation process to understand the root cause and implement a process to keep it from happening again.  We also focus on the numbers.  If it’s important to our customers, we track it.  On time delivery, order accuracy, missing pieces are just a few examples.  This is how we continue to be Right, On Time, Every Time.

In 1988, Central States opened a small plant in Rogers, Arkansas, to manufacture metal roofing and siding panels. We quickly outgrew the facilities and built a larger manufacturing plant in Lowell. Since then, we have continued to expand across America.

In 1991, Central States became employee owned by implementing an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), giving our workforce ownership interest in the company.

In 1995, we opened Metal Central, a retail outlet focused on a small radius of homeowners and contractors in Arkansas, and later expanded with retail outlets in Texas, Alabama and Kentucky.

In 2003, we expanded into the self-storage market with Central Storage Works, providing consumers with complete self-storage packages.

Click on the photos to flip through the album.