Business notebook: Jackson cardboard firm honored by magazine

Dennis Vinson said it was a humbling experience to learn his business had been chosen as one of the 100 largest black businesses in the nation.

Signature Packaging in Jackson was named to Black Enterprise magazine's 2015 list.

"I'm honored. ... I've subscribed to that magazine basically all of my professional career," reading about the various companies being honored each year, Vinson said. "Today to see yourself on there, I'm just honored and blessed, and it seems somewhat surreal that you could be put in that place and have that kind of recognition."

Vinson started Signature Packaging in Atlanta in 2003 after working at another company in the industry.

The decision was made to relocate to Jackson when the company got the contract to supply boxes to Procter & Gamble.

Dennis Vinson, president and CEO of Signature Packaging and Paper LLC, discusses his business Tuesday in Jackson. (Fred Lynch)

Ground was broken on Signature's current Jackson location in October 2006, and the first box came off the line in March 2007.

Back then, plant manager Jibrel Haneef said, Procter & Gamble accounted for nearly 100 percent of Signature's business.

These days, Signature Packaging makes custom cardboard boxes not only for Procter & Gamble, but companies such as Rubbermaid and Nortec. It also designs cardboard displays and tests its boxes for strength.

Vinson doesn't take all the credit for Signature's success.

"It's the people and the support you get from the community," Vinson said. "The success of Signature is really all about the people. The people here make it happen. I'm the visionary and (make) things pull together, but I don't make the boxes."

He said the company's focus is on quality and service.

"A box is a box is a box, but it's about the experience you have" and the relationships with the clients, Vinson said.

The cardboard-box business is a good indicator of the general health of the economy as a whole, Vinson said.

"If you look at the world in general, the manufacturing process, almost everything you can think of at some point in its life cycle was in a box," Vinson said. "So how the box business goes is kind of an economic indicator, if you will."

Vinson said the plant was built with expansion in mind. The 85,000-square-foot building sits on 10 acres and can be expanded another 120,000 square feet. Signature runs two shifts.

"We're really thankful, and the future looks very bright in terms of further opportunity," Vinson said. "Getting this honor was just beyond my expectations, so I'm very pleased with that. I think there's nothing more for us to do but to continue to grow and go. And we've got the people and the infrastructure in place to allow that to happen."

Survey gives sign of Midwest slowdown

Figures have plunged in a third straight monthly survey of supply managers in nine Midwest and Plains states, providing more evidence of a slowdown in the region's economy. A report issued Nov. 2 says the overall Mid-American Business Conditions Index dropped to 41.9 last month, compared with 47.7 in September and 46.9 6 in August.

Creighton University economist Ernie Goss oversees the survey, and he again cites a strong U.S. dollar and global economic weakness among the reasons for the region's economic slide. The survey results are compiled into a collection of indexes ranging from zero to 100.

Survey organizers said any score above 50 suggests economic growth. A score below that suggests decline. The survey covers Missouri, Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma and South Dakota.

Kona Ice under new ownership

SEMO KONA Ice LLC, previously owned by Courtni Stephens, now is owned by Jason and Stacie Coleman through Coleman Investments LLC, according to a news release from Murphy Business of Cape Girardeau.

Stephens sold the Ste. Genevieve, Missouri, territory in March; the Colemans bought the remaining territory in Cape Girardeau and Jackson on Nov. 2. Stephens brought KONA Ice to Southeast Missouri in 2012.

Codefi celebrates its first year

Codefi celebrated its first anniversary Friday evening with a party at its office on Broadway.

In its first year, the Cape Girardeau incubator has hosted two nationally recognized programs for startups, launched a startup competition and helped launch nine startup businesses, according to information on the event's Facebook page.

Codefi opened in late 2014 as a place to help foster entrepreneurial growth and bring in independent workers.

Lutheran Home earns four-star rating

The Centers for Medicare/Medicaid has recognized the Lutheran Home in Cape Girardeau with an overall four-star rating.

Fewer than half the more than 500 nursing homes in Missouri have earned that high a rating, according to a news release from the Lutheran Home.

The Centers for Medicare/Medicaid rates nursing homes on results from on-site inspections, performance on quality measures and levels of staffing.

The facility also was recognized with a five-star rating on its registered nurse ratios, Lutheran Home administrator Teresa Brown said in the release.

Ribbon cuttings

• Bahama Tan, under new management, held a ribbon cutting Tuesday at 2370 N. High St., No. 6, in Jackson.

kwebster@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3642