Innovation Program Success Story

Katahdin Forest Products, Inc. Testimonial
“Oakfield Company Builds Success through Extreme Home Makeover”

A leading supplier of cedar log homes and manufactured cedar products, Katahdin Forest Products, Inc. provides high quality, custom cedar log homes to the high end of the custom home market. The company differentiates itself by manufacturing homes in a way that dramatically shortens the time from order to ownership – thus reducing over all acquisition costs.

Recently, thanks to ABC’s “Extreme Home Makeover” show, Katahdin Forest Products, Inc. had to interact with several of its dealers in a whole new way. The company was selected by ABC to build a log home for a family in southern Maine. However, the opportunity also posed extraordinary risks of failure if Katahdin did not plan and invest wisely to meet its anticipated growth.

In an attempt to maximize its growth potential while minimizing its risk, Katahdin worked with Time Wise Management System (TWMS) and the Maine Manufacturing Extension Partnership (Maine MEP). With the assistance of a US Department of Labor High Skills Training Grant, administered by the Coastal Counties Workforce Board, the project team implemented a strategic business and technology assessment. The assessment identified that Katahdin held a strong competitive technology advantage over other companies and that its dealers experienced shorter sales cycles, quicker commissions on closed deals and reduced risk of failed projects.

The assessment also provided important insights into is operations and management capabilities that would require extensive training and staff augmentation as the company was to oversee 1300 people during the building of the Extreme Home Makeover log home and ensure the completion of the home in one week.

“If you told me at the beginning of the year my company would appear in 22 million homes across America, I would not have believed it,” said David Gordon, president of Katahdin Forest Products.

“Nor would I have believed that the project team would be instrumental in helping this company focus on its efforts and clarify our strategies to meet our greatest challenges, Gordan said. “I can’t say enough about the assessment and the follow-up. I would recommend TWMS and Maine MEP’s business analysis for any company of any size in Maine.”