Central Packaging

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Mike Pasley and John Swearingen purchase Union Tape, a small distributor, in 1999. They changed the name to reflect their goals, and then they added packaging lines to complement the tape. They acquired Pro Pack in 2005 and changed their company's name to Central Packaging. The business has grown over the past seven years. The business now employs 10 people, five of whom are sales representatives, which has increased Central Packaging's purchasing and selling power. Prior to purchasing their company, Pasley and Swearingen had known one another at the University of Missouri where Pasley majored in economics and Swearingen studied finance. Pasley worked at Scott Paper and International Paper in sales, sales management and marketing positions, and Swearingen attained a Master's in Business Administration, before joining his family's business. Swearingen's family had made Levi's jeans for Levi Strauss & Co since the 1940's. As Levi Strauss outsourced fabrication of its products overseas, the Swearingen family business ended. In 1999, Swearingen and Pasley reconnected at a University of Missouri football game ( Go Tigers! ) where they discussed their similar goals and noted their complementary backgrounds. Today, Swearingen and his family run the back office or accounting center out of Sedalia, MO., along with other businesses which help Central Packaging provide an excellent benefit package to its employees. Pasley runs the operations out of Kansas City, including a 15, 000-sq.-ft. warehouse. The company utilizes local outside cartage for deliveries.