| Article: Firm Takes Stairway to Success
By Susan Dodge
As saws and sanders whirr in the background, David Lautenbach proudly points out some new computerized equipment used to make stairs and railings at Roseland Stair Works Inc.
"This machine's amazing," Lautenbach says, pointing to a huge electronic router that manufactures curved handrails and other stair components. "We just got it about a year ago, and it's really improved our efficiency and allowed us to expand the number of components we make."
The art of making stairs may have moved into the computer age, but some things are still done by hand at this 81-year-old, family-owned business in Orland Park.
In a workroom next door to where the computerized machinery is, workers bend strips of wood onto curved models used for spiral staircases. Roseland employees also install staircases by hand in new homes throughout the Chicago area.
"They have to be able to make last-minute adjustments based on variations in the wall measurements and the drywall," Lautenbach says.
The company goes through a semi-trailer truckload of wood a week for its staircases and components. It uses red and white oak for most staircases, but occasionally makes them from mahogany, maple, walnut and cherry.
It also has expanded its component division, which sells staircase parts to contractors.
The Lautenbachs have used tempered glass, wrought iron and steel for staircases in contemporary homes.
"The staircase has become more of the focal point of many homes, so people are requesting more artistic staircases," says Ken Lautenbach, David's father and the president of the company. "A lot of them ask for glass to go along with the more airy feeling of modern houses, with the cathedral ceilings and skylight."
Since most of the company's staircases are made from wood, Roseland has to contend with plenty of sawdust. All of the company's woodworking machines are connected to a series of vacuums and pipes, which collect the dust. The dust is recycled for a variety of uses, including compressed wood products.
The company's staircases range from $2,000 for a basic, straight staircase to $45,000 for a complex, curving type made out of more expensive wood.
The Lautenbachs declined to disclose Roseland's annual sales. About 95 percent of the company's business is building and installing staircases in residences, with the remainder being commercial work. The company has built staircases for the Hilton and Towers Hotel in Chicago and the Peabody Museum in Boston.
Founded in 1914 in Chicago's Roseland neighborhood by two Swedish businessmen,
Roseland Stair Works started with a handful of customers and grew steadily.
Ken Lautenbach's grandfather, Adrian Vermeulen, purchased the company in 1947. Vermeulen's son-in-law, Ed Lautenbach, went into business with him that same year, and Lautenbach sold the business to his son, Ken, in 1976. That same year, the Lautenbachs moved the company from Roseland to Orland Park because of the growth of residential construction in the southwest suburbs.
The company now has two buildings in Orland Park with a total of 24,000 square feet, about five times the size of its Roseland location.
"I grew up in the business, and started working there when I was about 13," says Ken, 55. "It's a fascinating art. I always enjoyed the creativity in it — the curved stair-case, the fancy work involved. No two staircases are alike."
The Lautenbachs say they come up with their own designs for staircases, often incorporating customers' and architects' ideas. Different handrails, balusters (spindles running along the side of staircases) and newels (posts often found at the bottom of staircases) help to vary each staircase.
Ken's son, Lars, 28, says he has used his math skills and business management degree from Calvin College to supervise the design of the company's staircases.
"Some of the huge, newer houses we work on are as big as 25,000 square feet, with multiple staircases throughout the house," Lars says. "You can get lost in those houses."
Most of the houses where the company installs stairs are about 4,000 square feet, Lars says.
Ken's other children, Kristine, 32, Ken II, 30, and David, 23, also are involved in the business. Ken II supervises the company's shop and does field measurements and estimates. Kristine is Roseland Stair Work's secretary. David focuses on the company's growing components division and supervises marketing.
"I think it's important that everyone has a niche," Ken says.
Ken and his wife, Trudi, who worked for the company for 17 years before retiring recently to spend more time on volunteer work, live in Orland Park.
Ken also has recently begun to spend an increasing amount of time on volunteer work, allowing his children to take over the day-to-day operations of the business.
In 1979, he donated Roseland's original building, 342 W. lllth St., to Campus Crusade for Christ. He's now in the midst of building a second building on the site for the organization. It will be part of the Agape Community Center, which offers outreach programs in the neighborhood.
"I believe in giving something back to the community where we got our start," he says. |
