Week of January 22, 2018
Business Name: WMC Inc.
Owners: Jim McGuire and Jason Walker
Address: 588 Country Club Road, Pocahontas, AR 72455
Website: wmc-products.com
Telephone #: 870 892 8055 or Toll Free: 1 800 757 8055
17 Employees
In business for 40 years – Established in 1979 – Manufacturers of Medical and Sports Furnishings – Always a local owned Family Business
History of the business:
The story of humble beginnings unfolds in the eastern foothills of the Arkansas Ozarks in the small community of Pocahontas. Here, three families with similar business interest and backgrounds united to create what is now WMC – Walker-McGuire & Companies.
The Sims family (Louy) owned and operated Pocahontas Furniture Company. Established in the mid 1960s, his thriving residential furniture manufacturing business sold mostly living room furniture to the public. I recall Louy’s sales tactic of parading his customers around the framing department and insisting they write their name on the underneath side of the frame to be upholstered so that when their furniture was delivered they could again see that they had indeed taken part in picking not only the style and fabric but the frame as well.
The Walker family (Hurschell) owned and operated Walker Mfg. Company which was established in 1978 and was the first company to produce some of the same products still available from WMC today. Hurschell had a strong devotion to quality and was a craftsman of both upholstered furniture as well as cabinet case goods.
The McGuire family (Jim) moved to the Pocahontas area in 1975 and set up shop as Pocahontas Upholstery, a custom shop that catered to customers with antique furniture who would often furnish their own needle point, and/or other materials for custom made heirloom pieces. Jim’s shop would eventually become McGuire Industries in 1981.
After only a few brief encounters the trio united and began to develop the products that would make up the institutional lines that were sold as private label products to just a few distributors for many years to come.
Mr. Sims and Mr. Walker are with us only in memory now but their legacy of pride in a job well done still exists in the employees and family members that have worked and are still working to bring you our very best.
