Rogers Company Covers All Bases

When Southwestern Sales Co. president Julie Hines bought the Rogers-based company in 1977, she always knew making poultry house curtains shouldn't be the only product of the manufacturing company. Constantly changing and finding different niches was one of her priorities. Southwestern Sales evolved to making truck and landfill tarps. About a year ago, a new category was added to the list of Southwestern Sales specialties: baseball field covers. Southwestern Sales newest client, The Northwest Arkansas Naturals minor league team, unveiled its new cover in late March. "This is the one area our people have gotten the most excited and interested in," Hines said. "We started making landfill covers in about 2000 and were looking at other markets. Baseball covers were a natural. We utilize the same skills in our employees and virtually the same equipment. It wasn't too big a leap." The company has expanded twice and because of the landfill tarps, recently expanded another 59,000 SF and dedicated 12,500 SF to the production of large covers. Southwestern Sales donated its first baseball cover to Rogers High School. Once its next cover was sold to Centenary College (La.), the calls came pouring in, and Southwestern Sales has sold to several high schools, colleges and recreation facilities. "We are continually looking for new customers," Gerald Barrett, sales/marketing manager said. "We are trying to get exposed to as many people as possible." Based on the company's clientele, the exposure is coming slowly but surely. Southwestern Sales has sold covers to Brazos Valley Bombers minor league team, University of Evansville, Cal-State University, Texas Lutheran University, McNeese State University, the City of Joplin, Ripken Experience (Myrtle Beach, S.C.), Bridgeport Blue Fish and Ouachita Baptist in Arkadelphia. Additionally, the company has sold to several high schools in Arkansas, Kentucky, West Virginia, Louisiana, Missouri and Oklahoma and several youth baseball programs in Texas and Florida. The covers are constructed from a 6 oz. or a 7.4 oz. per square yard silver/white woven and coated polyethylene fabric. Reinforced hand pulls are made extra strong to reduce any chance of tearing, and they are folded tightly and shipped on a pallet. What makes Southwestern Sales unique is it keeps an inventory of everything it sells, including the baseball field covers. "People are amazed at our quick turnaround," Barrett said. "I think also our location is an advantage. We are at the center of the country and with freight (prices) going up, we have that advantage over companies on the east or west coast." Now that Southwestern Sales has settled into the baseball field cover business, the company is expanding to other areas including softball field covers, pitcher's mound covers, base covers, bullpen covers, home base covers and gym floor covers. Basically, any kind of athletic cover is not off limits. To help get into the arena, Southwestern Sales is soon going to have a Web site devoted to strictly athletic covers at www.baseballcovers.com. "Poultry curtains are still our bread and butter and the foundation and core of our business," Hines said. "It's been fun to get into new markets and interesting and challenging. I'm very proud of our new one."