Mountain View, Mo.— Smith Flooring announced a number of management changes to fill the void left when family member Van Smith passed away suddenly late last year.

“The loss of Van left a deep void in our family and the company,” said his brother Jon Smith, who will continue his role as president and COO of the 59-year-old wood flooring manufacturer. “We’ve spent weeks since his death working to reorganize the company to compensate for that void and to position Smith Flooring to continue operating in much the same manner as what has made us successful for the past five decades.”

With that, the following changes have been made. Kent Smith, Van’s son, has been named chairman and vice president. He has been with the mill for 18 years and was most recently in charge of the company’s beef cattle operation as well as operating the sawmill and handling information technology. In his new role, he will take on added responsibility at the flooring mill, working on operational issues and environmental oversight, along with a more active role in overall corporate management.

Steve Smith, Van’s youngest son and a 16-year company veteran, has been named vice president and CEO. Prior to this, he was running the company’s Classic Wood Floor division, a local distributor/retailer in Springfield, Mo. He will continue in that capacity while taking a greater portion of the overall corporate management function within Smith Flooring.

Jon Smith said the rest of the company’s senior management team remains intact. This includes 21-year Smith Flooring veteran Kevin Connor as general manager in charge of production and sales, Jim Jenkins as chief forester, Jon’s son Stuart Smith as Jenkins’ assistant, and Gary Grosze who is in charge of the day-to-day operations of the beef cattle division.

Founded by Jon’s and Van’s father, V. “Spider” Smith, and Ralph Padgett in 1947, the company specializes in manufacturing unfinished solid strip flooring in red and white oak as well as hickory and pecan. The company also owns and manages a small amount of hardwood forest land as well as the distribution facility in Springfield.

For more information on Smith Flooring and its products, call 417/934-2291.