S&L Spindles has been a local fixture of its community since the early 1990s, making outdoor decking components that people love. What started as a family business focused on crafting gazebos has grown into so much more—today, they make spindles, balusters, decking posts, pallet cut stock and even bale their wood shavings to sell as animal bedding. Along the way, they've also expanded into retail.
Their success comes down to a few key things: a knack for adapting to new opportunities, a focus on precision, and a strong workplace culture.
S&L strives to build a culture of accountability, respect, and excellence where their workers can thrive. An essential part of their business is an emphasis on reducing waste and redundancy in their manufacturing process to keep everything in balance with their tight margins. At the start they used QuickBooks to manage the financials and some operations, but soon that became more of a hinderance than a help.
“We were outgrowing QuickBooks,” Raymond Petersheim from S&L recalls. “We reached the user limit, and our inventory tracking was becoming a significant issue.”
That is why in 2017 S&L Spindles partnered with Koble to implement EBMS, a robust ERP solution, to replace their usage of QuickBooks and gain more control over their inventory.
Without an ERP, managing inventory and orders was a struggle for S&L—especially in an industry where tight margins mean every detail matters.
“Before EBMS, we were just doing manual journal entries on our inventory every month,” Raymond shares. “And then we’d see swings on our P&L that shouldn’t have been there. And with such high inventory and tight margins, that 5% made a big difference. Now, with EBMS, we aren’t seeing those fluctuations.”
Alongside their software changes, they made focused changes to their internal processes to ensure that they were set up well as a team to take advantage of the positive system changes. This included implementing practices like weekly team meetings, the “6S” method (a lean manufacturing approach) to reinforce their operational effectiveness.
“We’ve invested a lot into infrastructure in the last 10 years. I can’t stress enough the need to sit down with your management team each week, where each crew leader is asked if he has something to share. As each problem is brought to the table, most times a decision is made, an action is delegated, and the whole team is on the same page. I feel that it’s really boosted employee morale and reduced turnover.”
S&L worked closely with a Koble Consultant to adapt the system to their unique needs. They wanted to ensure that they were fitting the system to their needs, and not the other way around. For example, their bonus program was working really well for them, and even though there are tools in EBMS to integrate that into time tracking and payroll, they decided to keep their current system.
“We spent a day exploring if it would work for us. In the end, we decided some things were better handled manually, and our Consultant respected that decision. He really wanted to make it work but understood when we realized it wasn’t the right fit.”
S&L and their Koble consultant focused their attention on other areas to ensure their software was supporting them. They added some customizations to better fit S&L’s workflow, like a custom check box to the sales order that would trigger a notification to the right person when an order was ready to be released for shipment.
Through their partnership with Koble and the implementation of EBMS, S&L Spindles has refined their operations, improved accuracy, and set a strong foundation for continued growth. While the system handles the technical details, the team stays focused on their core mission: producing quality products and providing a workplace where young employees can grow and learn valuable life lessons.
“We have a passion for providing a clean work area for our young men in our community. Even if they don't stick around, they get the opportunity to learn a lot of life lessons through the influence of the work place. We’re looking to help teach boys how to be men.”
S&L Spindles’ story is a great example of how thoughtful practices and the right tools can transform a business. Their partnership with Koble isn’t just about software—it’s about working together to build better businesses and stronger communities.