Founded by Rich Kubica in 1993, K-Wall Poured Walls, Inc. currently specializes in poured walls, E-Maxx Insulated Poured Walls, Concrete Flatwork and Concrete Homes. Today Patty and Rich Kubica co-own the company and have 33 employees.

Although the picture above (built by K-Wall) may give you the idea that K-Wall has moved their office to the Virgin Islands, Rich and Patty Kubica are solidly entrenched in Michigan. Founded by Rich Kubica in 1993, K-Wall Poured Wall, Inc. currently specializes in concrete poured walls, E-Maxx Insulated Poured Wall Systems, concrete flatwork and concrete homes.

Patty and Rich make a good team, leaving one partner to focus on the job site, and the other able to focus on marketing and sales. Patty first met Rich when she was serving as her own general contractor and hired him to pour the basement in a new house she was building. It was apparent to Rich that Patty knew her way around the job site. They became friends, then business associates, and finally, a couple. Patty joined K-Wall in 1997 and they were married in 1999.

At the time Rich had 12 employees and plenty of work to do – often burning the candle at both ends. He was named ‘Young Entrepreneur of Michigan’ in 1996, three years after he started K-Wall. He ran the business out of a small, rustic office, and had to rent a truck-mounted concrete boom pump for many jobs. Today K-Wall has 33 employees, a new 6,300 square foot building, and their own pump truck.

Patty self-appointed herself head of sales back in 1997. With her marketing background and construction knowledge industry, she has been able to focus on meeting potential clients – often with a bag of homemade muffins in hand (She is a certified chef too!), Rich and Patty have worked hard to build customer relationships for K-Wall. Patty says “The relationships and loyalty we have gained over the years with one-on-one communications with our customers are priceless.” They have a good team from the top down, and their other key players are Mark Steckley-Marketing, Wade Mariage-Project Coordinator/Scheduling, and Patty’s assistant, Nancy Hayes. Patty gladly says “And we’ve been successful. We’re a team. If you work hard, have a quality product, excellent service and good employees – and make smart business decisions – the rest follows naturally.”

Patty and Rich say one of the smartest things they’ve done is to invest in their own business. They have always believed in the worth of investing in things that will make their company more efficient and professional. With K-Wall, that means their modern facility, the best crews, top materials and equipment, and continuing education for them and their employees to keep up with the latest technology.

They say their investments have paid off many times over and they’ll continue to make them when they feel the time and reasons are right. In the end, it’s not about making money, but about making money work for you so that you can serve your customers better.

The K-Wall staff stays connected into their localHome Builders Association and Habitat For Humanity organizations, and nationally through CFA.

ABOUT THEIR PRODUCTS AND SERVICES…

K-Wall offers a variety of services, including:

Patty and Rich find that when they attend industry meetings, much of their time is spent talking to other contractors about the EMaxx Thermal Wall System — although manufactured and distributed by a Michigan manufacturer, they are the patented inventor of this product. In 1998 Rich came up with the idea after he had received several requests for a better insulated foundations and above grade housing.

The E-Maxx Thermal Wall System, based on an 8” thick wall can have an R-value of 11.5 to 26. There are EPS panels available for above grade use also. The E-Maxx system puts more concrete into the foundation, doubles the insulation value of precast, and offers more customization on the job site. These systems are particularly valuable in high wind areas such as the coast.

The E-Maxx Insulated Poured Walls have a total effective insulation value of up to R-46, accomplished through expanded polystyrene, zero air leakage and ‘heat absorbing’ thermal mass properties. K-Wall has been pouring walls in Northern Michigan since 1993 and upholds the highest standards by using the finest products and industry leading equipment. They attribute their solid reputation to being on-time and providing an outstanding finished product. KWall offers Rub-R-Wall® (Koncrete Armour) waterproofing with a 100-year warranty or WallShield Waterproofing with a 10-year warranty.

Editor’s Note: Thank you to the Grand Traverse Woman magazine for information about Patty included in this article, see 13-1.