Keller changes top team
By Jay McIntosh -- Furniture Today, August 11, 2003
Corydon, Ind. — Struggling case goods producer Keller Mfg. has replaced its top management, aiming for a turnaround in a tough market for domestic wood furniture manufacturers.
Heading the new team as president and chief executive officer is Keith Williams, whose varied experience includes 12 years at children's furniture maker Child Craft Inds.
Industry veteran Ken Fonville has joined the company as president of the Keller Design Center, a new division in charge of product development.
Victor Roos, most recently with Kimball International, is vice president of sales and marketing, and David Richardson is chief financial officer. Williams, Richardson and Fonville will join Keller's board of directors.
Steve Robertson, who was president and CEO, and Scott Armstrong, who was senior vice president of sales and marketing, have left the company.
Since peaking at $60.1 million in 1998, Keller's sales declined by 40% to $35.9 million in 2002. The company reported a net loss of $4.3 million in 2002 and closed its Culpeper, Va., plant last November.
Sales fell another 19% in the first quarter of this year to $7.8 million, although the quarterly loss of $341,000 was only about half as much as the loss a year earlier.
Williams most recently was president and CEO of Louisville, Ky.-based venture capital firm bCatalyst Inc., which he started in 2000. His previous experience includes a stint at Child Craft from 1982 to 1994, in positions including vice president of engineering and design and vice president of operations.
On his first day in Keller's plant here last week, Williams said a key goal is to increase the company's sales. "That growth will come through additions, enhancement and expansion all through our product line," he said.
Fonville, a longtime industry executive who was president of manufacturer Pennsylvania House until last year, will lead that effort, Williams said.
He said Keller will be "a market-in, not a product-out company," which he described as a company that will work closely with its customers to determine what the market needs.
In an industry that has been turning toward imported goods, Keller has remained focused on domestic manufacturing. Williams said the company will look at incorporating imported products or components as part of its customer-oriented approach to product design.
In a press release, Fonville said Keller "is a well-respected, 108-year-old company that has tremendous potential. The changes the industry is undergoing represent a unique opportunity for Keller to return to growth."
| Keller financial results | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dollar amounts in millions | ||||
| Sales | Change | Earnings | Change | |
| Source: Keller annual reports | ||||
| 2002 | $35.9 | -17.1% | ($4.3) | — |
| 2001 | 43.3 | -21.6% | (2.3) | — |
| 2000 | 55.2 | -1.0% | 2.0 | -46.7% |
| 1999 | 55.8 | -7.3% | 3.8 | -33.0% |
| 1998 | 60.1 | 2.4% | 5.7 | 2.9% |
