As you pull into their parking lot in rural Amherst, WI, the Blenker Building Systems empire sprawls out before you. Well, it's just plain huge. But, Blenker wasn't always the 90,000 square foot, one-stop construction shopping spectacle it is today. Back in 1974, Blenker was your basic general contracting and remodeling business and decisions were made at the kitchen table. However, no matter what else changes, the most important things have remained the same throughout the last 30 years: ingenuity, quality and good old-fashioned customer service.

The ingenuity began in the mid-90s when Peter Blenker decided to begin manufacturing wall panels for the homes he was contracted to build. Pre-manufacturing wall panels utilizing an indoor crew gave Peter the control he needed to be most effective as a contractor. Wall panels allowed for much greater control of costs, work environment, scheduling and possibly most importantly, quality. Pre-manufacturing also gave him the opportunity to provide better customer service, which blossomed from the inside out. Yes, it meant providing reasonably priced, higher quality products to the buyer, but it also meant serving his graming crew more readily with on-time output that was straightforward and speedy to install. (Not to mention using great lumber and always plumb!)

Another reason Blenker has been so successful is because of its heritage as builders. "A lot of truss companies are manufacturing wall panels. We feel as though our 'framers point of view' gives us an advantage. We can serve our customers better because we understand what they want; we've done it ourselves. Wall panels are a very unique business, with their own quality, material handling and jobsite delivery issues."