When the Abernathy Casket Company of Kansas City was damaged by the Missouri River flood of 1951 and did not immediately reopen, Russell Sevedge, an employee with twenty-one years experience, was suddenly out of work. Forced to seek employment elsewhere, Russell and a friend, Charles Caldwell, began to make cloth-covered caskets at night in Caldwell’s garage. One year later, Russell and Charles parted company, and the casket operation moved to Russell’s basement. This move signaled the beginning of Artco Casket Company. A part-time seamstress was hired, and Russell’s wife, Frances, handled the bookkeeping.
In 1953, Artco moved to the basement of the Odd Fellows Hall in Kansas City, Kansas. Within a short time, the manufacturing spread to encompass the first floor as well. Roger Sevedge joined the firm full-time in 1957. The company continued to grow, and in 1964, Artco Casket Company became incorporated with Russell and Frances Sevedge as principal stockholders, and Roger Sevedge as a minority shareholder.
The year 1969 saw Artco hire its first full-time sales representatives. Increasing sales and lack of space soon forced Artco to move to their first building on Ninth Street in Kansas City, Kansas, in 1973. Expansion throughout the late 1970s required additional space in both Wichita and Kansas City in 1979.
1982 was a turning point for Artco Casket Company. Russell Sevedge resigned, with Roger as his replacement. Early that year, Artco moved into the building to the immediate South on Ninth Street, tripling its available size for manufacturing and inventory. In the Summer, Artco acquired service centers in Omaha, Nebraska, and Des Moines, Iowa. Frances Sevedge joined Russell in retirement, and Kathleen (Roger’s wife) joined on full-time as bookkeeper.
When Service Corporation International acquired Artco’s primary casket supplier in 1986, Roger and another casket distributor in the South joined forces to build a casket manufacturing plant in Richmond, Indiana. Three additional distributors joined the new venture as minority shareholders.
Utilizing the latest in manufacturing technology, the Star Manufacturing plant produced its first casket in 1987. The Star line provided fresh, new units, specially designed for the Midwest market.
The year 1990 marked Artco’s most significant growth with acquisitions in St. Louis, Missouri, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Dubuque, Iowa, and West Allis, Wisconsin. The expansion made Artco Casket Company one of the five largest independently-owned and operated casket distributors in the United States. Keith Sevedge, Roger and Kathleen’s son, joined as Vice President and General Counsel in December of the same year.
Roger and Kathleen’s dream of relocating the business to a new building became a reality in 1995 when Artco’s home office and distribution center moved to Lenexa, Kansas. The new facility encompassed 25,000 square feet on 2.85 acres.
In January of 2001, Artco acquired distribution in Chicago, Illinois, giving it ten strategically placed service centers in its eight-state Upper Midwest Region.
Artco’s embrace of the York Merchandising Systems™ saw sales grow to an all-time high. With YMS™, funeral directors ordered a casket at-need rather than keeping a large inventory of full-size units that ate up precious retail space.
Matthew Sargent, the eldest grandson of Roger and Kathleen, began full-time employment in the company’s sales and marketing division in 2003. A second member of the family’s fourth generation and Keith’s son, Alex Sevedge, came on board in 2014 to manage Artco’s YMS™ activity.
Today, Artco Casket Company remains one of the largest independently-owned casket distributors in the United States.
Sales Policy
ARTCO CASKET COMPANY, INC. offers its product line for sale only to entities operated by funeral service professionals who hold licenses in the state or states in which they operate.
By dealing exclusively with licensed funeral service professionals, it assures that products sold by Artco are marketed for resale in accord with applicable state laws and regulations, especially concerning pre-need casket sales. Under no circumstances will Artco sell a product to third party casket sellers, e.g. casket stores or cemeteries.
As a wholesale distributor of caskets and related funeral supplies, Artco Casket Company stakes its place in the industry on its commitment to customer satisfaction. This commitment to customer satisfaction embraces two elements: total customer service with our direct consumers at the wholesale level and product service and support for the ultimate funeral customers who are the retail consumers of products distributed by Artco.