INTERNATIONAL
Jack Davidson

International suffers from the economic slowdown just like everyone else, but there are a few bright spots.

First, we have signed new Distributors in France, Lebanon and Ireland and are working to secure Czech Republic, Hungary, Russia and China. Others are in the works. Sales in India look promising and we will know more before the end of the year. The economies in China, Middle East and the Far East seem to be firmer than the rest of the world, but we still have high hopes and continuing sales in Ireland and the UK. In Spain, Señor Hugo Vissiglia and company, Marinenclaves, is reporting their first sale with what we hope will be more to follow. The Russians, though paving the road with good intentions, are pushing back their timetables to who knows when. They will come on board with us when their economy settles down.

John Quinn  and Laszlo Decsy continue to do outstanding jobs in somewhat difficult circumstances and their efforts will pay off in the coming months.

For the last 10 days of the year all of us in the International Division will be out of the country; one of us lives in Hungary, and John and I will be overseas. Now isn't that appropriate?  

CORPORATE MODELS
Chris Seile

At this past Annual Sales Meeting we introduced a potential new product line that Kuhns Bros. Bros Log Homes was considering offering. This was 10” and 12” round logs with saddle notch corners. We asked the attending Sales Representatives and the Kuhns Bros. Advisory Board to please provide us feedback as to whether they thought this was something that they would like to see us offer. The overwhelming response was "yes!" We are now moving forward with this exciting new product line and anticipate having product specifications and additional information to our sales representatives by January 1st. This should be another great selling tool just in time for the spring selling season.

In the early part of November we also sent out a memo that discussed a proposed relationship between Kuhns Bros. Log Homes and Forest Homes. Forest Homes is a panelized home manufacturer located in Selingsgrove, PA. In the memo it stated that Kuhns Bros had decided to give this opportunity a try on a limited basis and that in the very near future a system would be in place that would allow our Lewisburg and Pocono Model Home Centers to begin offering this new product line. The necessary displays have been set up, training has been conducted, and the Forest Homes Business Management System program has been installed. We are currently working on updating the Model Websites and developing the marketing and advertising. We are all very excited about the potential this new product and relationship has to offer and we will keep you updated on our progress.     

ADMINISTRATION
Tricia Zerbe

Hello to all and Merry Christmas.  I hope everyone is staying warm in this winter season.  Don’t forget to order your 25th Anniversary Sweatshirt from AdOne if you haven’t already.

Administration has been productive in the last few months with automating more processes through our CRM program.  All Duplication within our leads program has been gone through and worked out between our Sales Representatives.  Please keep in mind when entering information into portal for your leads that the information is correct.  It is imperative that the phone number field, email and zip code are correct.  Help us help you in making sure that the data that is in our main system is accurate.  If you have changes or alternations to someone within the system, please email admindept@kuhnsbros.com with the correct information and we will make sure that it gets updated.  We hope to be able to give you the ability to go into your records and update them directly in the future.  Good luck in the new year to come and sell, sell, sell. 

MARKETING
Tonya Ditty

ENGINEERING
Lynda Tompkins

Happy Holidays! It is hard to believe that the Holiday Season is upon us and another year is coming to a close. Engineering has been busy working through a few year-end projects, such as completing the pricing  for the “New Product Offering” Chris Seile previewed a few weeks ago in Memo H08117, plans and pricing for potential commercial developments, and a commercial project bid for building at Penn State University. In addition, Engineering is in the process of completing the annual pricing review for the Signature, Destinations, and Masterpieces Catalog. In the midst of this project work, Engineering has been able to maintain the workload and provide short turn-around times for any potential winter delivery, so if you have a project that needs special attention for delivery, please contact the engineeringdept@kuhnsbros.com.

NETWORK SALES
Joe Folker

For many of us who have been in the log home industry for a good part of our lives, this serious downturn in the housing cycle is not the first storm we’ve weathered, nor will it be the last.  However, tough times provide opportunity for those who are strong in the fundamentals of selling homes in good times and bad.

There are several sales reps and builders within our sales network who have been around long enough and survived several dips in the housing cycle.  But one particular individual comes to mind when I think of having the experience to do what is most important to not only survive, but prosper, even during the toughest times.  That is Todd Fisher and his family, the 2008 Sales Representative of the Year.  When asked what they did differently to address this difficult market, here’s what they had to say.

“When we saw the economy taking a downturn, we decided to bear down and work harder than ever before to do whatever needed to be done in order to get the sale.  We looked at each of our customers individually and focused on what's holding them back from buying?  If it was finding property, we searched and sent them listings . . . if it was needing a discount to make it all work, then we gave the discount . . . if it was a Do-It-Yourself project, we provided extra support with construction, etc. . . . and so on.  We usually do these things anyway, but as things slowed down, it allowed us to provide extra attention to each job and what they needed.

“ And we also want to say hats off to everyone at Kuhns Bros. for all the help and support they provided us this past year!!  Without all of them, it wouldn't have been possible either.  We noticed each individual in all the different departments provided special attention and extra care to our and the customer's every need.  We appreciate all their efforts!”

I think the message here is that we’ve got to all do a better job in focusing our attention on what’s most important in creating the sales.  We need to dig down and look at each individual customer’s unique needs, and show the customer that you are making the best effort in servicing those needs.

We can’t control the broad housing market, but you can control whether or not you are one of the survivors if you focus on what is most important now.  We need to get back to the basics and remember Pareto’s 80/20 rule:   “Roughly 80% of the effect comes from 20% of the cause.”  In other words, 80% of your sales are a result of 20% of your effort.  So figure out what 20% of your effort is resulting in 80% of your sales, and focus all your attention on the 20% that matters most.

Yeah, the market is the market, and the reality is that you can’t control the market.  The good news is that you do have control of your own destiny.  So focus your attention on what you can control, and take action today, so you are one of those who prosper from the opportunity these times present.

OPERATIONS
Jeff Benner

While orders for new homes continue to be rather slow, I want to take this time to remind you to not forget about selling our products to those customers who have chosen to do some remodeling instead of building a new home. Through our retail store you have the opportunity to sell beams, T&G, siding or any other products offered in our Log Home packages. Give the store a call and they will be glad to quote you pricing for any of these products.

IT
John Hall

The IT Department has been busy preparing for the release of the Website Services being offered to our Network Sales Representatives.    We are proud to offer this service along with our Email Service because it can truly be a WIN-WIN for our Sales Representatives and the Company.   By offering these types of services we help everyone get more leads, create a consistent marketing and sales message,  create better more reliable communication, and it off-loads the work of dealing with technology from the Sale Representatives to the IT Department who deals with it every day.    For more information please check out the Sales Representative Portal. Under the services tab, you can find information and documentation on these services.   In the future we plan on adding more documentation and movies for training and how the Website technology works.   If you are interested or just have questions make sure you contact the IT Department at extension 295. 

American Heritage Crafters & Preferred Partner Program
Christine Rantz

As 2008 is coming to a close, I thought you would enjoy knowing how many of your customers took advantage of the Preferred Partner Program.  Since January of this year alone, we provided products to over 150 customers who took advantage of the packages offered when purchasing a Kuhns Bros Log Home or Country Log Cabin.

Our customers have been able to enjoy quality products from Kohler, Whirlpool, Jenn Air, Kitchen Aid, Savoy House, Flat Rock Hickory, Johnston Benchworks, Shady Lady Lighting, and Cody Road Workshops, just to name a few.  The opportunity to provide these types of home furnishings has been nothing short of a delight to each and every customer.

Some of the comments shared with the staff here at American Heritage Crafters are: “This is the reason I chose Kuhns Bros Log Homes.”  “Our home looks wonderful with these beautiful products;” and “The quality of the appliances passed our expectation.” We can all be proud to be a part of the Preferred Partner Program as it is one great reason to say yes to Kuhns Bros Log Homes. 

Log Building Solutions
Dave Hoffman

This has been a busy few months for Log Building Solutions, with a total of nine maintenance and restoration projects in October and November alone.  We are excited about how the company has grown in the short time we have been in business.  But due to seasonal weather conditions our work is slowly drawing to a close. For several weeks throughout August, September and October we had crews working on a home in Greece (pictures below).  We were originally contracted to simply complete the dry-in construction, but the owner of the home was so satisfied that our crews ended up doing the majority of the interior work as well.



We recently completed a maintenance and preservation job in Shelter Island, New York, the furthest point north on Long Island.  Here we did over $40k worth of miscellaneous repairs.  We also completed the dry-in construction of a Kuhns Bros. log home in Front Royal, Virginia.  Our job was to complete the major construction as well as the exterior staining.  But the owner of the house liked us so much that he wanted us to do the interior sanding and staining too.

There are currently a number of new opportunities on the table.  We just turned in a bid for a large roof construction on the Holiday Inn Express in Hamburg, Pennsylvania, right across from Cabela’s.  This roof will match the large entryway on the front of the Cabela’s store.  A bid was also submitted to construct the golf house for the Penn State University golf team.  And the Yogi Bear Campground in Marion, North Carolina, is looking to build a Kuhns Bros. home and possibly some smaller units as well.

E&A currently has four projects underway:  a dry-in in Lake Placid, New York; a dry-in in Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania; a complete turn-key construction project in Puxatony, Pennsylvania; and another turn-key project in Huntington, Pennsylvania, south of Raystown Lake.  E&A also just signed a contract with the president of AmerLink to construct a floor system in his new home near Erie with the possibility of constructing the entire house.

So, despite the slumping economy and the downturn in the housing market, we are happy to say that we have had little time to rest, and we look forward to our continued growth.