News Articles

KLH was featured by the Columbus Chamber of Commerce in their Green Member Spotlight.

http://www.columbus.org/about-the-chamber/businesses-going-green/green-member-spotlight.php

KLH Engineers appears in this article from the April 2011 edition of Building Design + Construction.

http://www.bdcnetwork.com/article/bim-grows-separating-hype-reality-3d-world

This isn't about building a better mousetrap.  It's about turning the mousetrap into a car.
That and other engineering feats will be on display Friday at Simon Kenton High School

The first-ever event is billed as "Meet the Engineer Day," and its primary function is to get students thinking about careers in engineering. It runs from 8 am to noon. Parents of students are invited. The program's secondary goal is to highlight the school's expansion next fall of its career-based curriculum that will include courses in digital electronics, civil engineering and architecture.

"It's fun," Simon Kenton math and science teacher Bill said Monday.  "You know, if you can get them thinking about the fun, you can teach them just about anything.  With the cars, when you see them pulling out the physics and math concepts, they connect." Schneider is coordinator of Friday's event.  He recalled with a laugh how he and his students built large catapults last school year, then used them to fling melons.

As for turning a mousetrap into a car: "The spring, once opened, has potential energy," Schneider explained.  "Now, that's going to want to snap back, so if you put a small hollow tube and tie a string to it, and wind it around the axle, that unwinding as the trap snaps back turns the axle."
And off you go.

The Kenton County School District was one of just 13 in the commonwealth, and the only one in Northern Kentucky, to receive an Engineering Pipeline Implementation grant last summer. The grants, sponsored by the Kentucky Department of Education and the Council on Postsecondary Education, are designed to help schools improve course offerings in science, technology, engineering, and math.

Engineers from Toyota, Sanitation District No. 1, KLH Engineering, Cartec, the Army, Navy and Air Force will all participate with displays on their use of engineers and engineering. Representatives from Gateway Community and Technical College and Northern Kentucky University will have informational displays. And Simon Kenton grads working as engineers also will be on hand.

"It's important to fill positions that are out there," said Dr. Teri Brown, director of state and emerging programs for the Kenton County schools.  "We're just trying to make students aware of those career choices.

"Many times our kids shy away from higher-level math and science.  They fear that they can't do it, it's too rigorous."

There will also be displays of flight simulators, computer-aided design, interactive physics and bridge-building.

Visual Merchandising & Store Design

http://vmsd.com/content/lenscrafters

FORT THOMAS - A former grocery and hardware store across from St. Stephen Cemetery has been revamped into the headquarters of an engineering firm.

Kohrs, Lonnemann, Heil Engineers moved to Fort Thomas to be part of Northern Kentucky University's Technology Triangle.

"We were one of the first, if not the first, technology-type based businesses to move into the tech triangle," said Bob Heil, a senior electrical engineer and principal for the firm.

KLH Engineers moved from Covington two and a half years ago into the Fort Thomas Executive Centre, 1538 U.S. 27, Suite 11. Since then, a 17,000 square foot addition has been made to the front of the building's existing 30,000 square feet, Heil said. The firm has even installed a fitness center, open to its employees and their families. Now the hope is to lease 26,000 feet of the building, including the new front, to another technology business, Heil said.

Northern Kentucky University is working with KLH Engineers to find a business, preferably one oriented with technology, to lease the space. NKU's Technology Triangle concept is designed to attract businesses to cities surrounding its Highland Heights campus to gain easy access to information technology faculty and students. KLH Engineers' site was formerly occupied by an IGA grocery store and Hader Hardware.

It's an important site to the city, and the proximity to NKU will be beneficial to the engineering firm, said Don Martin, Fort Thomas city administrative officer.

"It is a prime spot, and with the right businesses there it could certainly be the anchor at the south end of the city," Martin said.

KLH Engineers is a mechanical, electrical and communications engineering firm. Locally, it's worked on projects for Newport on the Levee and the Newport Aquarium. The company has grown from 55 to 70 people since its move to Fort Thomas and there are move expansion plans.

"We've made dramatic improvements to what used to be a grocery store," Heil said.

Property Solutions Group LLC broke ground June 17 on a $5.25 million expansion project that will add 15,000 square feet of Class A office space to the Fort Thomas Executive Centre. 

The building, at 1538 Alexandria Pike, is located within Campbell County's Northern Kentucky Technology Commercialization Triangle -- an area where government, education and business entities are partnering on New Economy initiatives. 

The Executive Centre will grow to 40,000 square feet, and its anchor tenant will continue to be KLH Engineers, a 49-year-old engineering consulting firm. The remaining space will be marketed to businesses that would benefit from being near Northern Kentucky University, according to the release. 

KLH itself has a new partnership with NKU that allows the company access to NKU researchers and students, who could potentially become employees. KLH currently has a work force of 53 employees at the building. 
The expansion is expected to be complete in January 2005. Financing was provided through Fifth Third Bank of Northern Kentucky. 

The "technology triangle" started a new dimension today.

Ground was broken this morning on a $5.25 million Fort Thomas office complex expansion that will provide high-quality office space in Campbell County's newly created "technology triangle," an area designed to capitalize on Northern Kentucky University's research and education resources.

Property Solutions Group will add 15,000 square feet of Class A office space, bringing the total at Fort Thomas Executive Centre on U.S. 27 to 40,000 square feet.  It's the first major development within the Northern Kentucky Technology Commercialization Triangle, a one-year-old initiative started by Campbell County, the state Office of the New Economy and Northern Kentucky University to lure knowledge-based businesses to central Campbell County.

"We're real excited about the fact that we'll be the first new office space constructed within the technology triangle," said Bob Heil, a co-owner of Property Solutions.

Property Solutions developed the Fort Thomas Executive Centre on the old IGA site in Fort Thomas in January 2003.  The office space there is currently anchored by KLH Engineers, a 50-year-old mechanical, electrical and communications engineering consulting firm.  The three principals of KLH - Heil, Joe Kohrs and Robert Lonnemann - also own Property Solutions.  A fourth owner in Property Solutions, Wayne Steffen, is a principal in C&N Construction, which will manage the expansion of the Fort Thomas Executive Centre.

Heil said Property Solutions already has talked with new businesses about moving into the new office space, which is scheduled to be ready in January 2005.  The company is in negotiations now with a couple of businesses, he said - one from inside and another from outside the state.

Josh Wice, who coordinates the triangle initiative for Campbell County, said several companies had already expressed interest in eventually moving their businesses to the area.  Wice said the expansion of the Fort Thomas Executive Centre would help that effort.

"By having more Class A office space, it will allow us to recruit companies that are knowledge-based," Wice said.

Knowledge-based businesses that have been mentioned as desirable for the development include software, biotechnology, health technology and information technology concerns.

The "technology triangle" was created last year.  The idea is to provide an optimal setting for businesses with a tested product.

That means offering high-tech infrastructure and support services from NKU, which boasts an Institute for New Economy technologies and an Institute for Entrepreneurship and which graduates more students in the area of information technology than any other university in the state.

KLH Engineers is taking advantage of NKU's services by forming a partnership with the school, Heil said.  KLH, which has designed communications, lighting and other systems for developments such as Newport on the Levee, can use the school for space, knowledge, staffing and other needs, Heil said.

"We'll have access to NKU faculty and staff if we need some research done or if we need some consulting from anyone with expertise at the university.  They'll provide us with students to fill our workforce needs," he said.  The firm can also use the space at the university, he said.  If the company is holding a symposium on theatrical lighting, for instance, it can use one of the auditoriums on NKU's campus.

"I think the university is the best-kept secret in town," Heil said.

The "triangle" comprises the area surrounding NKU, roughly bounded by the AA Highway, U.S. 27 and Interstate 275.  The cities of Wilder, Cold Spring and Highland Heights have been working with the county and NKU to zone lands for high-tech businesses to help recruit new companies.  Tri-Ed, the regional economic development group, has been promoting the triangle in other regions of the country, also touting the region's available land, affordable cost of living and access to major transportation such as the airport, I-75 and I-71.  Property Solutions did not receive any tax incentives from the state or county for expanding in the technology triangle.  The city of Fort Thomas, however, granted the company a five-year property tax moratorium on the cost of the expansion.

Engineers selected as KY. Champions
The Cincinnati Enquirer - May 9, 2004

FORT THOMAS - The partners of Kohrs Lonnemann Heil (KLH) Engineers have been named the Kentucky Small Business Persons of the Year for 2004. The award is sponsored by the U.S. Small Business Administration, which considers nominations from area organizations. KLH was one of five companies nominated by the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce. 

Nominees are evaluated on their staying power, growth in employees, increase in sales or unit volume, financial reports and innovation. KLH now moves to the national competition, held in Orlando, Fla., this month. 

"We consider this a great honor and very much appreciate being nominated to compete at the national level," said Joseph Kohrs. "We are thankful to our employees and to our clients. They have grown with us, and our success is theirs." 

In addition to Kohrs, the firm's partners are Robert Lonnemann and Robert Heil. 
Information: (859) 578-8800. 

Back when Kohrs Lonnemann Heil Engineers had just 19 employees, the mechanical and electrical engineering firm lost out on some potential customers simply because of its small size.

Bu the firm never set out to grow simply for the safe of being bigger to land bigger jobs.

Rather, managing partners Joseph Kohrs, Robert Lonnemann and Bob Heil decided their firm would be healthier long-term if the company focused on meeting the needs of its clients and growing only when necessary to accomplish that.

The strategy has served KLH Engineers well.

Since Kohrs, Lonnemann and Heil took over the business in 1997, the firm has grown from 19 employees to 52 and has nearly quadrupled its revenues.

In addition to its main office in Fort Thomas, KLH has a six-person location in Dayton, Ohio.  The firm is registered in 49 states and has roughly 200 jobs in the works.

"In the last three years, while a lot of our competitors have laid people off, we've been growing," Heil said.

Heil and his partners credit that growth to talented employees and the diverse types of business the firm has pursued.  Rather than specializing in only one field, KLH has hired the talent necessary to win jobs in retail, health and education, as well as office buildings, financial institutions, entertainment complexes and gymnasiums.

The firm's local projects include Newport on the Levee, the Newport Aquarium, the Machine Room restaurant at Great American Ball Park, the new eight-story expansion at St. Elizabeth Medical Center in Edgewood and numerous projects at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport.

Major retail clients include such household names as Home Depot, Gap and Pizza Hut.

"They designed our underground fiber-optic network, and they've been involved in many other projects," said Bill Martin, director of planning and development at the airport. "They're fairly attentive to our needs."

The firm's growth has allowed it to create new divisions to meet the needs of different clients.  In January 1998, KLH created a department that specializes in communications technology.  Heil said the partners felt the electrical engineers on staff could no longer keep up with the rapidly changing standards in communications technology and decided they needed to create the new department to serve their clients.

KLH's retail department, in fact, was created when a client recommended the firm to the retail component of its business, Heil said.

As we've gotten bigger, we've been able to compartmentalize like that," said Lonnemann, the son of retired partner Vince Lonnemann.  "Certain people are great at hospitals, and certain people are great at schools."

The firm's approach to its growth - and its results - won it a 2003 Small Business Success Award from the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce.  And the three managing partners at KLH recently were named Kentucky's 2004 Small Business Persons of the Year.

They will accept the award at a ceremony in Orlando, Fla., later this month, where the U.S. Small Business Administration will announce the winner of the national award.

KLH is the successor firm of Maxfield, Schwartz, Lonnemann and Kohrs. Howard Maxfield and Don Edwards started the firm in 1955.  Al Schwartz was the last of the former partners to retire, and he left the firm in 2000.

The firm was located in Covington in a building it owned and operated for more than 40 years until its continued growth led Kohrs, Lonnemann and Heil to look at other options.  The three decided to purchase and renovate a building on Alexandria Pike in Fort Thomas that was vacated by Hader Hardware and an IGA store.

KLH moved into the space in late 2002 and went from 9,000 square feet in Covington to 17,000 square feet in Fort Thomas.

The new building also includes a workout room that the firm makes available to all employees and their spouses, as well as shower facilities and a sauna that Heil calls his "decompression chamber."

The firm's work on the building continues.  By the end of the year, Heil expects another 15,000 square feet to be ready to lease out to other office tenants.  KLH will occupy an additional 3,000 square feet in the building, for a total of 20,000 for the firm.

Heil and Lonnemann credit part of the firm's success to a good succession plan.  The former partners turned over management of the firm to Kohrs, Lonnemann and Heil even before they took over ownership.

That was important to show clients the firm would have a smooth transition, Heil said.

The partners also hired professionals to help with succession planning.

Each of the three managing partners has a specialty of his own.  Kohrs, KLH's president and a partner since 1987, oversees the administrative management of the firm and some mechanical engineering.  Lonnemann serves as vice president for mechanical engineering.  And Heil serves as vice president for electrical engineering.

They have three other partners in the firm:  Jeffrey Millard, Jeffrey Leuderalbert and Chris Gremling.

Four of the six are graduates of the University of Kentucky, a fact that Heil hopes to parlay into some work for UK.

"We haven't done any work for UK yet, and it's our own fault.  We haven't leveraged that," Heil said.  "That's been a really tough place to get your foot in the door."

But with the state award under his belt, Heil plans to start trying all the harder.

"We always say we're only as good as our last project," Lonnemann said.

As Kentucky lawmakers continue to fight over a state budget, assorted tax increases and tax cuts, the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce is struggling to find good news from Frankfort for its members.

It isn't easy.

The organization figures the 2004 General Assembly has performed at a "40-year low," according to a legislative recap prepared by the chamber.

Of the 1,000 bills introduced this legislative session, less than 10 percent were enacted. Steve Stevens, the chamber's senior vice president for public affairs, chalks up the low productivity to the massive political shift in Frankfort. The state has a Republican governor for the first time in more than a generation, and the Democrat-controlled House hasn't been rushing to make Gov. Ernie Fletcher's first session overly rewarding.

Still, the gridlock has been especially frustrating for Northern Kentucky. Fletcher's budget included more state money for Northern Kentucky building projects than ever before. And the Republican-controlled Senate beefed up spending in Northern Kentucky even more, noted Chamber President Gary Toebben.  "We've made a more concerted effort this session to take Northern Kentuckians to Frankfort on a weekly basis," Stevens said. "We thought, 'This year, we've got it licked.'" 

But the political gridlock has derailed the spending plan and left business leaders to wonder what Northern Kentucky will end up with when it's all over. 

Stevens, the chamber's chief lobbyist, does have a few wins to talk about. 

Lawmakers passed a law that creates a moratorium against adding new mandated benefits to health care insurance plans from Jan. 1, 2005, to Dec. 31, 2007. The chamber argues that additional mandated benefits make it increasingly difficult for small businesses to offer health care benefits to their employees. 
Both chambers also passed House Bill 609, which requires the Commission on Small Business Advocacy to review administrative regulations that may impact small businesses and provide the information to regulating agencies. 

"That's a small plus," Toebben said. 

But far from the big wins the region was hoping for this session. 

KLH Engineers principals take statewide honor 

Another of the Northern Kentucky chamber's Small Business Success Award winners has gone on to shine in the statewide Kentucky Small Business Person of the Year Award competition. 
This time, the winners are the three principal owners of KLH Engineers in Fort Thomas, said Nicole Christian, the chamber's vice president of business development. 

The chamber named KLH its Success award winner in the construction trades category for 2003, and then entered the firm in the statewide competition. 

State officials notified KLH earlier this month that the firm's principal partners Joe Kohrs, Robert Lonnemann and Bob Heil have been named the 2004 Kentucky Small Business Persons of the year. The three will now go on to compete in the Small Business Administration's national competition. The firm's three other owners are Chris Gremling, Jeffrey Millard and Jeff Leuderalbert. 

Heil said when he first got notification that the firm had won the honor, he had to call a friend to figure out whether it was a big deal. The friend's response: "That's a really big deal." 

"It's really a tribute to our staff," Heil said. "We have a top-notch staff from top to bottom." 

KLH has experienced tremendous growth in recent years. The firm employed 19 people in 1997 and now has 52 employees, including a six-person office in Dayton, Ohio. 

The firm is just the latest Northern Kentucky company to fare well in the statewide competition. 
Dan Van Meter of Nor-Com Inc. was named the 1999 Kentucky Small Business Person of the Year after the firm won the chamber's 1998 Success award in the manufacturing/distribution category. That same year, Gary Flannery of Flannery Painting Inc., was named runner-up in the statewide competition. 

More recently, Opera Portables' Greg DeWald was named a 2002 Kentucky Small Business Person of the Year runner-Up, and Progressive Rehabilitation's Jo Terry was named a runner-up for the award in 2001. Northern Kentucky businesses were named runners-up in 1997 and 1998, too. 

"We've had a lot of success with Northern Kentucky companies winning these awards," Christian said. 
The chamber will announce this year's Success awards finalists in the coming weeks and will announce the winners in June during the chamber's month-long celebration of small businesses. 

For more information about the awards or the chamber's Ninth Annual Small Business Success Awards ceremony, call (859) 578-8800. 

Business First of Louisville & The Cincinnati Business Courier - June 24, 2003

The Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce has named its 2003 Small Business Success Award winners. 

This year's recipients are: 

- Costume Gallery, in the category of retail. The Newport-based company designs and constructs costumes for regional, stock, educational and local theaters. 
- Flottman Co. of Covington, in the category of manufacturing/distribution. Flottman is a privately held printing company that is currently being run by third-generation family members. 
- Kohrs Lonneman Heil Engineers PSC, in the category of construction trades. KLH Engineers, based in Covington, is a mechanical- and electrical-engineering firm that offers heating and air, electrical, fire protection, plumbing and communication technology consulting services. 
- In the service category, there was a tie between Fort Thomas-based C-Forward Inc., a computer networking company, and Covington-based Systems InSight Inc., an information technology firm. 

The Success awards program, which started in 1996, recognizes small businesses that have shown growth, financial stability, resourcefulness and creativity to excel in their industry, according to a chamber news release. 
The winners were chosen from a field of 167 nominees that was trimmed to 13 finalists.

While their business may be technical, their success is not. Two Covington tech companies tied Tuesday in their bid to win the services award handed out by the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce in its annual Small Business Success Awards.

Computer-networking company C-Forward Inc. and consulting business Systems InSight Inc. shared the award in the services category. Jeff Hassan, the director of business development for Systems InSight, said the split honor between the two Covington tech companies spoke volumes about the local business sector. 

"The economic vitality of the Covington tech corridor makes this is a great place to be right now," Hassan said. He credited his company's success to diversifying its customer services to help both large and small clients. 

Brent Cooper, president of C-Forward, said his business has thrived by lavishing attention on small businesses that larger networkers ignore. As a result, his company has reaped loyalty from his 100 customers. 
"Just because they're small, doesn't mean they aren't great," he said. 

The awards were handed out during the chamber's eighth annual celebration at Receptions Banquet & Conference Center in Erlanger honoring business leaders in four categories: retail, manufacturing/distribution, construction and services. 

Flottman Company Inc., a printing company in Crestview Hills, won top honors in the manufacturing/distribution category. The company specializes in printing for pharmaceutical companies. 
"It's really exciting -- we're thrilled to get it," said Sue Flottman-Steller, one of the family owners. "We're a third-generation, family-owned company, but we've got longevity and some unique alliances." Newport's Costume Gallery took home the retailer award. Starting in a garage in 1983, the company moved to a building on Monmouth Street, offering a large inventory of theatrical costumes for regional, stock, educational and local theaters. 

Covington's Kohrs Lonnemann Heil Engineers PSC, a mechanical and electrical engineering firm, nabbed the trophy for construction trades. KLH is offering HVAC, electrical, fire protection, plumbing and communication technology consulting engineering services. 

Home to the Cincinnati Reds, the Great American Ballpark salutes the rich history of one of America's favorite baseball teams, while embracing today and the future with its use of high-end technology throughout the impressive venue.

Spanning 42,000 square feet, the park boasts 28 concession stands, the Fox Sports Net Club 4192, and the Riverfront Club, the stadium's exclusive dining room. Paying tribute to the days of the Big Red Machine, the Machine Room - an 8,800-square-foot brewpub - quenches hunger and thirst on game days, as well as throughout the year.

Overlooking the stadium's left field corner, the Machine room was designed by Cincinnati-based Michael Schuster Associates.  Inside the restaurant, girders and air ducts remain exposed, adding to the "machine room" feel.  Old team photos and memorabilia adorn the walls. The bar, complete with scoreboard, sits in the middle of the space, and more than 20 RCA televisions are strategically hung throughout the restaurant.  The restaurant seats over 200 patrons, and the outdoor beer garden seats an additional 120. Visitors may also view the field from a walk-out balcony.

KLH Engineers, based in Fort Thomas, KY, designed the audio-visual and lighting systems, in addition to engineering the electrical and mechanical elements of the space.  Nor-Com, out of Hebron, KY, installed the audio, video, lighting and security systems.

"The owner wanted to create a space that was inviting," recalled Andrew Wilson, technology consultant at KLH, noting the exterior walls, which are glass.  "They wanted patrons to have a great view of the game from anywhere in the restaurant.  They wanted a variety of displays placed throughout the space so that visitors could walk around anywhere and see a display.  They also wanted to have the sound system divided into zones so that the outside could be turned off during a game so that those on the balcony and in the beer garden could hear the stadium sound."

There are eight zones throughout the restaurant.  Sound-tube ceiling speakers, which add to the aesthetic appeal of the space, are placed throughout the restaurant. A Lutron GP96 dimming system controls the lighting for the entire space.

The glass walls, in combination with the restaurant's ceiling - which is approximately 10 feet in some places, and 35 feet in others - presented LKH with several design challenges.  "A glass wall lets in a lot of light, and when you have a lot of light, there is an issue with the projector's contrast ratio on the screen," Wilson explained, noting the NEC MT1056 LCD video projector.  "Also, the varying heights of the ceiling present a huge difference in volumes from when you walk out from under the 10-foot ceiling."
The number of televisions throughout the Machine Room dictated the need for an AMX Netlinx control system.  "We did not want the managers to have to go around with a remote control to adjust each and every one of the TVs," Michael Brun, a technology consultant at KLH, explained.  "We specified that the contractor provide a touch panel that would allow them to control every television."
A wireless touch panel is installed at the bar, and the operator may move about the restaurant with a wireless remote control if they wish to adjust specific televisions individually.  "The wireless distribution system is what is used to feed the signals to the television," Brun said.  "There are 13 channels that originate locally within the stadium."

Because these systems - and today's technology - are so intricate, and the flexibility is so advanced, the end-user can become bogged down with having to operate the system," observed Jim Huber, director of marketing at Nor-Com.  "What this provides is seamless control that is intuitive for the end-user so that they can operate these advanced systems in a very easy manner."

Brun noted that businesses in many markets, including the restaurant industry, are utilizing technology as a means of attracting clientele.  "They want to have these technologies at their disposal to use to draw in clients, whether it is a library, a school or any other business," he said.  "This restaurant was no different; they wanted to have things in this space that drew in the clientele and retained it."

At the same time, all clients want value for the money they invest in technology.  "Most restaurants, in my experience, always want to be as value-oriented as possible," Brun said.  "they spend their dollars wisely.  That is a mantra for all of our clients right now: they want us to give them as much for their dollar as possible."