National Audio Company

Founded in 1968 by Warren Stepp and his son Steve Stepp in Springfield, Missouri, National Audio Company evolved from a distributor of Ampex recording tapes and Fidelipac broadcast cartridges to become the world's largest cassette tape manufacturer and the only company in the United States producing cassette tapes since 2007. Beginning cassette production at their Springfield plant in 1980, the family-owned company expanded through multiple facility relocations, ultimately operating from a 135,000-square-foot factory since 1998. Under the leadership of third-generation Vice President Phil Stepp, who holds a Ph.D. in neuroscience from the University of Missouri and served as Professor of Neuroscience at Drury University before joining the family business full-time in 2018, the company achieved a breakthrough by developing in-house magnetic tape production in 2018, becoming the world's first manufacturer of all-new tape stock. Producing 30-35 million cassettes annually for more than 3,400 record labels worldwide, National Audio Company controls 95% of the audio cassette market in the Western Hemisphere and has experienced over 440% sales growth in the past decade, capitalizing on the analog revival while maintaining their position as the largest manufacturer of professional-quality audio cassettes in the USA.