Cheryl Allen
When Kalona Realty’s for sale sign went up on the side of their building on 6th Street in Kalona, customers started calling, worried that Kuenster Plumbling, Heating & Air was selling the business or moving out of Kalona. Fortunately for those who rely on the family business, they are moving out, but they aren’t moving on.
You might say they are moving up, at least in terms of square footage. This week contractors are expected to break ground on a new location for the business at 104 G Avenue South, just off Hwy 1 south of town by the settling ponds and C S Auto Body. The new structure will have plenty of office space and two overhead doors providing access to the workshop, in addition to ample parking space for the company’s service vehicles.
All of these features are desperately needed by the nearly 17-year-old company, started by Jeremy Kuenster in his garage in 2009, “just thinking it was going to be him and maybe one other guy,” wife and business partner Heather Kuenster says.
Kuenster’s growth has clearly exceeded their expectations.
Business was iffy at first, as the economy was still reeling from the Great Recession. But Jeremy occupied himself with replacing water heaters and other minor plumbing jobs, and eventually his reputation grew and with it his clientele.
By 2012, the business moved into their current location, at first renting it, then buying it. Office help was hired, then added to; technicians were hired, then added to. Far more than needing “one other guy,” Kuenster now employs about 30.
Today the building is bursting at the seams, with the office staff on top of each other, struggling to hear phone conversations or focus on their computer work. Outside, service vehicles clog the street at the start of the workday. There is no adequate breakroom or place to hold a meeting. Equipment and vehicles are stored at two additional locations.
“We’ve just outgrown our space,” Amy Shalla says.
Ultimately, Kuenster needs the bigger building to “better serve our customers,” Shalla says. With more space for employees, vehicles, appliances, and equipment, they’ll be able to work more quickly and efficiently. They can hold effective meetings and training sessions. They can even show customers more of what they offer, and demonstrate some maintenance procedures, such as changing out air filters.
This move to more spacious accommodations has been years in the making.
“We looked at so many different options,” Heather Kuenster says. “This has been a work in progress for at least five years.”
The business considered existing facilities, but for one reason or another, none of them worked out. Finally, when they found one of Kalona’s last remaining commercial lots was for sale, they thought, “fine, we’ll just build, then.”
The team at Kuenster is excited about the potential of the new building, which they hope will be completed and ready to move into in April 2024.
Keywords
Kuenster Plumbing Heating & Air,
relocation,
building,
moving,
expanding,
Kalona,
Iowa
thenews-ia.com
http://thenews-ia.com/stories/kuenster-plumbing-heating-air-breaks-ground-on-new-location-in-kalona,84481
