Keim receives EODA Large Business Excellence Award
Celebrating Keim’s EODA Excellence Award for Large Business at the annual meeting were Samantha Whitworth, Holmes County Chamber, left; Tiffany Gerber, Holmes County Chamber director; John Leck, Keim executive administrator; JP Dutton, EODA president; Dave Hall, Holmes County commissioner; and Taylor Sigler, Holmes County Chamber.
Holmes County has seemingly made a habit of garnering awards during the Eastern Ohio Development Alliance annual meeting, and on Friday, April 28, that tradition continued.
During the annual meeting that took place at Carlisle Inn in Walnut Creek, nominator and presenter Tiffany Gerber, director of the Holmes County Chamber of Commerce & Tourism Bureau, honored Keim with the Large Business Excellence Award.
“I can’t think of a recent time in history that Holmes County hasn’t had some type of representation in receiving an honor at the EODA meeting,” Gerber said.
She said those receiving awards have covered the gamut of businesses including manufacturing, tourism and many other areas of the business world.
“It’s been a neat cross-section of our working community,” Gerber said.
Gerber said Keim has been an example of the type of work ethic and commitment to quality and service for which Holmes County has become so well known.
“I didn’t have to dig very deep to find a nominee worthy of the honor,” Gerber said. “Keim is so well known and innovative, and what I truly like about the company is its commitment to the community of Charm. To me that speaks volumes of what kind of company they are.”
Gerber spoke glowingly about Keim’s influence and importance in Holmes County’s economic landscape and said the company exemplifies the entrepreneurial spirit of the working people of Holmes County.
For more than a century, Keim, which began as Keim Lumber, has served the local community and region and is now a fourth-generation family-owned business, something Gerber said was admirable.
“They’ve never forgotten their roots,” Gerber said of the Keim family.
Keim is a 50-acre company with more than 550 employees. Gerber said the company has helped the woodworking community in Holmes County develop into a crucial part of the county’s economic growth. With the convenience of a lumber mill, it has built its reputation on superior customer service, matching consumer needs while never sacrificing quality.
“They have truly embraced the value of servant leadership, and they support the community,” Gerber said. “With more than 50% of their staff being from the Amish community, Keim truly respects the plain values that are the foundation of Holmes County, which is most evident in their retail hours being limited to accommodate the foundations of church, family and community — the three main tenants for the Amish faith.”
Gerber went on to point out several of the company’s recent milestones including celebrating 100 years in business in 2011, recently expanding its warehouse to the Baltic community and Jim Smucker becoming the first nonfamily president of Keim in 2019, bringing with him a new level of expertise and customer service.
Longtime owner Bill Keim passed the torch to his son Robbie Keim, and son-in-law Eric Slabach joined the family business in 2010.
She said Keim also added an innovative merchant delivery system that delivers not only Keim products, but also items from fellow Keim businesses, showing the company is invested in the local Charm community.
“It’s an incredible example of community partnership,” Gerber said.
She said Keim was instrumental in developing and creating PPE and safety dividers during the COVID pandemic, many of those going to large cities and hospitals.
“They were recognized by the Wall Street Journal and other publications as being part of the solution to those needs,” Gerber said.
In 2021 Keim was named the Lumber & Building Materials Journal Dealer of the Year in the $100 million category, an accomplishment Gerber called a huge honor.
Keim continues to have a major economic impact locally, regionally and across the U.S., particularly in the woodworking realm.
Accepting the award from Keim was John Leck, Keim executive administrator, accepting the honor on behalf of owners Robbie and Eva Keim and the Keim family along with Smucker, who could not attend because they were attending a retreat.
“They would have liked to have been here,” Leck said. “They are dedicated to building up our community and Eastern Ohio and in creating an experience for the rest of the people throughout Ohio and the region.”
Leck said he also accepts the honor on behalf of the nearly 600 employees at Keim, who are the heartbeat of the company.
Keim is devoted to providing exceptional service to its co-workers, customers and community while honoring God and leading and inspiring others to fulfill their dreams.