Full speed ahead

mattresses, ventilation. And with that, everything it takes for installation. We're known for our dairy projects. The small family farms are disappearing, but for those bigger farms, the survivors with two to three thousand cows, we're there, from start to finish."

So, along comes another recession, and Ken opts, again, to forge ahead. "Last year, I took on everything; I piled it on," he laughs (or was that a groan?). "We completely remodeled our Plainview store-inside, outside. New signage, new products, cleaner, brighter, a new flooring division in an underused area," and the list goes on. "We also took on a new software system, which was not easy."

But the biggest project by far was opening a brand-new showroom in Rochester, 20 miles away. "Two reasons," he explains. "One, I'd been asked, for years, for a bigger presence in Rochester, both by contractors and homeowners. Two, employees. Our outside sales force and I came to terms with their stipulation that we establish an office and showroom in Rochester. 0 was all for it: I'd wanted to do it, anyway," he confesses.) It handles windows and doors, decking, siding, millwork and cabinetry, and our two installed programs: overhead doors, which we do in-house, and cabinetry, which we subcontract. Rochester is a good, upscale market, even in this economy"-predominantly white-collar, due to the Mayo Clinic and a strong tech company.

|Jluese GUys ARE either slow learners or more savvy than I the rest of us. l'm betting on the latter.

Kreofsky Building Systems, of Plainview, Mn., began life in the 1920s when Henry Kreofsky made a name for himself building hip-roofed barns in southeastern Minnesota. By the 1970s, his construction company had branched out into selling building supplies as well.

Came the 1980s and a severe recession, which hit Minnesota farmers especially hard. So, right at the worst moment in its history, Kreofsky Services decided to split off its other function, which would become Kreofsky Supplies. Foolhardy?

Maybe, agrees general manager Ken Kreofsky, Henry's great-great-grandson and one of four brothers (two skipped out to Alaska) running the company. "But we made it through. We went back and forth over it, but decided to stay diversified.

"The Rochester Nea was a great market. We did some commercial work, but it was mostly agricultural, and we still do: what we call 'cow comfort stuff'-stalls. curtains.

It's never been a walk in the meadow, however. "This is a very competitive market and always has been, one of the toughest in Minnesota," Ken reports. Success is based primarily on Kreofsky's employees, its G.M. insists. "I can't say it enough. We hire based on personality, and they remain loyal-mainly, because" he says, when asked to speculate," number one, we're family-run and treat them like family, too. The door is always open-no need to pass off decisions to a distant corporate office."

Presently the workforce boasts 90 altogether,40 in the supplies division, and there's a hard-wrought ("took us six years") succession plan in readiness for when it comes time for the many younger Kreofskys, and others, to fill the bosses' shoes.

Each division feeds the other but runs as a separate business. But having two separate divisions isn't a costcutter, no indeed. "We can't undercut; we've got to remain competitive," Ken stresses. "But the conveniences of having everything in-house," he underscores, "is great! Plus, we trade leads back and forth."

In Ken's domain. 807o of customers are contractors working on custom houses; the remaining2OVo consists of homeowners, drawn by its 10,000 sq. ft. of showroom space and an in-house interior designer. (For CAD drawings, simply visit the services division.) Rental equipment and a strong hardware program with Do it Best are among other customer services that add appeal.

So is Kreofsky's strong outside sales force-"the first in this part of the country," Ken is allowed to brag. "We started it in the Eighties, when one of our owners visited a yard in Colorado and came home with the idea. These salespeople offer years of experience, and you know what? It's really working. They call on jobsites, call on builders. It's been a big plus for us"

Those builders are delighted with the services of a boom truck, too-another first in this neck of the woods. ("Of course, everybody else soon followed suit.")

But in the end, it all boils down to what you already know, but we'll say it again: service. "On-time delivery, quality products, and knowledge," Ken reinforces. Not only does his staff continue in-house training in new products, but Kreofsky offers this training to its contractor customers as well, via a series of breakfast meetings that introduce six new lines a year.

But the biggest annual event, by far, is the company's contractor appreciation night-viewed by attendees (200 by invitation) and vendors (35). It's also "one of the best in the Midwest," thanks to a sit-down, white-tablecloth dinner, great door prizes, and unlimited fun.

The company has turned to radio as its strongest investment in advertising, based on the advice of its ad agency's recommendation, "It's new for us, and it's working out well, bringing in new people, " Ken testifies.

Kreofksy's Internet presence is terrific, too, again thanks to advice they've gained from their marketing agency. Key was creating an attention-getting, work-horse website that has a "young" look. (Watch its YouTube message on www.kbscompanies.com.)

The agency also designed a new, easily recognizable logo to serve both divisions and worked on branding. "We were doing some before, but kind of shooting from the hip," Ken says. "They're bringing it all together for us."

So, damn the economy, full speed ahead, to paraphrase a famous message. "We've cut back some, definitely, but we're difI'erent from most yards," Ken shares. "We saw it coming in 2008 and thus went for something to turn it around. It's a cycle, and gonna go up. We're familyowned, which makes us a fleeter ship; we've got control over it."

And Ken is more than happy at its helm. "Why do I like the business? Lemme tell you: When I was in mv 20s. in the business for about four years, a vendor came in one day and I started wondering aloud if I'd be doing this all my life. 'You know what?' he said. 'Once in the lumber business, always in the lumber business.' And I've found that to be true. I love visiting with people, helping them figure things out."

Carla Waldemar

By fames Olsen