Products

Influencers and events leading to modern Death Care

By Funeral Director Daily / March 9, 2023 /

    Last week we wrote of the death of Robert L. Waltrip, founder of funeral and cemetery business Service Corporation International (SCI).   In the article I wrote that Waltrip was arguably the biggest influence on the direction of the Death Care in the United States during the last half of the 20th century.  …

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You can design your own casket

By Funeral Director Daily / March 6, 2023 /

      Last week I had a two hour drive and set my radio to a station on Sirius that featured a news talk show.  What was highly unusual was that the group of well-known broadcasters started talking about death care and then started talking about what their wishes would be for their own…

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Bucking the trend

By Funeral Director Daily / March 2, 2023 /

    “The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated” is a popular misquote attributed to author Samuel Clemens, known by his pen name, Mark Twain.  However, that quote has stayed with Clemens (Twain) forever and is now simply a part of his lore.   The same thing may be said for cemeteries.  The demise…

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Don’t forget “Low-tech” to build your brand

By Funeral Director Daily / February 22, 2023 /

    There are a lot of great companies out there who can help you with the newest way to reach potential client families.  Some of them, like RingRing Marketing are sponsors of this forum.  They will do a great job in helping you navigate social media and the internet to let potential clientele know…

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The Green Funeral. . . a contrarian view?

By Funeral Director Daily / February 20, 2023 /

    The Washington Post recently printed this article which in part said, “. . . .a distinct shift is underway in how we approach death. More than half of Americans are seeking greener funerals, according to the National Funeral Directors Association, and the percentage is rising. The funeral industry is responding: You can now be entombed in a…

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What’s next for Matthews?

By Funeral Director Daily / February 9, 2023 /

    The last year has brought many changes to Death Care as it pertains to those companies that have been operated in the public markets.  Both StoneMor and Dignity plc have been taken out of the public realm and into private ownership space and Batesville has been spun-out of Hillenbrand Industries and purchased by…

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Re-evaluating the Funeral . . moving away from religion

By Funeral Director Daily / February 7, 2023 /

    There is not only a lot of talk lately about the funeral, memorial service, and celebrations that families are contemplating  in the future for themselves and their loved ones, but there is also a lot of investment money being spent on companies who want to be on the upside swing of what these…

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LongRange Capital announces completion of Batesville acquisition. . . . retains Trainor as CEO

By Funeral Director Daily / February 3, 2023 /

    Earlier this week we received notice that LongRange Capital has completed the acquisition of Batesville.  The transaction of purchasing the Batesville Company from public company Hillenbrand Industries was announced late in 2022 and apparently now has been completed.   In addition, the private equity firm announced in this press release that Batesville CEO…

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Victoriaville & Co. expands to Ohio. . . .our casket math

By Funeral Director Daily / February 3, 2023 /

    Victoriaville & Co., the Canadian based company that provides death care merchandise on three continents, announced in this press release a 67,000 square foot manufacturing facility in Cleveland, Ohio.  According to Alain Dumont, President and CEO of Victoriaville & Co., “This manufacturing addition to our existing capacity has become necessary in order to…

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Matthews International reports Fiscal Year Q1 . . . increases total revenue, but Memorialization sales fall

By Funeral Director Daily / February 1, 2023 /

  Public company Matthews International, with a stake in the death care business, reported their Fiscal Year 2023 First Quarter last week and in doing so reported a company-wide quarter over quarter sales revenue increase of about 2.4%.  The entire revenue increase, however, comes from their much heralded investment in the energy storage solutions business.…

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