HOLTS SUMMIT - Monday came a little easier than others for employees at Pro Foods Systems in Holts Summit.
Employees packed the company's dining hall for lunch, starting at noon, for a free fried chicken meal on the national day honoring Pro Food Systems' primary product. This was the first year the company - which distributes Champs Chicken locally and across the nation - celebrated national fried chicken day, which takes place annually on July 6. Chief Executive Officer Shawn Burcham had a why-not attitude about the opportunity to appreciate his employees while enjoying a meal.
"It's our business and thought we might as well celebrate it," Burcham said. "It's like a birthday."
And, there's a lot to celebrate at Pro Food Systems. The company has been continuously expanding 20-30 percent annually since its 1998 beginning. Every three years, the company doubles its revenue.
So far in 2015, Pro Foods has hired 13 new employees to meet demands. Consumers can find Pro Food Systems in 36 states from Oregon and Wisconsin to Florida and Texas to Minnesota and Wisconsin either as Champs Chicken, its sister brand Cooper's Express or under a private label business. There are more than 700 Pro Food Systems branded locations, and Chief Financial Officer Trevor Monnig the company would like to eventually see that number increase to 5,000.
"We're continually expanding across the country, putting on new accounts and focusing on our existing retailers, trying to get as much volume as possible and helping them be successful," Monnig said.
What makes expansion possible, Burcham said, are the 65 employees located in Holts Summit and 30 more across the country.
"People don't believe this answer, but it's just the reality, that it's the people," he said. "The culture that we have here, everybody works extremely hard with what they're good at and where their strengths lie."
Burcham said Pro Food Systems practices open book management, which allows all company employees to see financial numbers during monthly meetings. This transparency, Monnig said, allows employees to feel more a part of the company's processes and see how each department plays a role in the overall goals.
"It lets everyone take ownership to a whole new level," Monnig said.
This management style, Burcham said, can be hard to find.
"It's pretty rare in the United States, but it's something we embrace here," he said. "Everybody gets together on a monthly basis and we go over the numbers and we share the numbers. As you continue to roll that culture out, everybody gets comfortable with it. I've always felts it's easier to teach people when you show them the reality versus them not being able to see those numbers."
Currently, Burcham said Pro Foods is focused on its current distributors, but would like the company to earn international status - a stark contrast from its beginning. Burcham and his wife, Julie, started a coffee and cappuccino company in Willard, Mo. during the late 1990s and worked with BKI Equipment Company for their coffee machines. When their first child was on the way, Julie Burcham decided to stay home and her husband decided to continue their partnership with BKI, but traded coffee for chicken.
With the bulk of their business in Mid-Missouri, the Burchams moved their family and their business to Holts Summit. Moser's Groceries was an early customer along with other independent grocers, and in 2006, Pro Foods landed its first wholesale grocer AMCON Distributing Company, based out of Omaha.
As Pro Food Systems seeks future growth, Burcham said it will prioritize its employees.
"It's pretty simple when you come down to it: you treat everybody fairly, you treat everybody with respect," he said. "I think that's what really makes this place what it is."