elitive ligence showft on Earth The biggest

By Carla Waldemar

Things like wallpaper, because we're far more than framing.

"And things like power tools. We offer both depth and quality, including woodworking tools for the professional businesses in our area. Men, and especially contractors, like to see tools," Bill notes astutely. "And displays attract women, the decisionmakers. Women like things pretty."

558!VERYBODY'S concept of a I-llumberyard is 2x4s, nails and drywall crammed floor-to-ceiling, with no room to move around." savs

Bill Keim, owner of Keim Lumber Co., Charm, Oh. And, yes, thar's probably the way the yard got started when Bill's grandfather broke ground on less than two acres. In the middle of nowhere, that's all that was needed.

Still in the dead-center of nowhere (the Amish community of Charm boasts 100 residents, including Bill and his wife and six children), today the operation spreads across 40 acres, with close to 700000 sq. ft. under one roof, housing 330 employees, a huge millwork operation, and maybe the biggest, baddest showroom in these parts (or any other you might name). Barnum & Bailey, eat your hearts out. Five years in planning and construction, the new, 122,000-sq.-ft showroom opened in January 2OO7 and does what Bill set out to do: dazzle.

"We're nowhere, so we need to draw people in," he explains. Nowhere, maybe, but with a fleet of 20 trucks that offer free delivery (still!) up to 150 miles distant, which covers not only Ohio, but has been newly expanded into West Virginia and Pennsylvania, too.

Keim Lumber serves both pros- mostly small builders and remodelers-and household heroes, a 50/50 split. But these customers are far from a captive market, even here in tiny Charm. Armies of big boxes offer strong competition-a major reason behind the new showroom.

"We've got to draw people in. So we have to do something to attract them that the boxes don't," says Billsuch as offering scores of hands-on displays of kitchen, bath, tools, windows, doors (Keim provides custom door manufacturing, too) and trim. (In the mill, over 200 profiles in eight wood species are routinely in stock, with two to four new profiles developed each week, and over 120 domestic and exotic hardwood species to choose from).

Keim's hardware supplier offered design assistance. Bill recalls, "Two guys came down from Michigan and we talked. I told them what I wanted: a lot of wood, because that's what we do: old-style Shaker woodwork. Also, lots of space so customers wouldn't feel crowded, and so they could see and touch our products. We didn't add a lot of SKUs-maybe some hardware-but expanded our displays. We wanted to show off all the things the boxes didn't carry-doors, trimwhere we don't compete directly.

They've now got close to 90,000 more sq. ft. of "pretty" to admire than previously. Keim's new showroom occupies the middle floor between warehouse and office space in the three-story mega-building, the last segment to be completed. It boasts a unique "rotunda" entrance, drawing eyes from the highway. Once lured inside, customers are met by a service desk "designed like a town square, with lights and clock," explains Bill. ("We even held a wedding reception in the center last summer when our daughter, Kim, got married.")

Bucking the niche-market trend, Keim aims to do all things for all people, which is helping the company confront the tough times we're all facing. New-home building is down, no two ways about it, Bills reports, but Keim is picking up the slack by servicing remodeling and decking projects, backed by the expert help his inside staff of 40-salespeople, estimators and phone bank-provide. Speaking of phones, Keim receives 1,200 calls daily (record number: 1,452 on April 21, 2008. And you thought you were busy? ).

Thanks to early-morning PK meetings, fueled by vendors and their doughnuts, employees are up to date on products. There's also one point person assigned to each item, who can act as specialist, plus a service desk in the center of each department to field questions.

To beat the boxes, Keim offers additional customer benefits, including a Saturday morning express line, just like that in a suPermarket, so those with just a few items can get in and out in a flash and not be held uP by folks planning projects. (Speaking of eliminating long lines, there are 19 restrooms. too.) Keim also offers a 57o discount for cash payment, "which seems to really help," says Bill-and that free delivery service. "We're fighting to maintain it despite gasprice hikes." Those popular power tools are an even bigger draw for Keim's Amish community (3OVo of contractors, 60Vo of LBM trade, and 757o of employees) because employees are adept at transforming them to run on compressed air, hYdraulic power, and rechargeable l2-volt batteries.

Due to popular demand, the new store also includes a Carpenters Cafe (run by another outfit), serving breakfast and lunch. There's method to that particular madness, too. Knows Bill, "It's a draw for the pros who drive by in the early morning. They come in to eat, or pick up a box lunch, and Pick up a couple of other items, too."

Was the showroom venture a big risk? Silly question. Most "aha!" decisions are, and this is no excePtion. "Oh, yeah," Bill agrees. "For years I'd talked about doing a new store, until finally my wife, Eva, encouraged me to get serious about it."

It took a heap of cash, of course. But resulting sales are "in the high 50s," Keim reports. He, along with his buyers, track them constantly. "I look at our board footage in stock to see how much we've moved Per week' and also look at OSB. It's an imPortant price item, and one of the first things builders look at. If you're good at that, you get the whole order," he has found.

Bill took over the familY business at age 20, going on 50 Years ago, and has no regrets. "I grew up in it, helping my dad, and never did anYthing else. My goal is to have, right in stock, everything anybody could want." Here are some stats on what it took to achieve that in the new building:2950 gallons of finish; 50,000 bd. ft. of cherry (that's five semi-loads); 20 miles of voltage wiring; 10, 495 yards of concrete, and 68,000 lbs. of roof insulation-just in case anYbodY's asking. Factor in a familY's hoPes, ambition, and hard work and what do you get? A dream come true. Not to mention continued success.

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