Lockers for a Lifetime™
(877) 99-AMISH
 877-992-6474 |
About Amish Lockers, LLC
Like your business, Amish Lockers has an origin. What follows is a brief chronicle of the founding of Amish Lockers peppered with our business philosophy and what you can expect when doing business with us.The Steel Locker Industry
In 2004, three of us founded Big Dog Warehouse, Inc.—an internet distributor of lockers, shelving and other material handling items. We worked hard, and within a few years established Big Dog as one of the premier web distributors of lockers and other products. But after four years in a virtual enironment, I was ready for a a new opportunity that included getting out of the office and dealing with people face-to-face again. Big Dog was doing fine and I was able to go my own way without hampering the company, so I founded Amish Lockers.Why Amish?
In 2006 we bid a large wood stadium locker project in western Pennsylvania. With good pricing and the support of a quality wood locker manufacturer in Texas, we proffered an extremely competitive quotation—and proceeded to get spanked by our competition, an Amish company from New Wilmington, Pennsylvania.
Being the curious type, I visited New Wilmington—one of Pennsylvania’s numerous Amish hamlets—to see if there was an opportunity to work together. Not only did I encounter adept businessmen who build superior furnishings utilizing centuries-old woodworking techniques, but I developed a true affinity for the Amish, their pastoral way of life, work ethic and sense of community. After several months of weekly visits to New Wilmington, I began developing relationships with Amish enterprises that manufacture cabinets, furniture, hardwood flooring and other wood products—most whose skills run at least several generations deep and all family-owned.
The fact that these lockers are manufactured by the Amish is superseded by their superior woodworking methods. The Amish carefully mill their own wood and utilize woodworking techniques such as mortise and tenon joints, dadoes and tongue and groove backing. Their timeless processes result in unparalleled structural strength and product that will last generations. The lockers these Amish produce will be handed down a hundred years from now, as much a fine piece of furniture as they are practical storage cabinets.
As the New Wilmington Amish furniture shops produce modest amounts of furniture per year, I’ve teamed up with several of them to meet the potential demands of the wooden locker market. They’ve also worked things out among themselves to collectively handle the production of larger locker orders. If you need more than 100 lockers you'll need to provide ample time for the Amish to produce them. If lead time is a major consideration, we have close relationships with other (non-Amish) wood locker manufacturers who can get produce quality wood lockers without putting your project behind schedule.
The Amish that I deal with put quality far ahead of market demands. The Amish will not rush orders, as they take great pride in their work and are committed to producing the highest quality of product. Though we offer standard sizes that conform to industry standards, all Amish lockers are custom made to the specifications of Amish Locker’s customers. We do not keep an inventory of lockers. Lead times for lockers will range from a month or two for smaller projects to up to three months for substantial orders. This may seem like a long time, but bear in mind that during locker season (spring/summer) it can take up to 12 weeks to get production steel lockers from a locker manufacturer such as Penco Products, Republic Storage Systems or Lyon Workspace Solutions.
If you’re looking for the finest wood lockers available, you’ve come to the right place. We’ll also provide the best customer service humanly possible. We’ll also be as competitive as possible with machine-milled wooden lockers (usually not all wood but a mixture of wood, wood veneer and melamine), but if you’re shopping by price you may as well hit the back key now.
A Simpler Way of Doing Business
These lockers cost money. You will have to put half down to start the manufacturing process and the balance is due before the lockers leave the Amish premises. Purchase orders are acceptable with half down and the balance paid before shipment. By establishing this policy it’s ensured that the Amish get paid for their meticulous labor—and I get paid as well. It also helps keep costs down by eliminating the accounts receivable nightmare I’m all too familiar with from my days in the steel locker industry.
Every order we ship is extremely well-packaged and appropriately insured. I personally inspect every order before shipment. After four years of arranging freight—full truckloads and LTLs—I know who the good (and not-so-good) carriers are and understand how to protect both Amish Lockers and our customers. You’re free to manage your own freight, though we suggest you let us quote you freight based on the deep discounts we’ve negotiated. We understand logistics, and you’re better off letting us coordinate transport and assume the liability for getting you your lockers in the same shape they leave Amish country in.
We might get undersold or out marketed, but it’s simply not possible to surpass us in quality or service. Our pledge is to provide you with “lockers for a lifetime”.
Thank you for taking the time to get to know us a little better. Please feel free to call us at (877) 992-6474 so we can get to know you and your locker needs. If we’re not a fit for you, we’ll refer you to someone who is.
Larry Ciptak
President, Amish Lockers
Amish Lockers LLC • 205 Locust Street • Scott Township, Pennsylvania 15106
Copyright 2010 © All Rights Reserved ® Amish Lockers is a subsidiary of Ciptak, LLC