Marcon Pies Inc.
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| Don
Walsh and Rod Krahl purchased MarCon Pies in
Washington in December 2002. |
The
aroma of freshly baked pies filling the air and
overwhelming the senses is noticed immediately upon
arrival at this business. For Don Walsh, however,
it’s just another day at the office and he’s
not even aware of the tempting smell until someone
else reminds him.
 |
| Marilyn
Hanshaw, co-founder of the business, continues
to work at MarCon Pies specializing in making
crème pies. |
Walsh
partnered with Rod Krahl to purchase MarCon Pies,
Inc., in December 2002 and together they have been
working to grow the business. Krahl oversees deliveries
and sales while Walsh handles the accounting and
day-to-day operations of the business, which is
based in Washington, Kansas.
“Rod
is the salesperson type and I’m the administrative
type so together we make a good combination,”
says Walsh.
MarCon
Pies began approximately 25 years ago when Marilyn
Hanshaw and Connie Allen began baking pies for auction
lunch stands in their own kitchens. Increased requests
for their pies soon evolved into a local delivery
route. When their homes were filled with pies, they
eventually purchased a separate building to accommodate
the growing business. Marilyn continues to work
at the business specializing in making crème
pies.
“We’re making mom’s and grandma’s
pies because people just don’t have as much
time to bake anymore,” Walsh says.
Walsh
says their fruit filling and the cholesterol free
canola oil pie crusts, among other attributes, set
a MarCon pie apart from the competition.
“We
add enough fruit that there’s quantity and
quality,” Walsh says. “MarCon already
had an excellent reputation, which helped in the
acquisition and we’re trying to maintain those
same standards.”
The
business sells more than 80 varieties of pies and
cheesecakes to supermarkets, restaurants, and to
customers at their retail shop in the factory. The
standard varieties include fruit, crunch, crème,
specialty and no sugar added pies, although Walsh
says they take special requests and will make nearly
any kind if asked.
“With all the varieties we offer, our two
biggest sellers are still basic apple and cherry,”
says Walsh.
The
majority of their pies are sold fresh baked, but
they also sell baked frozen and unbaked frozen pies.
Pies are baked Monday through Thursday and delivered
Tuesday through Friday so they are delivered fresh.
“In
order to compete with any other area that we’re
not already in, we’ll have to get more into
frozen pies. Once they’re frozen, you can
start shipping them anywhere in the country,”
Walsh says.
Their
deliveries cover roughly a 125-mile radius from
Washington, plus Kansas City. They entered the Kansas
City metropolitan market in fall 2004 when they
began selling to Cosentino’s Price Choppers
stores. In spring 2005, MarCon Pies was featured
in an article in the Kansas City Star and sales
have since increased significantly in that market.
MarCon
Pies, with 20 full-time employees, bakes about 400
pies most days. The holiday rush may raise those
numbers to 1,000 or 1,500 per day and during the
2005 Easter weekend they baked nearly 3,000 pies.
“Rod
and I have been trying to help the business grow
since taking over in 2002,” Walsh says. “Last
year we were able to increase sales by about 12%
and we’re on track to have a significant increase
this year as well.”
They
have grown enough that the business was one of eight
Emerging Businesses of the Year recognized in March
2005 during the Kansas Small Business Development
Center’s celebration in the state Capitol.
Walsh, however, says that an even bigger reward
is a satisfied customer.
“Knowing
that we are producing something that someone else
likes is a great feeling,” Walsh says.
The MarCon factory is located at 124 West 8th Street
in Washington and is open Monday through Friday,
8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tours are welcome with advanced
notice. For more information, call 785-325-2439
or visit their website at www.marconpies.com.
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