In mid-April I received a press release from Batesville that was titled “Batesville empowers Deathcare professionals with Industry-leading Burial, Cremataion and Technology solutions at 2025 ICCFA Exhhibition.”  Since that time I’ve had this article in my mind and thought now was as good as any time to share some of my historical insights about Batesville.

You see, when I started in the funeral home business it was 1980 and the profession operated in a world of about 90% traditional casketed burials according to at least one source.  At that time what was known as the Batesville Casket Company was a division of publicly traded Hillenbrand Industries and owned a very large percentage of the casketed burial market sales. . . . and if you wanted to purchase a product from Batesville Casket Company, it had better have been a casket because I don’t know if they sold anything else.

Today people operate their funeral homes in North America in an environment that is, at least according to Service Corporation International’s reports, 60% cremation. . . .which would lead one to believe that there are a lot less caskets sold.

Tom Anderson
Funeral Director Daily

So, I found it very interesting at the end of the press release when it said “About Batesville Services, LLC” that this is how the company was described, “Batesville is a recognized leader in the deathcare industry in North America, offering a comprehensive portfolio of burial and cremation products, innovative technology solutions and an unparalleled array of personalization and memorialization offerings.”

When I read that description it made me realize how today’s Batesville has transformed itself from a “casket company” into a modern “solutions company” that is aimed at helping today’s funeral homes in a wholistic fashion.  For instance, the company is no longer just about caskets as they may be one of the largest suppliers of cremation products to the profession today.  In addition, the technology that Batesville supplies to the profession through its Halcyon and MIS Management software are also thought of as industry leaders.

I think it is very interesting how Batesville has “changed with the times” to not only keep itself relevant but to lead and have products and services available for funeral homes when they need them.  If they continue to do this they will be relevant to our profession for a long time.

A Partial Batesville timeline:

• 1884 — Batesville Coffin Company founded
• 1906 — Batesville Coffin Company purchased by John Hillenbrand.  Becomes Batesville Casket Company.
• 1985 —  Forethought Life Insurance established as a direct subsidiary of Hillenbrand Industries.  Focus on Preneed funeral insurance
• 1993 —  Options by Batesville formed. . . .introducing cremation items into the product lines.
• 2023 — Batesville sold by Hillenbrand Industries to Long Range Capital — becomes a private company.

Those are just some of the dates that I remember as milestones during my career as a funeral director.  In my remembering, Forethought Life was an early entrant into the preneed market helping move preneed from bank deposits into insurance.  I also remember the company as being an advocate for allowing funeral directors to offer insurance through their funeral homes.  Believe it or not, at the time in some states, like my native Minnesota, funeral directors were prohibited from being licensed agents for the sale of preneed.  Forethought not only became a great company, but I remember them more so as advocates for the funeral director/agent status.

Forethought today is no longer part of Hillenbrand or Batesville and is a part of the Global Atlantic Financial Group.  It is Global Atlantic that now partners with Service Corporation International as their exclusive preneed supplier.

I also think that Batesville’s creation of the “Options” products was a time when many funeral directors and funeral home owners realized cremation was here to stay.  In my own thought process, when a casket company like Batesville embraced the sale of cremation products it made me look upon the choice as one with staying power.

Final Thoughts — I think it is interesting that Batesville recognizes that the only thing constant with business is “Change is Inevitable”.  They, historically, have seemed to have a good idea of where that change is going — from caskets, to preneed, to cremation, to the present technology needs of funeral homes.  And, it seems that wherever that change is going they want to be on the leading edge of helping funeral homes.

I’ve been told more than once that if the great passenger train companies of the 1940’s and 1950’s had defined the business that they were in as “Transportation” instead of “Railroad” that they would be the companies dominating air passenger service today.  It appears to me that Batesville knows that story and will work to define their business by “whatever helps funeral homes” rather than any other adjective.

More news from the world of Death Care:

Enter your e-mail below to join the 3,147 others who receive Funeral Director Daily articles daily:

“A servant’s attitude guided by Christ leads to a significant life”