Brandon Kitkowski has seen his business card change in 2025, going from Field Sales Representative to now Outside Sales Representative. However, his commitment to service and our customers is his defining characteristic.
Brandon joined Lumbermen’s in the fall of 2015 as an OSR, and then became one of the first Employee Owners to embrace and champion the newly created role of Field Sales Representative for our customers. While we are excited to see him return to the role of OSR for our Southern MI and Indiana dealers, he was able to reflect on his time as an FSR and why he believes it is important: “The field sale role was designed to get further down stream and closer to the end user of the products that we represent. We want to make sure our customers and their customers are successful with the products they purchase from us. If the customer has a good experience, the hope is that they will continue to partner with Lumbermen’s for future projects. The FSR role represents fewer products than our dealer sales reps and therefore should be the subject matter “experts” on the products they cover. We are able to talk features and benefits but also provide install and technical knowledge when needed. Field sales representatives act as an extension of our vendor partners and our dealer network to ensure success through the build cycle, concept to completion.”
In his time outside of work, Brandon enjoys spending time with his family, especially attending theatre and musical productions. He also serves as a volunteer with an organization the builds handicap ramps and will participate in about 10 builds over the summer.
As he approaches the busy building season, Brandon had this to say about his new role, “First and foremost being of service is important no matter what type of customer it is. ‘It’s about you not me‘ is the mindset I try to maintain when working with customers and understanding their needs. I don’t want to sell you something once and never hear from you again. I want to offer value, develop a relationship, and earn the privilege of repeat business.”
Cristina Wasel – Quality Management Supervisor, Door Division
Cristina Wasel leads our Door Division’s commitment to quality and getting things right. Her engineering expertise helps build tools and systems that work to prevent and solve issues on the production floor.
Thai Xiong – Commercial Vehicle Driver
Thai Xiong is part of a new group of Employee Owners in Minnesota, joining the company in April of 2024.
Lumbermen’s Inc Grows Building Materials Division Leadership Team
Lumbermen’s is excited to announce leadership growth within our Building Materials Division. Significant growth in sales, workforce, and expansion into new territories like Minnesota in 2024 has led us to make some changes to our leadership structure.
Terry Lynn – Facilities Manager
Terry Lynn joined Lumbermen’s in September of 2007, as a member of the Grand Rapids Building Materials division.
Steve Hanker – Customer Service – Grand Rapids Building Materials
Steve Hanker has been with Lumbermen’s since 1996, when he joined the company as a Customer Service Representative.
Donna Ritsema & John Rutkowski
On December 7, 2023 Lumbermen’s celebrated the careers of Donna Ritsema (43 years) and John Rutkowski (31 years). Employee Owners, vendor partners, dealer customers, friends and family all gathered to congratulate these two on the positive impacts they have made for the company.