Ken Heitzmann: Growing the Decorative Concrete Business Every Day

Ken Heitzmann, owner of Decorative Concrete Systems in Oregon, knows his business is successful, but that's not what he wants to focus on. "It's about what we do for the industry...we focus on growing everyone's businesses—the applicator, retailer and the manufacturer," he says.

Considering Heitzmann's humble beginnings—he managed a service station for many years before moving into the decorative concrete industry—it's amazing he had the foresight to predict what would one day be his career. "I always thought if I could help other companies grow their businesses, that would be exciting," he explains.

And that's exactly what he now does, day after day, week after week. His company is both a training facility and distribution warehouse, and he equates himself to a sales representative, but at a different level.

Heitzmann's passion for concrete started in 1990 when he began working with his builder friends as a subcontractor, doing the concrete work for various projects. The following year he ventured out on his own, focusing on residential and light commercial concrete application. By 1996, Heitzmann had 30 employees.

It was in 1996 when Heitzmann started working on a large stamping project, a 2-½-year project on a $13 million house/castle. "I bought my first set of stamping tools and began to search for knowledge in the decorative concrete market, but I soon realized it was difficult to find education and support [back then]," he says.

"I concluded, since it was so difficult for me to find training and information about decorative concrete, it must be equally as difficult for other contractors. I formed the company Decorative Concrete Systems to inform the consumer, educate the applicator, and supply products in a regional area," Heitzmann adds. So, in 1997, he focused on marketing through home and garden shows, and began training the applicators to support the consumer's needs, of which he continues to support today.

Heitzmann continued training and utilizing the home and garden shows, and quickly built a large base of application contractors. Then, he focused on the manufacturing segment of the industry, and became a distribution center for many manufacturers, as well as a supplier of product to outlet supply stores.

His foresight paid off once again when, three years ago, Heitzmann started a long-haul trucking company. "We haul all of our own products into the distribution center, reducing and controlling the inbound freight cost," he says. Heitzmann's business is built on efficiency and cost savings—contractors save time because product can be sent overnight and received the next day throughout the Pacific Northwest. Due to its large volume of freight, an additional added value that Decorative Concrete Systems provides the industry is a customer savings of over 60 percent on the outbound shipping costs as well.

As for which manufacturers Heitzmann works with, he says he chooses manufacturers that are recognized as leaders in the industry, and those offering valuable products to users. "I try and supply everything a contractor needs to be an expert in the decorative concrete industry. I strive to be a library of information, along with a warehouse full of products," he explains.

Another vital part of Decorative Concrete Systems contribution to the industry is education. The education process is divided into two segments: a very focused, hands-on training class held monthly with 10 or less attendees, and an annual event that is more focused on all product demonstration and networking.

His first Decorative Concrete Event drew 125 people, including several retail supply outlet stores. The second drew over 300. "I saw the energy that it put out," he says. "It's a tiered structure of networking. For retail supply stores, I made them part of the event and instantly it helped to grow their business. For the contractors, they received information on existing and new products, became aware of new application techniques, learned from their peers, spent quality time with their supply store sales staff, and met face-to-face with their regional manufacturers reps."

That's why Heitzmann now focuses on regional educational events. Plus, there's less travel and down time for the contractor. "It's a place to share information," Heitzmann explains. "[You] spend two days with your supplier, and build a tighter relationship with the people that are valuable to your business."

As for why the events are so well received, Heitzmann says, "The end user is discovering the many versatile and varied uses of decorative concrete, so the applicator is being forced to learn." He also predicts a 30 to 35 percent growth per year in the decorative concrete industry.

"We've filled a niche," Heitzmann says of his company. "Every day, there's something new and different. That's the excitement of it...being able to interact and share what we have with others in the decorative concrete industry."

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