Zach Lawless and the Hyer Boot Company – A helluva comeback!

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By Gina Stuelke, CEO of Kenton Brothers

Zach Lawless and the Hyer Boot Company - A helluva comeback!It’s not often that I get to meet an entrepreneur with a company that is older than ours. Kenton Brothers was started in 1897. But Hyer Boot Company made its debut in 1875!

Hyer Boot Company began in a small cobbler shop in Olathe, Kansas and became the pioneers of the cowboy boot. In 1875, a cowboy entered C. H. Hyer’s cobbler shop and asked for custom boots that would work better for cattle driving. This was the first “cowboy boot”. After that first pair, the word spread. Orders came in from cattlemen, rodeo performers and even celebrities like Buffalo Bill Cody and Marilyn Monroe.

In the early 1900s, Hyer became the largest handmade boot manufacturer in America.

They were ahead of their time by selling boots through mail order. They also came up with design improvements like the toe bug and fork construction for pull tabs. During World War I and II, HYER Boots made footwear for military personnel, including notable figures like Teddy Roosevelt and Eisenhower.

Zach Lawless and the Hyer Boot Company - A helluva comeback!Sadly, in the 1970s, financial hardships led the family to give up control of the business. When the dust settled, the Hyer brand eventually shut down. But that is not the end of the story! In the 1990s, Zach Lawless, the great-great-grandson of C.H. Hyer, found family memorabilia and felt compelled to revive the business. After reclaiming the trademark for “Creator of the First Cowboy Boot” from Berkshire Hathaway, the HYER Boot Company was relaunched. Their first boot was the Horseman & Ranch Boot.

Check out the incredible story of Zach’s journey to resurrect his 5th generation business in this YouTube video. This is such a good video! It transcends the revival of a family business. My hope is that you can relate to this story about finding treasures passed down from your family.

Special thanks to Brad Holdhusen and his group from Prime Capital Investment Advisors who hosted a great customer event on a warm October evening at Silo in Lenexa to celebrate the American Royal and its new location in Kansas City, Kansas and the revival of Hyer Boots, makers of The original cowboy boot™!

Zach Lawless and the Hyer Boot Company - A helluva comeback!

Interesting Tech: The Luba Robotic Lawn Mower

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By Neal Bellamy, IT Director at Kenton Brothers

Interesting Tech: The Luba Robotic Lawn MowerWe often talk about video surveillance cameras on our blog. We have also talked about commercial security robots that can patrol your business or warehouse. I thought it would be fun to talk about one of the most technologically advanced devices we have experienced recently. I am a self professed tech geek that loves new devices. This one is a home run.

It includes GPS, 3D imaging, first person remote viewing, and of course, artificial intelligence.

Introducing the Luba Robotic Lawn Mower.

I set the Luba Robotic lawn mower up in my yard in about 2 hours. The part of the project that took the longest was cutting a doggie door (that is actually a robot door) in my fence so that it can access the front yard. (We have dogs, and they haven’t figured it out yet.) I have the Luba set to run for about an hour a day, every day, to keep the grass at a manageable level and to reduce the amount of wear and tear on the mower.

Interesting Tech: The Luba Robotic Lawn Mower Interesting Tech: The Luba Robotic Lawn Mower

What if my neighbor decides to steal it?

Well, they thought of that. And it completely disables itself if removed from the programmed area of mowing responsibility. This mower can do multiple patterns, with multiple zones of mowing, and looks professional when it is done.

The app to manage the mower is called Mammotion. It lets you set up just about everything with this mower. Schedules, mowing patterns and more. Would you believe I just watched my mower doing its thing while writing this blog at work? That’s crazy. It’s all wheel drive and there is an adaptive suspension! This thing is awesome.

Interesting Tech: The Luba Robotic Lawn Mower

Our Technology Focus

We are always looking for new technology to protect people, property and possessions. And that love of all things technical translates into our personal lives as well. When you work with a commercial security company, it is probably a good idea to hire people that live and breathe this stuff. We do. Let’s talk.

FASTVend? Wow! Check out this newfangled vending machine!

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FASTVendBy Kip Phillips, National Integration Manager for Kenton Brothers Systems for Security

We’re in the service and installation business—designing, installing and repairing commercial security systems. Our security technicians needed a quick and efficient way to get products and tools to help them do their work in a timely manner instead of spending wasted hours at a big box store searching for supplies.

After trying various methods to have in-house access to many common installation materials for our technicians to use during installations, we’ve implemented the Fastenal Vending Solution. Our installations require various materials from electrical tape, screws, conduit, boxes, drill bits, hole saws, tie-wraps and many more types of items and tools.

The FASTVend System

FASTVendThe FASTVend system provides access-controlled cabinets, lockers and vending machines to hold the exact parts we need for our installations. By having the parts available via access control, we can track the quantity of each item being used and which truck or project the parts are being used for.

Our technicians appreciate having the convenience of picking up their installation materials at the same time they are picking up system equipment at the KB office. This saves them so much time when compared to how we used to do things. (Traveling to supply houses to get parts and specialty tools.) This is a win/win because it also saves KB some of our labor costs. It also saves our project managers and staff in purchasing time because they don’t have to preorder basic install consumables for each project.

FASTVend includes weekly restocking of the material we use.

Fastenal receives automated reports of each item consumed.

Initially, as a group, the technicians listed the standard items they prefer for installations. After refining and consolidating the list of standard materials, Fastenal set up the machines in our warehouse. User codes were programmed into the system for each technician.

The initial list wasn’t an exhaustive list. Now that the system has been in place for a few weeks, the technicians have had a chance to add items they would like to see included in the vending machines. Building a complete inventory of items, and organizing them in an efficient manner, takes time and a collaborative effort.

Keeping the Trucks Stocked

FASTVendOur technicians use the vending machine system to keep their trucks stocked with basic consumable tools and installation materials as well as materials specific to ongoing projects. In the future, we’ll be able to use the locker system to receive drop offs of new tools. And we will place broken tools and dull drill bits in the locker system for pick up and repair by Fastenal employees.

This new system has significantly cut down on the amount of receipts and paid invoices we had to keep track of as new projects were started. (We aren’t in the business of storing paper…)

We still have room for improvement in utilizing this vending machine concept. But the FASTVend system is a game changer that’s already proving its value to our organization!

 

Bar K – It’s Like Top Golf for Dogs!

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Bar K Bar K

By Gina Stuelke, CEO of Kenton Brothers.

Kenton Brother’s offices are dog friendly, so we’re used to being surrounded by our canine kids. And we love to have company events outside the office. So we decided to join the two… Kenton Brothers latest investment in fun took us to the hot new dog/human social club positioned on a two acre tract of ground on the shore of the Missouri River at 501 Berkley Parkway.

Kenton Brothers: Bar K Team Outing

It’s called Bar K. (Bar for humans, Bark for dogs, get it?)

Bar K brings community minded people and their dogs together to share connections in a joyful and creative space.

Many of our peeps brought their significant pups… of all shapes and sizes. Some of our clan included Maggie, Hershey, Vespa, Boomer and Piper. In addition to great food and drinks, there were ice water stations, agility courses, puppy play spaces, adoption events in their Petfinder Park, and lots of room to run and wrestle with the other doggy guests.

Bar K is touted as the happiest place on earth. And we agree! Our team had a fantastic evening together surrounded by dogs. Thanks for a great event venue!

Kenton Brothers: Bar K Team Outing

Motion Detection + Video Surveillance = Frederick the Racoon Being Caught

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By Kristen Harper, Controller and HR Manager at Kenton Brothers.

Having an intrusion system is critical to protecting your property. At Kenton Brothers, we’ve recently found the importance of making sure there’s a video feed that is compatible with your intrusion system. By having motion detection utilizing your video system, you can catch intruders much more quickly.

Fun with FrederickLate one night in August, our CEO, Gina Stuelke, got an alert that there was movement in one of our warehouses. We took a look at our cameras that are tied to our motion detection intrusion system, and sure enough we had an intruder… of the four legged variety! A cute, snuggly little raccoon, (which we later adopted and named Frederick) had started to make a home in our warehouse.

We called in the boys in blue from Blue Beetle Pest Control to set up a couple of humane traps, and sure enough we caught him overnight. As we came to work that morning, nearly the whole office staff looked in on our little furry friend. Later that day, we released him in a nearby wooded area so he could resume a happy and healthy lifestyle outside of the KB Pickle Ball Court.

It was only through our intrusion system that we were able to catch Frederick so quickly and get him to a more appropriate home and minimizing damage to our facility. But we’re going to miss his cute face!