Love Saint Francis Cromo’s Stunning Products? We Have Exciting News for You!
For more than 40 years, funeral professionals have proudly shared Saint Francis Cromo products with the families they serve. The Saint Francis Cromo family is well known within the industry for their exclusive line, featuring fine Cromo religious art created in Milan, Italy and specially for their reliable and fast service.
“We are now Reliable Funeral Supply, a division of Saint Francis Cromo,” announces Carlos George, President, and Owner. “Now, in addition to servicing out to the distributors who carry our products, our customers can access our extensive line of products and purchase them through Reliable Funeral Supply.”
Saint Francis has been catering to the funeral industry since 1973.
“The story of how we came to be, displays how one dream can become a reality, one step at a time,” George says. “Our story began in Cuba, where my father, Tirso George, had a dream to share his catholic visions and more with the world. Yet, as my father’s dream was in the making, we had to be put on a brief pause, due to an unwelcoming arrival of communism. Though this left us feeling hopeless and scared, we never lost our faith. With prayers and hope, we were able to flee to our home country, Spain, where we lived for two years.”
“The time that we spent in Spain allowed us to reflect on our situation, and to see how we can grow from this,” George continues. “I saw my father work multiple jobs to save money to provide for his family, and to make his dream become a reality. My father’s communication skills and work ethic paved the way for new partnerships like the introduction to Cromo N.B. in Milan, Italy. Cromo is a recognized establishment that has been around for over 100 years, and we have had the pleasure of working with this exhilarating company for 40 of them.”
“As I followed my fathers’ steps, I realized how important it is to establish relationships with fellow companies and have established a personal relationship with the owner of Cromo, Federico,” George says. “Our partnership allows us to produce new and exciting products not only for the American markets, but also for the European.”
Cromo N.B., not only has an extensive gallery of classic designs painted by renowned artists, but also has gifted artisans that create beautiful original works of religious and non-religious art, to which Saint Francis Cromo owns the exclusive copyright to reproduce. The art that is produced is seen on its vast line of funeral products — which means you will not find this artwork (legally) on any other supplier’s items.
“Our designs help set us apart since we own these copyrights,” says George. “It gives us the flexibility to put our images on items like caskets and/or other permanent items like buildings! Our designs are already seen in cemeteries and mausoleums. With the help of Cromo N.B., we have been able to create new products and provide customers with quality and access to merchandise.”
Although the company you know as Saint Francis Cromo is now doing business as Reliable Funeral Supply, the unique, exclusive, artisan-crafted designs they have always offered will not change. You will have access to their entire inventory of Catholic, Christian and non-denominational themed products as well as PPE, prayer cards, acknowledgment cards, register books, caskets and more.
“We’ve been doing business for 40 years, but we’ve only sold to funeral homes through distributors,” George says. “Distributors, though, usually can only offer limited amounts of products and can’t always show our complete line. Our line has grown to become vast. With Reliable Funeral Supply, we are simply expanding our customers’ access to everything available. Now our customers can order through their distributor or directly from us.”
Reliable Funeral Supply strives to fulfill and ship out orders on the same are received if possible (if orders are placed before noon PST,) whether the orders are received directly from customers or through one of the companies’ trusted distributors. The only exception is with larger personalized products such as caskets or urns, which have a slightly longer two-day turnaround.
“As the new name implies, ‘Reliable’, you can count on us to get the products you need as soon as possible,” George says.
George explains that as an international supplier, the company keeps an eye on global trends that may affect shipping and plans to ensure their inventory is stocked and immediately available. Plus, when Reliable ships an order, they email a copy of the invoice to the purchaser along with a tracking number, so everyone knows exactly when they should receive their package.
In addition to single-item purchases, Reliable Funeral Supply is creating customized product packages that will appeal to various demographics of families. For example, if your funeral home serves predominantly Polish Catholic families, you will want to have a package on hand that features images that are meaningful to that ethnicity, such as the images of Divine Mercy and Our Lady of Czestochowa.
Currently, most Reliable Funeral Supply products are printed in English and Spanish, but George says that they are working to expand the number of languages to better serve your families.
“We have register books in Vietnamese and Chinese, and we’re working on one right now in Armenian register books,” he said.
One of the most popular products available from Reliable Funeral Supply is the prayer card. The company offers nearly 600 diverse designs of cards, which are pre-printed in gorgeous full color.
“These prayer cards are beautifully made in Italy,” Carlos says. “The customer customizes them with the deceased picture and obituary, when the cards are separated, you will have a beautiful Italian prayer card that touches everybody’s heart. I see a lot of funeral homes having to print both sides of prayer cards on blank stock. When you calculate the cost of ink versus what we offer, it is about half the price of printing them yourself. Plus, you’re not going to get this kind of quality on your printer.”
Reliable Funeral Supply is still family owned. Carlos and his wife are looking forward to introducing their children to the business when they are ready, making them the third generation of Georges to serve the funeral care profession. They are a family-oriented company dedicated to help you serve your organization’s family with personalized, thoughtful, high-quality products and exceptional service.
If you’re interested in learning more about ordering directly from Reliable Funeral Supply or becoming a distributor of its products, please contact Carlos George at cg@sfcromo.com today!
