When David Singer took over at Lance Inc. in 2005, he found a sprawling manufacturing operation so decentralized that plants didn’t even buy cardboard boxes together.
The information systems were in shambles, and a company that delivered snacks to thousands of accounts every day was using a route system that could charitably be described as antiquated.
Singer had offered various solutions to the company’s struggles as a member of the board of directors, which he joined in 2003. But a paternal, family-oriented culture had set in at Lance, and change didn’t come quickly, if at all. The result: The nearly 100-year-old Charlotte-based maker of a range of snack foods, from Nip Chee crackers to Cape Cod chips, saw growth stagnate in the early 2000s. As earnings declined, the board — including Singer — grew restless for change.
In the spring of 2005, Bill Prezzano, then the lead director of the Lance board, called Singer with an offer. Would he be willing to take over for Paul Stroup III as Lance president and chief executive?
He called Prezzano a month later and took the job.
“My role, and that which the board expects, is to unlock the potential in those strengths — to develop a culture of innovation where fresh and new ideas take hold and can be turned into growth,” he told the Charlotte Business Journal at the time.
It’s safe to say he’s more than fulfilled that promise. Lance’s net revenue has resumed the growth the company enjoyed in the early 1990s.
Says Singer: “Sales were $550 million in 2004, and $1 billion is now within our sights.” A 2005 investment of $100 in Lance stock would be worth $181 today. The company employs 4,800, of which about 1,200 are in Charlotte.
A string of acquisitions have proved key to the rebound, and Singer’s team now plans to spread sales westward to California.
