NORTH KANSAS CITY, Mo. - When it comes to "Dummies", the folks at Welco Manufacturing are pretty smart.
The family owned North Kansas City business started in 1946. In 1990, Milt and Anne Strader bought it.
The Straders produce some 60 to 70 products all geared around walls, ceilings and floors and the do-it-yourselfer, like joint compound, plasters, ready mix and textures. Their lines are sold through Sutherlands and Westlake Ace Hardware and Wal-Mart nationwide.
Welco has built a reputation on quality and consistency.
“We deal with a lot of contractors, professionals that buy our product. And we deal with a lot of do-it-yourselfers that are buying our product," Welco president Milt Strader said. "And what we want to do is make sure that it performs the way we say it can perform.”
Several years ago, Welco began targeting a third group, the up and coming do-it-yourselfers. Using their products, they created the "For Dummies" kits. They offer on the job instructions for painting and drywall repair.
“You know mama didn't tell you how to cut in. She didn't tell you why you ought to maintain a wet edge," Welco director of product development Susan Moehl said. "She doesn't tell you what order to paint a room. Those kinds of skills are not moving generationally like they used to.”
The “For Dummies” kits are all inclusive. They come with good quality tools and everything you need to get the job done, according to Moehl.
“The paint kit's really everything but the paint and the patch kit has got it all,” Moehl said.
Whether it's a “For Dummies” kit, or a simple tub of quick fill, Strader says the Welco name stands for quality. He credits a long tenured team of employees for making that work.
“We make a great product. I think everybody is proud of that,” Strader said. “We like to go into stores and see our product on the shelf.”
Moehl says with 125 million generation X and Y’s becoming the next generation of homeowners, they want them to be ready.
“Our hope and dream is that we're going to take these novices over the bridge into a happy life of do-it-yourself,” Moehl said. “And they're going to be there for the next 40-years.”
For more information on
Welco Manufacturing or the
For Dummies line of products, click on the highlighted links.
