The Kenro Method

As a U.S. distributor and now as manufacturer of Esterbrook, Joel Blumberg and Kenro Industries are still providing a roadmap for the industry 30 years on.

- NICKY PESSAROFF

When Joel Blumberg co-founded Kenro Industries inMineola, New York 30 years ago, his distributorshipportfolio started with Aurora, a 70 year old brand from Italy with a small footprint in the United States.

Blumberg was part of a renaissance in distributorship. Rather than passively waiting for retailers to ask for product, Blumberg sought out retailers large and small. Rather than being silent, Blumberg peppered Aurora with suggestions on how to maximize its presence in the U.S. market. When Kenro gained U.S. distributorship rights to Italy’s Montegrappa in the early 2000s, it repeated that success. 

This method of distributorship—let’s call it “active distributorship”—comes from the management style of Blumberg who, along with his role as CEO, also acts as a sort of paterfamilias for his employees—the result being unusually long tenures. Danean Dymond, Bryan Hulser, and Liz Lopes began their professional careers at Kenro at ages 19 through 23, and 30 years later, they still work there. Ryan Sirignano’s tenure with Kenro is over 15 years. Even newer employees such as Neil Lipper, Cary Yeager, and Brett Braley-Palko comment on the unusual opportunity at Kenro of maintaining lifelong employment at a single company.

Braley-Palko joined Kenro only a year ago as the new Digital Marketing Manager. “Forgive me if I get choked up, but this job never feels like a job. It feels like a hobby because I enjoy it so much,” he says. “I have the potential to be here as many years as Bryan and Danean, and that makes me feel more comfortable in my role.”