Bob Shearer and his brother Tom started stocking shelves at their parents’ grocery store when they were about 10 years old. As they grew up, they took on more responsibilities — like delivering groceries to customers or overseeing a department of the store. When Shearer’s began making and selling its own kettle-cooked potato chips, “the boys” continued to grow along with the family business.
Today, Bob is the company’s CEO and Tom is the vice president of business development.
Despite its humble beginnings, the Brewster-based company has grown into a snack-food juggernaut. In 2007, Shearer’s produced more than 80 million pounds of potato chips, corn chips and cheese curls. Since 2003, the company doubled its sales and added 300 employees.
The rampant growth forced Shearer to adapt his management style. The first necessary change was to develop a strong management team, he says.
“You give them the vision and the strategy; then you let them run with it,” he says. “The biggest thing then is to stay out of their way.”
The 700-employee company earned$126 million in sales in 2007, and it expects to end 2008 at around $165 million. Much of that growth can be attributed to a good product — as Shearer’s snacks have won many awards for their quality. But the growth is also a product of putting together a good team, sharing information with employees and getting them to buy in.
