The Independent Funeral Group Announces Partnership with The Champion Company to Support Embalming Innovation and Eco-Friendly Solutions

Maryville, TN — October 22, 2025 — The Independent Funeral Group is pleased to announce a new partnership with The Champion Company, America’s oldest family-owned chemical company and a respected pioneer in embalming and funeral service innovation, whose legacy of excellence stretches back a century and a half. This collaboration provides member firms access to forward-thinking solutions that emphasize quality, safety, and environmental responsibility.

Champion has long been recognized for its groundbreaking work in embalming chemistry and equipment. From introducing formaldehyde-free solutions that increase safety for embalmers to developing certified products for green burials and eco-cremations, Champion continues to lead the way in meaningful industry advancements. Their commitment to innovation, sustainability, and practitioner wellbeing makes them a trusted partner for funeral professionals who value both tradition and progress.

For 30 years, The Independent Funeral Group has worked to build a strong network of peers and partners, to better support our membership, and independent funeral homes overall. This new relationship with Champion reflects our ongoing mission to equip our member firms with ethical, high-quality resources that help them serve their communities with confidence and care.

“For generations, Champion has led the way in improving our profession,” said Dr. Brad Kuchnicki, Executive Director of The Independent Funeral Group. “Their commitment to both innovation and integrity makes them an ideal partner for the firms we support.”

“At Champion, we’ve always believed innovation and care go hand in hand,” said Dmitri Gianakopoulos, President and CEO of The Champion Company. “We’re proud to work with The Independent Funeral Group and bring forward-thinking solutions to the firms that serve their communities with compassion every day.”

About The Independent Funeral Group

Since 1995, The Independent Funeral Group has worked to support family-owned and operated funeral homes, and now serves as a buying, education, and resource group, committed to preserving independent ownership and strengthening the profession through shared resources and collaboration. Founded by funeral practitioners, for funeral practitioners, The Group champions dignity, service, and community.

To learn more about The Independent Funeral Group’s mission, membership criteria, and benefits, visit www.tifg.net, email info@tifg.net, or call (865) 405-7085.

Our mission is to help you achieve yours.

Matthews Aurora Funeral Solutions to Showcase Innovations and New Products at NFDA  Convention 

(Pittsburgh, PA) Matthews Aurora Funeral Solutions will be exhibiting its industry-leading products and solutions at the National Funeral Directors Association Annual Convention and Expo in Chicago October 27-29. It will be the first NFDA convention since Matthews Aurora acquired The Dodge Company, and both companies look forward to welcoming customers at the show.  

Today’s Funeral Homes are facing urgent business challenges and require proven solutions that deliver tangible results. Matthews Aurora Funeral Solutions is focused on providing the tools and strategies that help Funeral Homes overcome these challenges and meet the expectations of today’s families. Among the solutions to be highlighted at NFDA:  

• Our new FamilyTouch Kiosk showroom tool allows families to find and customize the perfect burial and cremation products to help create a personal and remarkable goodbye. The interactive touchscreen can be tailored with each funeral home’s merchandising and pricing strategies.  

• Among the caskets to be featured at the show are our NEW Nexus casket with sleek lines and contemporary matte finish, as well as the NEW oversized version of our highly popular Barnwood casket. We will also feature four other popular caskets including our Allegiance casket with a dedicated Veterans display. 

• Matthews Technology Solutions will feature our proprietary Arranger, Advisor and Family Connections programs, and we will be demonstrating the new release of our technology solutions suite in our booth. Our technology programs help customers enhance their arrangement process by putting service front and center, simplifying merchandise  selections, and enabling families to make arrangements from the comfort of their own  home. Funeral Homes using Arranger have experienced a 10-30% increase in revenue per call.

• Cherished Memories is Matthews Aurora’s new cremation e-commerce web site designed to help Funeral Homes compete with online retailers and retain more merchandise sales within their firm.  

• Radiance Diamonds by Matthews are stunning lab-created diamonds made from a loved one’s cremated remains, lock of hair, or other carbon. Diamonds are offered in a range of sizes and colors to suit any taste and budget.  

• Matthews Aurora will feature a wide selection of brand NEW urns, memorial jewelry, and gifts as part of our I’ll Remember You® cremation merchandise program. Stop by, see what’s new, and pick up a copy of our new I’ll Remember You® catalog.  

• Matthews Funeral Funding helps Funeral Homes get paid faster by accepting life insurance policies for payment.  

• Matthews Cemetery Products will showcase its innovative cremation memorialization solutions including glass-front niches, Reflection Suites^TM, Cremation Destinations cremation gardens, granite memorialization solutions, and bronze statuary by Caggiati.  

• The Dodge Company will feature its new Green Embalming Solution Kit, among its many other offerings. This highly requested new product is formaldehyde-free, field-tested for over two years, and provides preservation for six weeks or more. Freedom Art and Freedom Cav are both included in the kit and are Green Burial Certified. Stop by Dodge’s booth to  learn more. 

Matthews Aurora and Dodge look forward to welcoming Funeral Homes from across the country to our booths #1542 and #851 at the National Funeral Directors Association Convention and Expo next week!  

About Matthews Aurora Funeral Solutions 

Matthews Aurora™ Funeral Solutions is committed to helping families move from grieving to remembrance by providing products of superior craftsmanship and solutions that meet the needs of every family who wish to honor and remember their loved one. As a leading provider to the funeral home industry, we offer our customers an extensive variety of high-quality wood, metal and cremation caskets, urns, keepsakes, memorial jewelry, stationery, technology solutions, and other products and solutions. We also offer a full suite of embalming products and other solutions via The Dodge Company. The Matthews Aurora™ Funeral Solutions team is focused on providing our funeral home customers with outstanding service and support, helping your firm better serve the families in your community. For more information about how we can help your firm, please contact your Matthews Aurora™ Funeral Service Consultant or call us at 1-800-457-1111.

PlotBox Acquires MIS, Strengthening U.S. Market Position and Expanding Access to Modern Deathcare Solutions

BOSTON, MA & BATESVILLE, IN – October 15, 2025 – PlotBox, a leading cloud-native platform for cemetery and funeral home management, announced it has acquired HMIS (also known as MIS) from Batesville.

MIS was acquired by Batesville in 2012. This acquisition expands PlotBox’s presence in the United States and gives MIS customers a partner focused on modern solutions for deathcare operators.

MIS is a management platform serving funeral and cemetery operators across North America, streamlining operations from first call through aftercare. The software unifies case management, scheduling, arrangements, billing, and reporting, with integrations for accounting, payments, and partner tools.

The announcement follows a year of strategic growth for PlotBox, including a new investment from Serent Capital, the launch of enhanced e-commerce and operational automation capabilities, and a much-anticipated entry into the funeral home segment. 

The addition of MIS customers aligns with PlotBox’s broader mission to help deathcare providers simplify workflows, improve transparency, and deliver better experiences for the families they serve.

“At PlotBox, we believe funeral and cemetery professionals deserve technology that meets the complexity of their work and supports their commitment to service,” said Sean McAllister, CEO of PlotBox. “We are excited to welcome MIS customers and provide them with the innovation, reliability, and partnership they need to operate with confidence.”

PlotBox is committed to providing exceptional service and support to the MIS customer base while also giving customers access to PlotBox’s full software suite, which integrates mapping, records, sales, finance, inventory, and reporting into a single cloud-based system. The platform is used by a growing number of cemeteries, crematories, and funeral homes to streamline daily operations and scale with evolving business needs.

PlotBox will feature its expanded funeral offering at the 2025 NFDA International Convention & Expo in Chicago, October 26-29, 2025, where attendees can engage with the team, explore product capabilities, and hear from operators using PlotBox to modernize their operations.

About PlotBox

PlotBox is a leading cloud-native software solution for cemeteries, funeral homes, and crematories. It’s an all-in-one platform that combines mapping, records, sales, inventory, finance, and analytics in one intuitive system. PlotBox helps deathcare organizations simplify operations, improve performance, and better serve their communities. The company supports customers across North America, the UK, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand. Learn more at www.plotbox.com

About Serent Capital

Serent Capital is a growth-focused private equity firm that invests in founder-led, technology and tech-enabled service businesses. With deep expertise in software, Serent partners with high-potential companies to drive growth through strategic and operational support. Founded in 2008, Serent has supported more than 60 companies across sectors including healthcare, education, government, and business services. Learn more at www.serentcapital.com 

Batesville Expands Innovation in Burial, Cremation, Digital Solutions and Personalization with New Product Launches at NFDA 2025 

Batesville, Ind – October 16, 2025 – Batesville, a leading provider of high-quality burial products,  cremation products, and technology solutions will debut its newest offerings at the 2025 National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA) International Convention & Expo from October 27-29 in Chicago, Illinois. 

Building on the momentum from last year’s NFDA, Batesville continues to invest in the future of funeral service with back-to-back years of product launches and technology advancements. No other company in the industry is investing more to bring meaningful, affordable innovations that support funeral professionals and the families they serve. 

“Families today want more choices, personalization options, and tools that make the planning process easier,’ said Jenn Parvin, Chief Marketing Officer. “Our newest offerings reflect those needs, combining tradition and care with forward-thinking design and innovation.” 

New Product Highlights Include: 

Burial  

Batesville is proud to introduce three new caskets, thoughtfully designed to provide families with high-quality options as they honor and celebrate the lives of their loved ones. The collection includes the: 

• Two 18-gauge steel selections — the NV1 Tuscany Silver and the NV1 Burnished Silver — engineered with both personalization and quality in mind. 

• Crimson Montgomery, a timeless cherry-stained wood casket that reflects warmth and tradition and serves as a dual-disposition casket for both cremation and burial.

• Batesville continues its long-standing commitment to innovation and personalization with its Family Choices® line, available across all three new caskets. The company is also introducing the LifeStories Memory Frame™, a customizable frame for displaying  cherished photos and mementos, and LifeStories Life Touch™ Interiors, beautifully crafted casket interiors that reflect the life and personality of a loved one. Together, these new offerings further Batesville’s legacy of helping families create meaningful and  individualized tributes.

Technology Solutions to Optimize & Grow Your Business

Batesville remains  committed to delivering technology solutions that help funeral professionals optimize their  operations and grow their businesses. From innovative digital tools to integrated platforms,  Batesville provides resources that make it easier to serve families and strengthen success. 

• Family Choices® Digital Showroom: An intuitive online tool that guides families through a personalized journey through casket, cremation, and customization options. Funeral directors can narrow choices based on families’ specific needs, show 3D renderings in real time, and integrate selections into Batesville Connect® for easy and fast ordering. 

• Batesville Connect®: A centralized hub for funeral professionals that streamlines their Batesville experience. Users get ordering, tracking, and business management tasks, making day-to-day operations more efficient.  

• Halcyon by Batesville: The advanced cloud-based management system suite now includes chain-of-custody body-tracking with QR codes, seamless integration with Express Funeral Funding for faster claims procession, and expanded API connectivity. 

Cremation – Urns and Memorialization 

• The new Gallery Series, a carefully curated selection of on-trend, décor-inspired cremation urns from Batesville, are perfect for your home or permanently displayed in a cremation niche.  

• Family Choices® Urn expansion offers families new opportunities for personalization. These urns can be customized with LifeStories® Medallions and LifeSymbols® 

• The expanded NewPointe® line introduces striking new colors and designs with the Nebula, Atlas, and Starlight collections, offering modern style at a great value. 

These new offerings reflect Batesville’s long-standing commitment to delivering products that combine craftsmanship, innovation, and personal meaning for families and loved ones.  

Visit Batesville at NFDA 

Visit Batesville at booth 815 at NFDA 2025 to experience the new products and technologies firsthand and learn how they can help drive higher satisfaction and profitability.  

The Batesville NFDA booth doubles as a fully functioning Physical and Digital Showroom that allows visitors to experience Batesville’s products firsthand. It will serve as a full immersive experience just as families would experience in your actual funeral home. The booth will feature the latest caskets and urns as well as a Family Choices® Digital Showroom where visitors can explore new tools, technologies, and personalization options. 

Batesville will also feature its Family Choices® Physical Showroom, which builds on the success of last year’s ‘Selection Room of the Future.’ Designed to be light, modern, and highly flexible, this updated showroom concept creates a welcoming environment where families can explore products and personalization options with ease. The innovative layout allows funeral professionals to adapt the showroom to the specific needs of the community. Batesville’s selection room offers a contemporary, thoughtful experience that blends tradition with modern design. 

Join us at the NFDA Welcome Party, Sponsored by Batesville 

Batesville is thrilled to co-sponsor the NFDA Welcome Party on Sunday from 6:00-8:00 PM at the House of Blues, 329 N Dearborn St, Chicago, IL 60654 

You can reconnect with friends, make some new ones, and get geared up for an amazing conference. Enjoy food, music, and engaging conversation as we kick off the 2025 NFDA Conference. 

Educational Session: Reimagining the Physical Showroom

In addition to showcasing its newest products and services, Batesville will present an educational section focused on how funeral homes can better meet the needs of today’s families. The session will be presented by  Jenn Parvin, Chief Marketing Officer of Batesville and by Devin Dardanes, Executive Vice  President of Business Development at B+N Industries. “Meeting Modern Expectations:  Redefining the Consumer Experience” will highlight strategies for blending innovation, inspiration, and affordability within the showroom setting, giving funeral professionals tools to create a more engaging, customer-focused environment. Attendees will learn how thoughtful design, modern merchandising, and flexible presentation options can not only enhance the family experience but also drive greater satisfaction and profitability for funeral homes.  

Join us on Wednesday, October 29, 8:00 AM – 9:00 AM for an informative and innovative session.

ABOUT BATESVILLE SERVICES, LLC  

Batesville (www.Batesville.com) 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. For more than a century, Batesville has supported deathcare professionals in helping families honor the lives of those they love. ® A history of manufacturing excellence, product innovation, superior customer service, and reliable delivery helped Batesville become – and  remain – a market leader. 

Batesville Sells MIS Deathcare Management Solutions Platform  

Batesville, IN – October 15, 2025 – Batesville, a leading provider of burial, cremation, and  technology solutions in North America, announced the sale of its Management Information Systems (MIS) business to PlotBox. PlotBox is a cloud-native software platform for cemetery, crematory, and funeral home management, closely aligned with the capabilities  MIS has developed.  

Effective immediately, this move enables both companies to make strategic investments aligned with their respective areas of expertise. For Batesville, it paves the way for delivering more effective and innovative solutions, particularly designed to support funeral home customers and the families they serve. 

Batesville will continue to invest in technology that streamlines operations and enhances  the planning experience for families. This includes:  

• Halcyon Deathcare Management Software, acquired in 2024, a cloud-based deathcare management platform supporting funeral homes, crematories, pet cremation, and trade services 

• The Family Choices® Digital Showroom, providing families with a consistent, personalized experience that empowers them to make confident decisions and drives stronger product sales 

• The new Remembrance Store™, an E-commerce storefront launching at NFDA, that helps funeral homes meet families’ growing preference for online shopping while creating new revenue opportunities 

“Our focus is on providing funeral professionals with solutions that make their day-to-day  operations more efficient while supporting families through every step of the planning  process.” said Chris Trainor, Batesville CEO. “By driving innovation and personalization  across burial, cremation, and technology, we are equipping funeral professionals with  practical, future-ready tools that deliver greater value to our customers and help position  them for long-term success.”  

PlotBox and Batesville are working together to ensure a seamless transition for MIS  customers, with no disruption to service or support.  

To learn more about Batesville’s burial, cremation, and technology solutions, visit  www.Batesville.com or Halcyon by Batesville at www.halcyondcms.com. 

About Batesville Services LLC  

Batesville is a recognized leader in the deathcare industry in North America, offering a  comprehensive portfolio of burial and cremation products, memorialization options and  innovative technology solutions. For more than 140 years, Batesville has supported  licensed funeral professionals in helping families honor the lives of those they love.^® A  history of manufacturing excellence, product innovation, superior customer service, and  reliable delivery helped Batesville become – and remain – a trusted leader in the deathcare  industry. To learn more, please call 812.931.5084 or email Media.Inquiries@Batesville.com.

Michael Jewart Appointed as Leader of Starmark®, North America’s Leading Cremation Solutions Provider.

RICHMOND, IN, August 15, 2025 – Starmark is pleased to announce the appointment of Michael Jewart to lead Starmark. With more than a decade of helping funeral professionals succeed, Michael expands Starmark’s mission to deliver innovative, cost-effective, and operationally seamless cremation solutions that empower funeral providers to serve families with excellence and profitability.

Starmark currently serves North America through its factory-direct approach and white-glove Starmark Local Service Centers. Over the next 24 months, the Starmark Local expansion will cover more than 50 territories across the U.S., Canada, and the Caribbean. 

“By being closer to more funeral professionals across all of North America, Starmark can best respond to their needs in real time and ensure those who serve families have the resources, products, and support to deliver exceptional service,” added Jewart. “We’re offering funeral professionals the best cremation solutions along with the Starmark Promise: Guaranteed Best Pricing Apples to Apples Every Time.” 

As part of his role at Starmark, Michael will serve as Chief Commercial Officer, overseeing the entire portfolio of funeral brands — from Goliath™ Oversize and Elderlite® Cloth-Covered to CJ Boots Signature Hardwoods, Chateau Urns, Nature’s Way® Green Funeral Line, AMA Containers, Artisan Containers™, and many other partnered brands, all unified by a common mission: helping funeral professionals succeed in a rapidly evolving marketplace. 

Family-owned and rooted in funeral service for over a century, Starmark and its parent company’s team of more than 300 dedicated members serve thousands of funeral professionals and collaborate with hundreds of world-class brands, including many Fortune 500 companies and OEM automotive manufacturers worldwide. Supported by over 950,000 square feet of operations across North America and more than 80 issued and pending patents, Starmark is leading the future of Funeral Service with a mission to make the world a better place.

“I’ve known Michael for over a decade, and his experience and vision are exactly what Starmark needs to further solidify its leadership in cremation solutions while remaining steadfast in our commitment to helping funeral homes thrive,” said Justin Davis, Starmark President. “Our goal has never been to be just another casket company offering cremation products. By truly listening to funeral professionals and the families they serve, Starmark has helped lead funeral service into a new era with innovative and meaningful solutions for cremation.” 

About Starmark: Starmark Cremation Products creates Sensible Solutions™ for funeral professionals to help families honor life’s most meaningful moments with grace and respect. It is all about celebrating the lives of loved ones with dignity and care. This belief inspires everything we do at Starmark, allowing funeral service professionals and families to focus on love, legacy, and healing.

For more information, visit: www.starmarkcp.com 

With These Sketchy Solutions, No Wonder Early Americans Didn’t Embalm Their Dead

While the practice of embalming stretches back to the ancient Egyptians, Americans didn’t begin embalming their dead until the Civil War, and then it was only for the purposes of safely transporting the bodies of fallen soldiers to their homes for proper burial. But the idea of preserving dead bodies wasn’t exactly foreign to the people of the “New World.”  

In fact, early Americans were able to read all about the evolving practice of embalming in their newspapers. All across Europe and in the larger American cities, physicians, pharmacists, and scientists seemed to be fascinated by the possibility of keeping deceased people intact for various purposes, and news of their experimental techniques was often published throughout the States. 

Perhaps the key word here, though, is “experimental.” The solutions and procedures early Americans read about ranged from the ridiculous to the barbaric. So, it stands to reason that if Egyptian mummification and these early attempts were the only exposure the colonists and settlers had to embalming, no wonder it didn’t catch on until it was an absolute necessity. Just check out these stories below, featuring some of the sketchiest pre-formaldehyde embalming experiments that appeared in the U.S. papers.

Submersion in wine, 1790 and 1800, France

Leave it to the French to propose wine as a solution for preserving humans. In 1790, a Frenchman proclaimed to have witnessed insects being revived “in the rays of the sun” after being drowned and sealed in a bottle of Madeira. This led him to propose a similar option for humans. Ten years later, an article recalled that the cerebellum of French writer and philosopher Voltaire had been preserved in “spirits of wine” after his 1789 death. The French government had just agreed to purchase this artifact and include it in a monument in a library.

Pyroligenous acid and sulphate of iron, 1823 and 1826, Connecticut and France

Formaldehyde may not have been the most mainstream chemical when it was determined to be the best embalming solution, but these early concoctions of pyroligenous acid and iron sulphate do make one wonder how these became options. Especially because we now know pyroligenous acid by the more common name of “liquid smoke” (yes, the same liquid smoke that you use for backyard barbecues) and iron sulphate is used for iron deficiencies in humans as well as plants. Also interesting is the method suggested for applying the iron sulphate; the first part of the article (above) mentions months-long submersion of body parts, but later recommends “adding riverwater” and applying “with a brush over the surface of the part to be preserved.”

Sublimate of mercury and carbonization, 1835 and 1836, France and Italy

In the 1830s, these would-be embalmers took inspiration from the battlefield and the blazing desert sands of Africa. Larry, the French army surgeon in the first piece above, must have thought that if a sublimate of mercury — what we know now as the highly corrosive mercuric chloride — could prevent dry rot in timber, why not try it on bodies? Segato, an Italian mapmaker, found a substance that turned bodies to “stone.” He proceeded to practice on birds, snakes, and “various portions of the human body,” which he inlaid in a table, and proposed his invention as a “petrifective process.”

More not-so-successful embalming techniques

You get the point, right? Although there’s not enough room here to share each of these seemingly-breakthrough discoveries, here are a few more that we found in early American newspapers:

• Beeswax, 1829, Boston
• Painting with white lead, 1838, New York
• Covering with salt, 1843, France
• Coating with wax then filling the coffin with Plaster of Paris, 1848, New York

It wasn’t long after these dubious options were presented that French chemist Jean Gannal discovered arterial injection, formaldehyde was introduced, and mortician Dr. Thomas Holmes of New York combined these discoveries to become the “father of American embalming.” Holmes’ method became the most widely accepted and practiced solution.

Although new embalming techniques and materials are still being developed today, these solutions just don’t seem as outlandish as those to which our forefathers were unfortunately subjected — but be sure that Connecting Directors will be the first to bring you the news.

Batesville Empowers Deathcare Professionals with Industry-Leading Burial, Cremation and Technology Solutions at 2025 ICCFA Exhibition

BATESVILLE, Ind., April 23, 2025 – Batesville, a leading North American provider of high-quality burial and cremation products, innovative technology solutions and a trusted partner to funeral directors, cemeterians and crematory professionals, will showcase a variety of breakthrough products, high-performance digital solutions and merchandising systems designed to help customers drive efficiency and growth at the 2025 International Cemetery, Cremation and Funeral Association (ICCFA) Convention and Exposition, May 1 – 2, in Las Vegas, NV. Experts will demonstrate the transformational power of the new Family Choices^® digital and physical showrooms and the advanced capabilities of its MIS and Halcyon management software, web and e-commerce solutions.

“Over the last two years, Batesville has accelerated the level of investments across our business, blending tradition with innovation to provide compelling burial, cremation and technology solutions that deliver value to our customers and help families navigate the end-of-life journey,” said Jenn Parvin, SVP and Chief Marketing Officer for Batesville.

The company has deep customer relationships and a diverse portfolio of solutions to meet the evolving needs of deathcare professionals and the families they serve. Batesville was recently named one of Newsweek’s Most Trustworthy Companies in America for the second consecutive year, an honor that reflects the dedication of 3,000 associates who share a common mission of helping families honor the lives of those they love.^®

Here are some of the Batesville solutions ICCFA attendees can explore:

Family Choices^® Physical and Digital Showrooms