Today we’d like to introduce you to Keith Lekberg.
Keith, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I started LandCraft at age 22 in 1978 as an auto body restoration and show-car paint shop. In the 1980’s I began to offer fiberglass boat repair services, which was a much more enjoyable field of work for me, and it proved to be a great fit for my shop. Because I grew up on boats and knew a lot about them, it was a natural fit for me to shift my skillset and experience to provide boat repair services. Today, LandCraft ranks as one of Chicago’s top most trusted fiberglass repair shops, and our diverse background of completed projects is highly unique and unmatched in this trade.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Being in business for 40 years there have been plenty of struggles. Besides operating through the ebb and flow of the economy (and a couple major recessions), the major struggle we face today is working long hours to keep up with customer demand.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the LandCraft story. Tell us more about the business.
LandCraft is a hybrid repair service company that utilizes our talents and ingenuity to venture into many fields of fiberglass repair. Our bread and butter service is boat fiberglass repair—from the most severe structural damage (i.e. breakwall hits) to cosmetic gel coat repair with a perfect color match.
We are known for quality service, and providing quality service is the only way we know how to operate. I understand the level of trust customers have in LandCraft when they leave their boat in our hands, and I understand that our customers and their families will be back on the water in their boat when it leaves my shop. The only way a boat is fixed at my shop is if it’s being fixed properly, which is why we guarantee all of our work!
In the boat repair trade, just like in the auto body field, there are those who patch the cosmetic while neglecting the structure. I’ve seen cosmetic fixes come right off a boat in the water creating a dangerous situation and a more expensive repair, so it truly pays for boat owners to ask questions and know that their boat is being repaired properly and by industry professionals. Clients of LandCraft can rest assured knowing that we forbid cost-cutting shortcuts in all of our repair services—at LandCraft it’s either repaired correctly, or it’s not repaired at all.
Many boat dealers and boatyards turn to LandCraft to provide boat repair and warranty repair services for their clientele. Commercial boat operations, like the Chicago Seadog at Navy Pier, utilize our services and appreciate our prompt attention to their fiberglass repair needs. We write commercial vessel blueprint/repair reports and repair according to stringent boat building/repair methods that comply with U.S. Coast Guard commercial safety standards. We work with the U.S. Coast Guard to expedite every commercial vessel fiberglass repair.
Besides boat repair, we also provide specialized services like boat refits (restorations). We provide services like the TV show “Overhaulin”, except we restore boats and not cars. This year we had a client come all the way from Ontario Canada to have us restore his vintage Ski Nautique boat. It’s a tedious process to go over every detail on a boat and either repair, refinish or replace the vintage or classic part. Oftentimes we have to fabricate custom fiberglass or metal pieces for the refit, but the smile we get to see on our client’s face when they pick up their boat is what we work for.
On the larger scale of our custom fabrication abilities, in 2016 we built a personal watercraft that houses a supercharged v8 engine and Scott 852 jet pump! Our client had also requested extra wrap-around bench-seating to be built onto the larger personal watercraft, so it’s quite a unique looking “monster jet ski”!
Other specialized services we provide include commercial and industrial fiberglass repair and construction. We’ve done work for Lockheed Martin, Federal Aviation Administration, CTA, IDOT, O’Hare Airport, Arcelor Mittal, and UPS, to name a few. We’ve fixed everything from baptismal pools at churches to pipes at the top of steel mill cooling tower power plants. Our on-site industrial repairs save clients from operational downtime and costly replacement of expensive equipment.
LandCraft is a diverse and specialty shop, willing to take on any type of fiberglass project.
We have an A+ rating with the BBB, are fully insured and run an efficient operation. We look forward to expanding our services and facility in the near future, and we also have a new quality craftsman joining our team in 2018!
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
Since I believe everything in life happens for a reason, I can’t say I believe in luck. I think life and business is about taking chances, and with each risk you take you will either get a reward or you will get a lesson. Truthfully, both are valuable. I also believe that holding true to a high-quality standard will stand the test of time, and going into our 40th year of business can attest to that!
Contact Info:
- Address: LandCraft Marine / LandCraft Industries
13626 Cicero Avenue Crestwood, IL 60418 - Website: www.Land-Craft.com and www.LandCraftIndustries.com
- Phone: 708-385-0717
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/landcraftmarine/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/landcraftmarine
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