February 21, 2005
When one door closes, another opens. Kelly Gibson and Rex Csuzdi take that old saying literally. The long-time friends have transformed a retail lumber business in Kenora that was feeling the pinch from larger companies into a manufacturing plant that generates thousands of screen door kits annually.
Laclu Industries has secured contracts with major chains such as Home Hardware in Canada and Lowe’s in the United States for the Door-in-a-Box™. The product idea began when Gibson and Csuzdi were meeting over coffee at a time when Gibson was considering reviving his father’s successful sweater kit company and turning it into an internet business. Csuzdi owned Laclu Lumber. A screen door leaning against a wall sparked a discussion that would lead to the creation of the door-in-a-box concept, Gibson explains.
“We looked at all the parts on it and I said, ‘I wonder if anybody has ever made a door kit?’ The research I did on the internet showed that no one in North America did.”
Gibson and Csuzdi packaged a prototype and took it to the local hardware store and the next thing they knew, they were sitting at a meeting in Calgary discussing country-wide sales.
“Our first order was for 1100 doors and we didn’t have a factory. We had six or seven weeks to make them and we did it,” says Gibson, who is Vice-President of the company that has up to five employees with plans to employ more local people as it expands.
Csuzdi is President. The classic-looking solid pine screen doors, complete with decorative corner brackets and turned spindles, are produced in two different models and can be assembled in an hour or less. Manufacturing has been an evolving process for Laclu. From taking over the existing sawmill and equipment, they have come a long way by learning from their mistakes and creating new expertise as they go.
“What’s happened with this company has been tremendous and it is exciting. Rex and I did have a vision. We felt it was a good idea, thought big and went for it. The first 100 are the hardest to sell. Once you get beyond that, you realize the public has embraced it,” Gibson says. Laclu now sells 5000 door kits to Home Hardware each year, and a separate internet-based company sells the kits to the US market.
“What has really set us apart is that we were able to create a unique product, which means there is no competition in the marketplace,” says Csuzdi. While the pair enjoys the success of their original product, they continue to expand their offering, and are currently working on new products including an interior door kit, and a wooden flooring tile.
Gibson credits the Lake of the Woods Business Incentive Corporation (LOWBIC), the local CFDC, for believing in their idea and responding with initial funds and ongoing mentoring. In 1998, LOWBIC provided $125,000 in loans – $50,000 for renovations to the lumber operation and equipment and $65,000 in working capital to fill the initial orders. The Business Development Bank of Canada partnered with LOWBIC on the financial arrangement. Earlier, LOWBIC had assisted the venture through a business planning initiative offered by FedNor.
LOWBIC Executive Director Bill Greenway says Laclu has shown agility in the marketing of their product, including manufacturing processes, product lines and distribution channels.
“Kelly and Rex took a chance to pursue the export market in the US, but when they realized the limitations of selling a product without American content they refocused their efforts. Instead of giving up they went back to their bread and butter, grew their Canadian sales base and have created new products in order to expand at home – that’s a lesson for any entrepreneur, ” says Greenway.
Laclu has come out as a leader in the value-added wood product industry, and are contributing to the local economy as they do so. Through their innovation and determination, the pair continues opening doors for themselves.