Kochman, Reidt & Haigh, Inc.

Kochman, Reidt & Haigh, Inc. designs, fabricates, and installs high quality, uniquely designed cabinetry. Its primary market is residential construction (cabinetry for kitchens, bathrooms, studies, and audio/video storage) for new and remodeled homes in New England.

KRH was formed in 1991 when Kochman Woodworking, Inc. and Reidt & Haigh, Inc. merged, having 33 employees at first, which increased to 42 employees today. It specialized in uniqueness and its manufacturing process was designed to produce unique cabinets at a cost comparable to standard-sized stock cabinets of equal quality. This offered customers many advantages such as the optimization of the usable space in their homes.

KRH used the direct sales method which created a strong relationship with customers, but this method only accounted for less than 2% of total industry sales. Dealers and distributors accounted for approximately 30% each. The use of dealers by small firms like KRH accounted for approximately 58% of their total sales, but KRH didn’t use any other method except for direct selling. Furthermore, KRH’s expenditures on marketing were almost nonexistent, compared to the 1-2% expenditures by similar firms.

Advantages of the merge

* Sales grew from combining customer bases and styles

* Between 1991 and 1992, revenues jumped by about 31% to approximately $1.8 million

Disadvantages of the merge

* Unanticipated cost increases

* The automated manufacturing process developed by kochman woodworking could not be easily adapted to the complex styles introduced by Reidt & Haigh.

* Production costs increased

It specialized in uniqueness and its manufacturing process was designed to produce unique cabinets at a cost comparable to standard-sized stock cabinets of equal quality. This offered customers many advantages such as the optimization of the usable space in their homes.