Forty Under 40: Chris Stec

Growing up, Chris Stec remembers spending nights at Alpha Packaging while his parents worked late. He was often at the corrugated box manufacturing company, and while his father didn’t want his children to feel obligated to work at the family business, the call came when the former chief financial officer looked to retire.

In June 2010, after working as a finance analyst for Walmart.com for a year, Stec joined the family business as assistant controller. His father, Mike, co-founded the business in March 1987 and purchased it after buying out a partner in 2000. Mike is president and CEO. Chris’ mother, Donna, is vice president, and his sister, Amanda, is purchasing and customer service manager.

Chris Stec became CFO on Jan. 1, 2013. In the position, he handles payroll, strategic planning, financial reporting and accounts. He oversees four employees, including two in the accounting department.

Company revenue is between $20 million and $50 million and is expected to rise 13.5% this year, from 2017. The company has a sales area that includes a 300-mile radius, with the majority of sales in Arkansas, and transports its products with seven natural gas trucks. The company receives sheets of corrugated material from paper companies to make thousands of boxes daily, and it sends the scraps from the manufacturing process back to the companies to recycle. The company has 115 employees and 350 clients and is the largest privately-owned corrugated box manufacturer in Arkansas.

Stec is heavily involved in the company’s safety program and stressed its importance. He said his grandfather died after a safety-related incident at a steel mill.

Stec is president of Bost Foundation in Fort Smith and vice chairman of Mercy Health Foundation for the Fort Smith metro area.