Four R Marketing LLC of Smackover exceeds expectations in a rural town.
According to CEO Amy Wilson, Four R Marketing has grown sales by “at least 10% every year” since 2006.
Last year, Arkansas Business ranked the firm 72nd among the top 75 private enterprises with $110 million in 2021 sales. Its 2022 sales of $147.34 million placed it at No. 68 on the list, up 33.9% year-over-year.
Amy Wilson and her husband, Roger, president, established the firm at their kitchen table and “had no idea [Four R Marketing] would ever end up this big,” she said. It expanded from spent transformer oil to base and process oils. Compounding remains its specialty.
We do everything! CFO Mary Beth Fain stated that provides us an edge. “Because we blend, manufacture, and ship, everyone likes Four R [Marketing]. Sometimes we pick up the product.”
Wiltran Logistics LLC is its personal transportation partner.
Four R Marketing increased wax manufacturing and distribution in 2018, boosting income. Wax increased client base.
Roger Wilson added, “Since then, we’re probably buying from 15 different vendors on wax and selling [to] a whole lot of different industries than what we ever thought about when we started out. “It was a steep learning curve, but diversifying our business was good.”
Four R Marketing sells wax for candles and cardboard covering. Corrugated cardboard manufacturers are its major wax clients. “If you get a Big Mac at McDonald’s, there’s a little wax on that [cardboard container] to keep the juice from seeping through. “We sell that kind of stuff,” Roger Wilson remarked.
Five years after production began, 20% of Four R Marketing’s sales are wax.
Small Town, Big Reach
Four R Marketing has grown its revenues despite being based in small-town Smackover (population 1,600) with 12,000 SF of workplace in two buildings. Hunter Wilson, supply distribution manager and son of Amy and Roger Wilson, said the firm never intended to be a local business because it was mostly a wholesaler.
“It’s a great spot. Geography matters. Roger Wilson noted that Arkansas is centrally located. “Arkansas is very business-friendly.”
Four R Marketing operates a 40,000-SF Camden warehouse with a rail spur. Salespeople visit Beaumont, Texas; Oklahoma City; Jackson, Mississippi; Dallas; Atlanta; and Orlando, Florida. With terminal agreements in the U.S. and South America and export destinations in South America and West Africa, the firm recently expanded into worldwide sales and operations.
Four R Marketing supplied 30 million gallons of oil and wax to 250 clients last year and aims to sell 20% more next year.
Two-year plan
Hunter Wilson called Four R Marketing “the biggest company you’ve probably never heard of.” Amy and Roger Wilson prefer behind-the-scenes labor to ensure good client service.
“Our company and salesforce are outworking the competition,” Roger Wilson remarked. “We only succeed because we have great people.”
The firm employs 55 long-term workers. During the COVID-19 epidemic, it struggled to recruit fresh talent. It keeps staff occupied to prevent layoffs.
Amy and Roger Wilson are planning a two-year rail spur for Four R Marketing as income grows. International business should develop too.
“As long as demand is there, the sky’s the limit,” Amy Wilson remarked.
