Ingram's August 2022

Commerce Bank A handful of banks may have more depos its within various submarkets, and a handful may have more locations, but only one bank puts the metrics together to make a strong claim as being the strongest statewide bank ing brand based in Missouri: Commerce Bank. The bank’s statewide appeal reflects that its leadership ranks are divided between St. Louis and Kansas City, while the latter still retains headquarters recognition from the FDIC. Its most recent regulatory filing showed

Commerce with $34.8 billion in assets, up more than $1.5 billion year-over-year. A con tributing factor to that growth is an organi zational mindset that views every transaction as a consumer verdict on the brand’s appeal. The bank has enjoyed additional polish on its reputation in recent years with a run of appearances near the top of Forbes’ annual list of the best-managed banks in the nation. Founded in 1865, it’s the oldest continuous bank operating in Kansas City.

Emerson More than 20 years after rebranding to reflect a much broader scope in electrical ser vices, many locals still refer to it as “Emerson Electric.” Every time it gets typed that way, somebody just wasted eight keystrokes: It’s just Emerson, thank you, and it’s been that way since 2000. It’s a global supplier of highly diversified products and services, data-center infrastructure, and management, having vastly expanded its offerings within those disciplines, while its legacy enterprises continue with the sales of electric appliances and parts. St. Louis is home to about 1,300 employees out of a glob

al workforce of 83,000 strong, focused on every thing from design and installation of industri al-scale production facilities to providing HVAC services in residential and commercial settings. “Everything but the kitchen sink” does not apply here: The company also cranks out waste-dis posal units … for the kitchen sink. All told, the company racked up $18.3 billion in sales last year, a healthy year-over-year pop of $1.3 bil lion. Founded in St. Louis in 1890, not long after the dawn of the electrical power age, the com pany had its roots in the production of electric motors, floor and ceiling fans, and blade design.

Energizer Holdings Energizer is the Big Kahuna brand of the holding company that produces that line of bat teries, but two others in that space—Eveready and Rayovac—are all part of the Energizer fami ly of brands, giving this St. Louis-based compa ny a commanding share of the market for por table power. But the ability to reach consumers doesn’t stop there: Energizer divisions also make and distribute headlights, lanterns, chil dren’s lights, and area lights. Other products

in the portfolio include ArmorAll, Eagle One, STP, and Nu Finish, names especially familiar to those buying car-care products. All told, they were good for 2021 sales of $3.2 billion at this Fortune 1000 company, up a snappy $500 million over 2020, which yielded a healthy 10 percent increase despite being the worst stretch of the global pandemic. Operating worldwide, the parent employs 5,900 people, with about 2,400 of those in the U.S.

Enterprise Holdings Are you an Enterprise car-rental enthusi ast? Or does your preference run to Alamo? What about National? The fact is, if you’re choosing between any one of the three, you’re an Enterprise Holdings customer, which over the years has acquired struggling competitors, brought them into the fold, and captured 60 percent of the U.S. rental market along the way. Industry insiders calculate that the Enterprise brands account for 1.1 million cars in service across the country, and those combined brands

are available through 6,000 locations. That puts its vehicle count more than twice as large as its nearest competitor, Hertz. A 33-year-old Navy veteran named Jack Taylor launched the company in 1957 as a one-man band with an accompaniment of just seven vehicles. Why Enterprise? It was Taylor’s homage to the Big E, the aircraft carrier on which he had served during World War II. Pam Nicholson, who suc ceeded Jack’s son Andy, is the company’s chief executive officer today.

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