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FEBRUARY 2013
FUNERAL HOME & CEMETERY NEWS
S ec t i on B
Chicago Office
1-800-4-HEARSE
Twin Cities Office
1-800-639-0604
Howard Miller introduces
Photo Frame or
Medallion Tall Chest Urn
Tall Chest Urn with Photo Frame
Tall Chest Urn with Medallion
MISHAWAKA,IN—
How-
ard Miller
has introduced
a new and versatile Photo
Frame / Medallion Tall
Chest Urn that is ideal for
home placement or glass
front niche placement. It
is 10¼ inches tall (perfect
height for a niche) and
has a high gloss rosewood
finish. There is an easy ap-
plication to install a 5x7”
photo or for affixing a sig-
nature medallion to the
front with a nameplate.
There is a free brass plate
certificate for the family
to send in with personal-
ization.
To give the family more
choices,
the
Picture
Frame Chest accepts a
sheet bronze insert or the
plastic temporary con-
tainer. This feature allows
the family the option of
the upgraded interior
container or a substantial
cost savings with the tem-
porary container. Often
this difference of the inte-
rior container enables the
family to purchase a fin-
er urn. Later, if the fam-
ily decides to scatter, the
urn can hold cards, fam-
ily papers or other trea-
sured mementos.
This new urn will be
highlighted at the CANA
Symposium in February
by
Cressy Memorial
. For
more information, call
866-763-0485 for
Mary
Lou Cressy
or
Sarah
Tepe
.
Astral Debuts New Casket at NFDA Convention
Astral’s New Cherish Rose Orchid Casket
LYNN,IN—
Designed to
meet the needs of the cur-
rent market,
Astral’s
newest
casket, Cherish Rose, made
its debut at the
National
Funeral Directors Association
Convention October 8–10,
2012. This affordable and
stylish 20 gauge, gasketed,
swing bar casket is available
in both orchid and white,
and all Astral’s personalized
panels fit the Cherish Rose,
offering families an afford-
able and attractive choice to
remember their loved ones.
Astral’s booth featured a
wildly popular “living stat-
ue,” and as a keepsake, As-
tral’s sales team handed out
personalized photos of vis-
itors taken with the enter-
tainer. Astral staff also had a
chance to talk with funeral
directors and listen to their
concerns about the linger-
ing effects of the econo-
my. “Meeting with funer-
al directors is one of the
best parts of this conven-
tion,” said
Charlie Shaw
,
CEO of Astral, the Lynn,
IN based manufacturer of
18 and 20 gauge steel and
stainless steel caskets. “We
keep hearing that the tough
economy is forcing fami-
lies to tighten their belts,
and this makes profitability
a concern for many funeral
directors. Our products al-
low funeral homes to offer
high eye appeal at afford-
able prices without sacrific-
ing profits.”
For more information on
the Cherish Rose and other
Astral products, visit www.
astralindustries.com, call
1-800-278-7252 or email
sales@astralindustries.com.
Diversification for Armil CFS brings Cremation
Success to Funeral Service
Cremation Systems Retorts at Newly Expanded Plant
Cremation Systems Truck Delivers 3 Units at One Time
SOUTH HOLLAND,IL—
For
Armil CFS, Inc,
September 11,
2001 changed their traditional 40 plus year industrial fur-
nace market. Capital investment in manufacturing dropped
so swiftly that it left Armil searching for opportunities to
keep the doors open. With in-house services that included
industrial furnace designs, refractory repairs, combustion
and control tune ups and upgrade retrofits; Armil literally
stumbled upon an opportunity to repair a cremation cham-
ber for a local funeral home. Once identified, they quickly
started searching for ways to participate in the whole market.
In 2007, Armil utilized the industrial furnace background
to design and manufacture the CFS 2300 high efficiency cre-
mation retort.
With the rapid growth of
Cremation Systems
, Armil CFS
has increased its manufacturing capacity by adding 11,000
square feet of manufacturing space.This expansion has short-
ened the traditional delivery to less than 8 weeks. Cremation
Systems manufactures one style of cremation retort that can
be used for human and/or pet cases. The CFS 2300,
Kevin
Finnery,
President of Armil CFS, points out is the most fuel
efficient, lowest cost to maintain cremation retort available.
20 Therms is the average fuel consumed per cremation. It is
the ideal retort for the majority of users in the United States
and Canada. The CFS 2300 can easily perform 800 plus cas-
es per year with a 42” wide door opening and a large case ca-
pacity of 750 pounds.
The new expanded manufacturing plant is not the only ex-
citing development at Armil CFS. A record was set earlier
this year. Armil CFS/Cremation Systems delivered three cre-
mation chambers to a single location on one truck. Many
said it could not be done but Cremation Systems proved the
naysayers wrong.
What’s significant about three cremation retorts on one
truck? Finnery explains, “Today’s funeral director needs a
cremation chamber that heats up and cools off quickly for a
business cycle that may require 3 cremations a day. The CFS
2300 human chamber weighs only 16,000 pounds. The low
retort weight along with overall general dimensions allow for
multiple units on one truck, lower freight cost, ease of instal-
lation and fuel economy.”
September 11, 2001 was a difficult time for all of America,
but in the true American spirit a negative event has turned
positive, for one manufacturer.
For more information, email
TomKrowl
at tom@cremsys.
com or
Tom Snyder
at tsnyder@cremsys.com.
Wilbert completes Acquisition of Pierce Companies
BROADVIEW,IL—
Wilbert Funer-
al Services, Inc.
(WFSI), the leading
provider of burial vaults and crema-
tion-related products, has acquired the
assets of the
Pierce Companies
, based
in Dallas, TX. The transaction was
closed on December 28, 2012. Pierce
Chemicals manufactures embalming
fluids and sells a variety of comple-
mentary products for embalmers and
funeral professionals.
In addition to the chemical compa-
ny, Pierce also operates three not-for-
profit mortuary science colleges:
Dallas
Institute of Funeral Service
, Dallas, TX;
Gupton-Jones College of Funeral Service
,
Decatur, GA; and
Mid-America Col-
lege of Funeral Service
, Jeffersonville
IN. These three schools are exclusive
to mortuary science, where graduates
receive an associate degree. WFSI will
oversee management of these schools.
The Pierce sales organization will re-
main separate and autonomous from
WFSI.
Lance Ray
, previously Region-
al Vice President for Wilbert licensee
Suhor Industries
, Overland Park, KS,
will take on the new position of Exec-
utive Vice President of Sales at Pierce
Companies. Ray will oversee the sales
team and assist in growing its market
share and product expansion. Ray is a
graduate of the Dallas Institute of Fu-
neral Service and worked in the funeral
industry as a licensed funeral director
and embalmer prior to joining Suhor
Industries in 1997.
John Firestone
, former CEO and
Board Chairman of Pierce, and
Nancy
Barber
, former Vice Chairman of the
Board of Pierce will continue as con-
sultants to WFSI to ensure a smooth
transition for the customers they have
served for many years. For more infor-
mation, call 708-865-1600.