KANSAS CITY, Mo. – There are some men who find no better pastime than enjoying a good cigar. For the true aficionado, there are the toys that go with it. A metro company has made quite a name over the past decade in the upscale world of cigar smoking.
Kurt Van Keppel sums it up with a smile: "Cigar smoking is one of life's luxuries. We like to call it an hour long vacation."
Van Keppel is one of those guys who managed to turn a favorite pastime into a successful business. Along with his partner Scott Almsberger, they design and sell high end cigar cutters and lighters. Xikar first came to life back in the mid 1990's.
"My buddies around town were starting to smoke cigars,” Van Keppel reflects. “This was during the boom, we call it. And I went to buy a cigar cutter and thought, you know, three pieces of plastic, two pieces of metal, $55 – I can do better than this."
Van Keppel brought in Almsberger to design their first cutter. Van Keppel says it all started with what he calls a ‘eureka moment,’ when Scott presented him a drawing. They took small steps forward and continued to work their day jobs, until it all fell into place and the company took off in 1998.
"Our initial capital for the company was $5,000,” Van Keppel says. “We spent it on parts for the cutter itself, which then Scott and I assembled in our garages at home and sold around town."
More than 10 years later it's a much different story. Xikar's Kansas City warehouse is lined with hundreds of products. They now produce three dozen lines of cutters and lighters, and sell to retail tobacco shops around the world.
“The cigar cutter is recognized as the most popular cigar cutter in the world,” Almsberger said. “The lighters have been very popular. All of our accessories related to cigars. That's where we're really known.”
With the average cigar smoker owning more than one cutter, many of their ideas for new designs come from their customers to match their lifestyles.
“So for instance,” Almsberger says. “Last year we came out with a cutter with carbon fiber handles. Carbon fiber seems to be very popular among a certain group of individuals.”
Both men credit their success on great quality products, great customer service and their warranty; “Xikar for life.”
“We do offer a lifetime unconditional warranty,” Almsberger says. “We have a no questions asked return policy.
Even in this economic downturn, Xikar continues to do well. It seems cigar smoking is right up there with other comforts people just won't do without. Xikar has enjoyed 35 percent average growth year over year since the very beginning. They are forecasting 15 percent growth for 2009 – but that’s without factoring in the launch of several new products.
For more information on Xikar, visit their
Web site.
