The Builder 20 Group at Lambeau Field

Recently Randy and Jason Thelen traveled to Manitowoc , the site of the Fall Builder 20 Meeting, hosted by Jim Reif  owner of J.M. Reif Builders, in Francis Creek Wisconsin.

What is Builder 20, you might ask? Well, it’s a way to surround yourself with the best of the best; some of the smartest people in custom home building.

More than a decade ago the National Association of Home Builders started Builder 20 Groups as a way to connect custom home builders with other custom home builders from all across the country. By setting up these groups custom home builders have a network of non-competing peers. As a group they look as all aspects of the home building business and are able to share challenges and opportunities with each other.

Builder 20 members in our group traveled from all over the country: Pennsylvania, Texas, Florida, South Carolina, and California, and enjoyed touring Lambeau Field in Green Bay, the Kohler manufacturing plant and Kohler Design Center.

Said Randy, “I could see similarities between custom home building and the way Kohler approaches their business. Kohler is at the leading edge in design. They set a standard for excellence, and drive for continuous improvement. Their skilled workforce produces some of the most innovative and beautiful products available. For us – after close to forty years in business, and for Kohler, after four generations being a family owned company striving for professional and personal growth is something that is never ending.”

Speaking of innovative and beautiful – Put this on your list of cool places to visit in Wisconsin:  The Kohler Art Center in Sheboygan. A must see at the center is their incredible bathrooms!  They almost always make the list of best public bathrooms of the world. (Yes, there are lists like that.) Understandably, the motto of the Kohler Art Center is “Expect the Unexpected”!