July 2006 - Knipp Brothers: From Startup To Major Player
By Mandi Harding, FCA Executive Director

No one imagined the role Knipp Brothers Industries would be playing in today’s southern Nevada construction industry when it opened for business 32 years ago in Glendale, Ariz. Tradesmen brothers Mike, Eddie and Larry Knipp opened the doors to their framing company in 1974 on a shoestring budget.

“The brothers were intent to meet a niche for framers in the custom home building market where they began to build their reputation,” said Las Vegas Division President Mike Landgren. “The market, however, was ripe for tract homes, so with this product in demand, coupled with the talent Mike, Eddie and Larry possessed, the business really began to emerge.”

In the early years, each brother labored in the day as a foreman and performed take-offs and estimates in the evening after hours. After only a few years in business the trio adopted a change in KBI’s business model: Mike went into the office full time, performing all the company’s estimating and overseeing the day-to-day operations while Eddie and Larry managed the field.

“Larry was always very charismatic and possessed the basic principles of leadership. He served as the company’s mentor and both the customers and the employees welcomed his guidance,” said Landgren.

In 1983, the Knipp brothers traveled to Alaska for hunting, and it was during this trip, they garnered experience with bush planes and became enamored with flying. After returning, each brother studiously acquired his pilot’s license and together they purchased a small twin engine plane.

In August of the same year, Larry took a jaunt down to Bisbee, Ariz. As he was taxiing up the runway, he managed to tear off his landing gear. His brother Mike and a few friends came to the rescue with replacement parts in Ron Pratte’s [of Pratte Development] plane. After delivering the parts to Larry, Mike and his friends took off. The pilot of Mike’s plane was a skilled pilot and tried to showcase his talent on take off with a hammerhead airplane stunt. Despairingly, the pilot did not clear enough height and the plane nose-dived killing all four aboard.

“Larry was particularly scarred after witnessing the plane’s ascent, descent and ultimately the death of his brother,” said Landgren. “The remaining two brothers had to regroup.”

After Mike’s death, Eddie and Larry entrusted seven-year employee Mike Kearney with managing the day-to-day in house office duties. Today Kearney, a 30-year KBI employee is a co-regional president along with Randy Ship.

Today, KBI builds in three states, operates far more than just a framing company and is preparing for yet another transition in name only, to SelectBuild.

To understand the rich business model that is SelectBuild today, it is vital to consider the journey of innovation and foresight over the last 32 years of the company’s leadership.

In the late 1970s, the Knipp brothers developed and opened a wall plant to assist with the demand of their trade. Circa 1985, builders went away from 8-foot sided walls to stucco and the brothers responded by closing the wall plant and opening a truss plant instead.

In 1988, the Chandler, Glendale and Phoenix housing markets slowed and Eddie and Larry expanded operations to Las Vegas and Southern California in 1999. The California market soon revealed itself lethargic and so the Knipp brothers remained in Arizona and concentrated on the Las Vegas market.

In 1995, the company branched out to the Tucson market and reentered Southern California, where they have been ever since.

In 1999, Building Material Holding Company purchased 49 percent of KBI aiding the brothers’ ambition to open their Las Vegas headquarters on Range Road and adding a lumberyard to their Arizona truss plant. Within a year, the Las Vegas headquarters housed its own truss plant and lumberyard to save time and money and to keep pace with southern Nevada’s housing market demand. It was also during this time that Eddie Knipp retired his active involvement in the company’s operations.

Larry Knipp followed suit, shortly thereafter in 2001 when the remaining 51 percent of KBI was sold to BMHC.

“The next Las Vegas venture was embracing the concrete market. In 2002, KBI purchased a local concrete company and opened KBI Concrete,” Landgren said.

In 2004, BMHC purchased BMC Construction’s nationwide distribution stores and truss plants, providing KBI’s Tucson headquarters, an overnight truss plant and lumberyard.

“In January 2005, we opened the doors to our HVAC company, a homegrown operation that is overseen by the HVAC division President Ward Cole,” said Landgren. “Four months later, BMC Construction acquired Gypsum Plaster and has since become KBI Stucco. Sean Cavanaugh is the president of this branch and Dale Richmond is the vice president of project management.”

BMHC acquired Campbell Concrete in September 2005 and merged it with KBI Concrete. This resulting company is the first of the KBI companies permitted early release of the SelectBuild name brand. SelectBuild Concrete, is operated by Vice President Mike Joseph and General Manager Gerald Stewart.

KBI, also in 2005 opened its Colorado River Tri-State division servicing Bullhead, Laughlin and Kingman and Lake Havasu headed by Operations Manager Justin Alvey.

Jim Urello has been serving as general manager of KBI Windows since its inception in January 2006. In May of 2006, Lee Tolman headed the duties of Operations Manager for the newly created KBI Plumbing company. A commercial concrete foundations division also started in 2006 and headed by Craig Bupp out of Las Vegas.

The center stone trade is of course, still in operation, KBI Framing and led by Vice President of Field Operations Kenny Anderson and Vice President of Sales and Marketing John Mierzwa.

Last month on June 19, all business units continued existing operations, but under the new name of SelectBuild.

“Our business model in recent years has changed significantly. Today we pride ourselves on being a single point of contact for builders and are capable of providing work from the trench to the sheet and sheer inspection,” said Landgren. “This name transition was undertaken in a desire to have all the builders know us as one name, one team. We wanted to streamline our presence for our employees too.”

This business model approach for one-stop service possesses numerous benefits including; increased responsiveness and quality for customer service and satisfaction, reduction in trade disputes and consolidation of overlap between company departments and overhead, especially in support departments.

“There are a lot of efficiencies in this business model,” said Landgren. “We’ve been known for quality and timely work, which has not changed with our SelectBuild brand. We are offering a buffet of sorts to builders, and our operations allow the builder’s superintendents to manage their jobs on the backend, while the SelectBuild team is handling the issues cohesively on the front end.”

For more information on SelectBuild and its divisions, call 632-3001.