ELLY GRIMM
• Leader & Times
A building at 900 E. Pancake Blvd. has been home to multiple businesses throughout the years, most notably a Harley-Davidson dealership, and now, a new business calls it home.
Rensenhouse recently celebrated its ribbon-cutting for the public and as the store’s manager, Geoff Karhoff, tells it, there is a lot the facility offers.
“Rensenhouse is an electrical wholesale distributor primarily focused on industrial automation spaces. We also do a lot of commercial construction and some residential,” Karhoff said. “At this new Liberal location, we'll be offering everything from residential construction to commercial construction to industrial automation of robots and hardware control. Our primary focus is on the industrial landscape, and we've worked quite a bit with National Beef in Liberal and the Seaboard Foods plant in Guymon, Okla., and we've worked with multiple other industrial partners.”
Karhoff said there were many factors that brought the company to Liberal.
“Rensenhouse's Garden City location has been open for the past 50 years, so we've established a customer base there. We didn't really go south of the Kansas border, but we did cover as far south as Liberal and as far north as the Nebraska border and into parts of Colorado,” Karhoff said. “We'd established that market territory in this area that was really customer-driven. When I started with the company in 2017, there was a need to continue expanding and there were discussions going on with multiple key customers in the area about a brick-and-mortar location in Liberal. We started looking into that about two years ago, and we were able to get everything off the ground relatively smoothly. The Liberal market was pretty underserved in terms of suppliers, and a lot of customers were having to drive to Garden City or even all the way down to Amarillo, Texas for what they needed. We bring more than just supplies, we also do product education and training, so we do a little of everything in that regard. The idea is, since there's quite a bit of turnover in industrial end-user spaces with the technicians, to educate and help them bring new people up to speed. It's not about replacing people with robots, it's about giving that technical education so people can further their careers within these industrial spaces.”
There has been a lot of excitement surrounding the store’s opening, Karhoff said.
“I love being part of the community. We've taken part in the Pancake Day Parade the past few years, and we want to continue being part of events and programs like that – in fact, we even have an entry in the Wrap-A-Lamp competition downtown, which is neat,” Karhoff said. “It's fun being part of the community, that was a big driving factor for me when I moved to the Southwest Kansas area, and everyone who works here feels that same way. We want people to know we're here as a business and to help people with their needs, but we're also here to give back and provide employment opportunities. It was amazing seeing all the people from the Chamber of Commerce come out for the ribbon-cutting, especially on a day that wasn't the greatest weather-wise. It made me appreciate how much they help businesses in terms of advertising and leadership programs and other things. I'm going into my 15th year with the company, and I've managed two of these locations, and I love how both of those locations have a Chamber of Commerce that truly cares about local businesses' success. They've given a lot of support already, and I also have to thank Eli Svaty for everything he helped with from the economic development standpoint.”
Overall, Karhoff said, he and his staff are ready to serve customers.
“We are open to the public, and I like to quote an old ad that says we're the greatest thing you've never heard about. What separates us from a lot of other electrical distributors is all of our decisions are made right at the local level,” Karhoff said. “For what we stock on the shelves, it's what the customers need, and we also have the ability to cut purchase orders for whatever's needed. There's a difference between getting a customer what they need and trying to sell them something different, which I think should really appeal to everyone and show how much we tailor what we do to the customers and their needs. Our goal is to be the number one provider of electrical products, and the only way to do that is through customer feedback. We're not a fly-by-night company, we plan on establishing some roots in Liberal and being here for a long time. Rensenhouse is owned by a company called Consolidated Electrical Distributors, which has been in business since 1957, so they've got a history, which we try and pass on. If you have any questions or electrical needs, give us a call at (620) 556-6005 or visit us at 900 E. Pancake Blvd. and we'll be happy to help.”
