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REVENUE FOR CENTRAL States Manufacturing Inc., a metal building supplies producer based in Lowell, has risen 82 percent in the last five years to $139 million, good enough for the company to land at No. 57 on Arkansas Business' list of the 75 largest private companies.
Rick Carpenter, president of Central States since the mid-1990s, said the increase in revenue is due to the growing acceptance of metal products in all areas of construction.
Central States started out under the leadership of Rick's father, Carl, in 1988 at a small plant in Rogers that produced metal roofing and siding for wood-frame buildings, also called post-frame buildings. Central States later expanded into commercial products for steel-frame buildings.
Having quickly outgrown its original home, Central States moved in 1990 to its current location in Lowell, which was expanded from 15,000 SF to 123,000 SE Central States also opened additional manufacturing facilities in Michigan City, Ind., in 1997; Cedar Hill, Texas, in 2000; and jasper, Ala., in October.
Central States also has a small retail division, a 32-truck fleet and a self-storage division that sells complete building packages for mini-storage, boat storage and RV storage buildings.