Lincoln Contractors Supply: Built on Legacy, Driven by Wisconsin

Added: 2026-05-31

[00:00:00]Legacy is more than history. It's the enduring influence of values, actions, and relationships.

[00:00:06]At Lincoln Contractor Supply, the future is built on the foundation laid by those who came before.

[00:00:11]And with every lesson, every hope, we push forward. Not alone, but together.

[00:00:20]Lincoln Contractor Supply began with a simple idea in the fall of 1956.

[00:00:25]Two childhood best friends, Bill Ginther and Al Kenefick, saw an opportunity to serve local contractors by selling construction equipment.

[00:00:33]The dream began on Lincoln Avenue in West Dallas, Wisconsin, just a quarter mile from where the company's headquarters stands today.

[00:00:42]In the early 1980s, Al and Bill passed the torch to their sons, Norm Kenefick and Dale Ginther.

[00:00:48]Norm officially joined Lincoln Contractor Supply full-time in 1966 after serving in the military.

[00:00:55]The second generation honored their father's legacy of customer service while expanding the business. From the very beginning, Lincoln stood for more than just business. It stood for family.

[00:01:05]After school, Norm would ride his bike to the store, helping and learning the ropes.

[00:01:10]Years later, Norm's son, Aaron, followed the same path, pedaling over after school and on weekends.

[00:01:17]What began as bike rides and small tasks became the foundation of a lifelong journey.

[00:01:22]Under Norm's leadership, Lincoln Contractor Supply grew across Wisconsin.

[00:01:27]A bold move into the skid steer market in 1989 marked a turning point. Although they no longer are in the skid steer market, that decision set the stage for future innovation.

[00:01:37]Leadership at Lincoln Contractor Supply was never about ego. Norm led by example.

[00:01:42]At his desk by 7:30 a.m., visiting every store monthly, getting to know his staff and their families, and made sure they knew they mattered. It's family.

[00:01:52]And I always like the old Vince Lombardi saying, "God, family, and Lincoln Contractor Supply, and in that order.

[00:01:58]And that's truly what I believe, and I believe that that's what kept me here for all those years.

[00:02:05]When he told me that he was raised God, family, and Lincoln.

[00:02:10]And I thought, "What great values." And what great values for a company to work for. So, it's nice to be at a place where you're seen, heard, and things happen.

[00:02:19]When Norm ran LCS, Aaron observed how decisions were made, risks were taken, and a legacy was built.

[00:02:26]When Aaron asked Norm to teach him the role of president, Norm simply replied, "I can't.

[00:02:32]You'll figure it out."

[00:02:33]That moment carried weight. It was a vote of confidence that shaped Aaron's future. I cannot begin to tell you how proud I am of my son, what a great manager I think he is for the company, and how confident I am that uh that after I'm gone, I'm 80 years old now.

[00:02:55]Uh so, who knows how many how much time I got left.

[00:02:59]Uh but I think my dad and I will be up in heaven watching him and be proud of him.

[00:03:05]Today, Lincoln Contractor Supply is led by Aaron Kennef, the third-generation president. His leadership reflects the values instilled by his father and grandfather, humility, loyalty, and heart. Watching him and his leadership style, there was things that I really liked. I think he was very good at gauging the staff, listening to them.

[00:03:28]Aaron's style is collaborative. He often says leadership here is grounded in trust and empowerment. Some lead with support and responsiveness, others with a hands-off approach, setting the tone and letting their teams shape their own paths.

[00:03:41]There's freedom to thrive, guidance through action, and a shared commitment to learning and growth.

[00:03:46]It's about building lasting relationships, making every customer feel like the most important one, because they We manage the company as a collective as a management team.

[00:03:57]I think I probably rely on my team to keep me in the loop and appraised of everything that's going on.

[00:04:04]Never saying no is a very good philosophy, but it's it plays true here for sure because uh knowing that when a customer needs something, they come to me cuz I can find it.

[00:04:15]Yeah, he's given us the ability to take care of the customer.

[00:04:19]Whatever it takes take care of the customer. I don't know why the Lord did this, but he blessed me with two families.

[00:04:25]Um he blessed me with my immediate family, and then he blessed me with the Lincoln family. And that's how I look at everybody is that they're part of my family. Just because they're uh an employee doesn't mean that they shouldn't be treated fairly like family.

[00:04:39]He inherited a simple mindset from his father. Treat everyone like family, and the right thing to do will always be clear.

[00:04:46]No topic is off-limits. People know they can come to him with anything.

[00:04:50]His door is always open.

[00:04:52]Aaron's wife Julie could not be prouder of the leader he has become.

[00:04:56]His family knows he has put in the work and continues to look for ways to grow as a company and a leader.

[00:05:01]He does this while being a great dad, husband, and family man.

[00:05:06]I've had 100% support from her. Julie is there and willing to offer advice, a view through a different lens. Aaron finds peace and quiet moments at the office and strength in knowing his family understands how important LCS is to him. There is no doubt Aaron makes himself available to all his employees 24/7. I think I could call Aaron at 2:00 in the morning if I had a pressing question, and I think he would pick up the phone. Anytime that I call Aaron and have a question for him, he's always there to answer it. He's a phone call away. We can stop in with any problems or or questions we have on anything that's been the culture since I started here, and it started with his dad, and I think probably Aaron's grandpa. You come in sometimes and the president of the company is working the counter. The vice president of the company is working out in the warehouse. I mean, it's just a team. Everyone does their part and does every part that they can. So, I just want, you know, I think everybody should work here. It's just a great feeling.

[00:06:03]>> People actually care about you. You're not just a number. People know your name, know who you are.

[00:06:08]I started here with the second generation. Um, but most of my time is going to be here with the third generation and what I like about that is that it's family.

[00:06:18]They think family, they are family, and they treat you like family. LCS has grown significantly in 70 years. Yet, it has stayed true to its roots. Giving back is part of the culture at Lincoln.

[00:06:28]One of Aaron's proudest initiatives is empowering each branch to give back to their own communities. Instead of centralizing charitable decisions in Milwaukee, Lincoln distributes funds to branches and lets employees decide where the money goes. He loves to support causes that are important to him and his employees.

[00:06:45]As a store, we pick a charity that we want to put it a portion of money to, give it to them. That's in our area cuz we got stores all across the state.

[00:06:55]What might be important to us in the north part of Milwaukee might be completely different for someone like up in Wausau or Eau Claire.

[00:07:04]So, it's really nice giving the employees an input of the the joy of giving.

[00:07:10]The walls of Aaron's office speak to the rich history LCS has with its strategic partners. A framed Wacker tie once worn by his father, now retired and honored on the wall. Toys from Husqvarna, Sullair air compressor, and Caterpillar aren't just decorations. They're tokens of deep relationships. The strategic partner doesn't have to just be with president of the company or the owner of the company. A strategic partner can have a relationship with one or two salesmen that do really well for them in a territory. Or my VP of sales or my VP of operations or a couple of branch managers cuz they're starting to do really well.

[00:07:45]Lincoln Contractor Supply keeps a close eye on industry trends. Its rental fleet has expanded significantly thanks to new product lines and strong manufacturer relationships. It's kind of brought us out of that uh that age where everybody purchased their equipment. So now that some of that equipment is getting so expensive that uh you can't always afford that equipment. Um so to be able to have good rental equipment, quality rental equipment, uh has uh kind of made us better and um has extended our uh footprint and foothold uh in this area.

[00:08:18]Wacker's compact equipment like mini skid loaders and dumpers opened the doors to new markets including landscaping.

[00:08:25]At the same time, Lincoln took a step forward partnering with Husqvarna to enter the polishing and grinding space, an area they'd never explored before.

[00:08:34]These strategic additions brought in a wave of new customers who had never rented from Lincoln before.

[00:08:39]Both Wacker and Husqvarna played a hands-on role in Lincoln's success offering on-site demos, ride-alongs, and customer education. Lincoln has cultivated strategic partnerships that reflect a forward-thinking approach.

[00:08:51]While many partners are part of the Evergreen Supply Network, Lincoln also embraces innovation from outside, especially in emerging markets like hybrid equipment such as solar-powered light towers and hybrid diesel-battery generators. These aren't just products, they're solutions.

[00:09:08]The investments we've made in the battery-operated and next-gen equipment as we we title it, it's amazing to see us come this far. Um I remember the years of having to set up a generator and pumps and support systems just to get one piece of equipment operating. We're at a place now where we're almost cordless, wireless, hoseless, and uh it's it's not only putting us in a position as a leader in the marketplace, but it's it's sharing with our customers that we're looking at the future.

[00:09:41]We've been around for a long time and we have no intention of going anywhere and this is an investment in that.

[00:09:46]>> A hybrid generator, something with battery powered equipment. Um, you know, those are trends that are just starting. We're just starting to move to that type of stuff, but I want to make sure that Lincoln is on the forefront and pushing that. I don't want to be chasing it because somebody else did it.

[00:10:07]>> It's really amazing when you can actually show them this is what this piece of equipment did for you.

[00:10:12]Everybody can take a piece of literature and say this, you know, this is what it's going to do for you, but when they actually have it and then we can print this data out and show it to the customer you actually did this.

[00:10:23]It's it's huge.

[00:10:25]From my point of view, having just come off the the road as a delivery driver at 19, seeing that Lincoln, this organization I was in, had such a presence not only in the state, but within Evergreen and therefore within the country, it was it was eye-opening.

[00:10:42]Um, the value that it brought and the opportunities we had.

[00:10:46]Evergreen opened doors Lincoln Contractor Supply didn't even know existed. It connected them with manufacturers who have since become strategic partners that they might never have discovered on their own.

[00:10:56]Through Evergreen, those relationships came into focus, reshaping how we do business and expanding the possibilities of who we work with. Training and education programs allow Lincoln to equip new employees, especially those unfamiliar with the construction industry, with foundational knowledge through classes.

[00:11:13]This ensures the LCF staff can confidently assist customers at the counter. For me is that I'm always learning. I'm challenged, the travel that's involved with that, the people you meet, the interactions with other people in the industry, um, and the value that they put back into their staff. Norm became chairman of the board in 2006 and Aaron took on that same role in 2024. It was an honor just to be asked on the board. I didn't really know what he got when they asked him to be chairman of the board. I didn't really understand what that meant. Now I do.

[00:11:45]Um so it was just kind of one of those it's it's that feeling of I'm not Norm's kid running Lincoln Contractor Supply.

[00:11:55]I'm Aaron Kennef, president of Lincoln Contractor Supply. It's that kind of that validation, if you will, that it's no longer my dad's business that I'm just running it. It's now my business, right? That and I'm sure he had that same moment at some point in his life that it's no longer Al's business that Norm's running. It's Norm's business.

[00:12:16]It's It was kind of that validation, you know.

[00:12:19]Passing the business to the fourth generation, that's Aaron's goal.

[00:12:23]He wants to retire knowing there's still a Kennef, maybe two, running the company.

[00:12:29]Aaron's oldest daughter, Mallory, started working at LCS last summer. This year she's in the warehouse stocking shelves, pricing, and cycle counting.

[00:12:38]Her younger sister, Maisie, is 12 and already asking, "When can I start?"

[00:12:42]It's not time yet, but her time's coming. That's how the fourth generation begins through interest, curiosity, and involvement. Um the ride home the second day I was laughing to myself and I remember her saying, "What are you laughing about?" And I said, "You are literally starting exactly where I did, in the warehouse stocking the shelves."

[00:13:01]LCS has grown to 11 locations, 13 buildings, and 150 employees over nearly 70 years.

[00:13:08]"Three generations, it's bigger than my dad could have ever dreamed," Aaron says.

[00:13:12]Lincoln Contractor Supply isn't just about equipment. It's about people.

[00:13:18]From the hands that built to the minds that dream, each generation leaves a mark. The torch is passed not because the time is ending, but because the future deserves to burn even brighter.

[00:13:29]That's the Lincoln way.