Tiger Correctional Services

Serving inmates has become big business for Tiger Correctional Services of Jonesboro.

In May 1999, Chad Niell, along with his wife, Pam, started the company to provide commissary services for inmates in state and county detention facilities.

The inmates can place orders with Tiger Correctional Services for everything from personal hygiene items to snacks to pens and pencils. The company then sends the items back to the jail or prison and the inmates pay prices that are comparable to those they would pay at a convenience store, Chad Niell said.

Tiger Correctional also developed software to manage inmates’ accounts and provides software that helps with the management of jails.

“Anything that happens when you get put into jail, our software helps … run that jail,” he said.

Tiger Correctional Services also uses its staff, not the inmates, to operate a detention center’s kitchen. The prison is charged a per-meal price, which helps the facility with its budgeting, Niell said.

“We will run that kitchen just like a restaurant,” he said.

With 44 employees, Tiger Correctional Service has more than 150 clients in 23 states. Some of the facilities use Tiger Correctional’s commissary services, while others use just the food service, and still others have bought only Tiger Correctional software.

The company’s revenue has been climbing since 2000 when it was $900,000. In 2008, revenue was more than $7 million, and in 2009, revenue is projected at $9 million, Niell said.

Tiger Correctional was named one of Inc. magazine’s 5,000 fastest-growing private companies in 2007 and 2008.

Niell said the company has been successful because of the staff’s hard work and determination.

“We under-promise and over-deliver,” he said. “And we take care of the customer.”