The Long Game
Kinzler Construction sees exponential growth by pursuing strategic markets.
When Kevin Kinzler started Kinzler Construction Services in 1984, hanging drywall was a healthy side business for his hours between full-time firefighting shifts. During its first 15 years, the company grew steadily, expanding from the Kinzlers’ Ames garage to its own 10,000-square-foot facility. Today the company headquarters includes a nearly 200,000-square-foot office, warehouse, and distribution center in Ankeny.
“During those early years, my parents were able to invest everything right back into the company,” says President and CEO Tanner Kinzler.
Work was steady, and the company built a reputation for doing the job right and being problem solvers for its customers.
“Our first expansion was a direct result of that problem-solver approach,” says Tanner Kinzler. “My mom got a call one day from a company building several hog barns. His hog delivery was scheduled, and the insulation contractor had canceled on him. We said we’d figure out a way to solve the problem. And just like that, we were in the insulation business.”
Calling in family, friends, and then-8-year-old son Tanner, the Kinzlers completed the project and found a new market, along with more opportunities to diversify their services. Kevin Kinzler’s side business had become a full-time career.
Since then, the company’s growth has been more intentional, but just as rooted in problem-solving and partnerships. Today Kinzler Construction Services is a leading installer of insulation products, gypsum concrete, and fireproofing. Kinzler also distributes full lines of construction materials, including drywall, steel framing, acoustical ceiling tile, and exterior insulation and finishing systems (EIFS).
“One of our first acquisitions was the result of a long-standing friendship with a family who owned an insulation business in Texas. That was a good learning experience, and we have a great relationship with the team there,” says Tanner Kinzler.
Other mergers and acquisitions have extended Kinzler Construction Services into Colorado, North Carolina, Nebraska, and across the state of Iowa.
This past year, despite the erratic construction market, Kinzler completed two new mergers, further extending the construction services. “In January we acquired Ankeny-based WD Door, and in August we acquired the insulation and gutter divisions of Marion-based Comfort Solutions,” Kinzler says.
Both acquisitions add new services to the company’s operation, giving more opportunities to problem solve for customers.
“Mergers and acquisitions are a key part of our growth plan,” Kinzler says. “We have different criteria to assess those potential partnerships, including whether their core competency aligns well with our current services, whether those acquisitions will serve our customers and enable us to diversify our products and services, and whether the company culture fits with ours.”
Developing that culture has been another key to Kinzler’s ongoing success. According to Kinzler, “Labor is a challenge for everyone in the construction industry, and we have a unique way of doing things. So creating a culture that reflects our values is something we put a lot of effort into.”
That effort led to the formation of an Employee Stock Option Plan (ESOP) in 2017, and the company has seen very positive results. “We did a sort of ‘town hall’ tour to all our facilities to introduce the program,” Kinzler says, “and after some initial reservations, employees have been enthusiastic. It’s one of the things that helps set us apart as an employer in such a tight labor market.”
In addition, the company has long made it a priority to hold regular career development and succession planning sessions with employees, partnering with them to create a path for individual growth, advancement, and higher earning potential.
“Whether it’s moving them around to learn new skills within the company or getting them enrolled in courses to further their education, we want to work with them to find advancement opportunities for them, promoting from within,” Kinzler says. “Despite the scale of our company, it still feels like family.”
As the website states, “We intend to play the long game by living our core values, doing it right, being safe and compliant, and never doing anything that would jeopardize our reputation. Through the best and the worst marketplace conditions, this approach has proven best to create long-term sustainable shareholder value for our family of employee-owners.”
Announcing the WD Door acquisition in January, Kinzler said, “At the start of the pandemic, if you asked us to look forward, I don’t think we would have expected this outcome.”
Although the Kinzlers may not have predicted two mergers within nine months, the company’s steady growth is no surprise. It’s something the entire company pursues.
“As employee-owners, everyone sees ways to benefit the company now, from cutting costs to expanding services,” Kinzler says. “Internal growth initiatives are our number one priority, but we also have our eyes open for companies that are a good fit to be part of the Kinzler family.”
Once a side business hanging drywall, Kinzler Construction Services has become a family of companies providing installation, repair, service, and distribution of products and materials for residential and commercial construction. The long game has brought the companies far from the family garage, but it’s kept them close to the values on which they were built.