Ingram’s January 2023

by Dennis Boone Since we launched the Milestones feature in January 2015, it’s been an exercise in celebration: Each year, we see new company names thrust into the ranks of sesquicentennial survi vors, centenarians and those lighting the candles on a diamond or golden anniversary. Because we mark their longevity in five-year increments, we can actually see how the roster is changing by the half-decade. Sad to say, the changes aren’t always uplifting. Occasionally, whether through ac quisition, merger or just plain lack of momentum after decades of in busi ness, some names drop from the line up forever. This time around, that in cludes Western Roofing and First State Bank of Missouri, both of which were acquired since we last published this cohort of business enterprises in 2018. The ranks may thin out a bit, but the top-line numbers continue to inch up—tributes to the managerial acumen, flexibility and adaptability of leader ship within those organizations. Think about it: The Uhlmann Co., top ping this year’s list, owns two brands of flour whose origins predate the Civ il War. Even if you started that firm’s timeline on the date of the Kansas City company’s acquisition, that would still be a history of more than 70 years. That takes some doing. All told, more than 80 companies show up as at least 100 years old, as identified through business archives compiled by the states of Kansas and Missouri and by Ingram’s . Nearly 140 more are at least half a century in busi ness, including 19 hitting a nice, round 100 years, and 21 coming in at 75 in 2023. Working their way to golden anni versary status this year are nearly 50 more. Given that the average age of a Standard and Poor’s 500 company is just 21, and that more than half of small businesses fail before their 10th anniversary, what this year’s Mile stones companies have done is more than admirable—it’s standard-setting. Congratulations to each of them, and to the employees who keep them going.

180 years (founded 1843) The Uhlmann Co. (Hecker’s Baking Flour) Hecker’s All-Purpose Flour was milled and sold to American bakers for more than a century before Kansas City’s Uhlmann family acquired it 70 years ago. Ceresota Flour, with roots of its own dating to 1891, is the other brand the company flies. Both produce baking and pizza flour—generally available in the greater Chicago and Philadelphia markets—that prides itself for its high protein content and chemical-free production, with no bleach ing agents. The company today is led by Wesley Fehsenfeld, who represents the fourth generation of family ownership for the company. That started in 1951, when Paul Uhlmann, Sr. and R. Hugh “Pat” Uhlmann acquired con trolling interest in Standard Milling Co. and the two flour brands. 165 years (founded 1858) Baker University When Baker University talks about being No. 1, it’s not an idle boast: For one thing, the private college based in Baldwin City is the longest con tinually operating university in Kansas. It cites a 99 percent career and graduate school placement, and its graduates have higher average earnings than those of any other university in the state. Even its athletic program has produced a national champion: Mike McCarthy, now head coach of the Dallas Cowboys, whose Green Bay Packers won the Super Bowl in 2011. It has a total enrollment of about 2,300 students in more than 50 degree programs—at the bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral levels—along with certi

fication programs on main campus and satellite locations. 160 years (founded 1863) Maur Hill-Mount Academy

The Benedictine order is well-known for being woven into the fabric of life in Atchison through the presence of Benedictine College, but nearly a decade before that institution opened its doors, the nuns who settled there established Mt. St. Scholastica as a high school for girls. More than half a century would pass before its boys’ counterpart, Maur Hill Prep, opened its doors. This year marks another milestone for the combined institution; the two schools were merged in 2003 to form the current Catholic, interna tional, college-prep boarding and day school.

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I n g r a m ’ s

January 2023

Kansas City’s Business Media