NEW HOLLAND, Pa. — On Saturday, Country Lane Gazebos celebrated the grand opening of its brand new 100,000 square foot facility in New Holland.
As business continues to boom, company leaders say the opening happened at the perfect time.
“We moved in and we’re utilizing our business at its full potential and that’s because we have grown in the last two years," said Samuel Stoltzfus, chief executive officer of Country Lane Gazebos.
The company manufactures and sells its Amish-crafted gazebos, pergolas, and pavilions all on-site.
Stoltzfus says they’re pumping out more structures than ever, as the outdoor living industry has catapulted since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Because people continued to spend money, stay home, and because they weren’t spending money on vacations, they had more money to spend on their backyards," he explained.
While the virus is no longer keeping people home, Country Lane's chief operating officer, Jason Rineer, says that trend is still paying off.
“The great thing is you hear things are starting to slow down again, but we’re still really continuing to grow and continuing to do more which is exciting," said Rineer.
But with greater demand, comes challenges.
The company has seen its fair share of supply chain issues through the last couple years.
“When your lumber goes up 300% and you have to be able to stay after your pricing. Of course we want to treat our customers and everybody with the best prices we could so we need to buy early, buy right in all those areas," said Stoltzfus.
And like many other industries, hiring and retaining employees remains a struggle.
"As we continue to expand, we need more employees so it’s continuing to be a challenge," explained Stoltzfus. "We need to just find the right people, let them know the right opportunity is here.”
The good news is executives say many supply challenges have subsided heading into what’s expected to be a busy summer.
"We were already on a very linear trajectory," said Rineer. "Before [COVID] happened, this building was in mind already and with the growth, it was just right in time for us.”
Country Lane Gazebos is located at 540 Hollander Road in New Holland.
The business is open Monday through Saturday.
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