Tucked away in the foothills of Colorado, Preservation Solutions is making waves in the world of specialty wood care products. Founded in 1994 by chemist Dale Knobloch, the company has evolved from a small regional player to a fast-growing ecommerce business, thanks in large part to its partnership with Amazon.
“Amazon gave us a good path to be able to take over our own brand and really make it what we wanted and really have control over it,” said Knobloch’s stepdaughter Kim Prinzi-Kimbro, who now runs the family business. “It’s helped us expand our horizons.”
Preservation Solutions’ core product is Pentacryl, a wood stabilizer that helps prevent cracking and warping in fresh-cut, “green” wood, which often has a high moisture content. Pentacryl was developed by Knobloch after two years of research. Today, the company also offers a range of leather care treatments.
Knobloch’s initial products found a following among woodworkers and specialty retailers, but the company has since expanded its devoted customer base to furniture makers, hobbyists, and others in the craftsmanship community.
In the early days Preservation Solutions sold products primarily through its website and regional wood craft stores. After Prinzi-Kimbro and her husband took over the business in 2010, they ran it out of their garage for years, shipping orders by hand.
Four years later they decided to team up with Amazon, attracted by its brand discoverability and powerful logistics capabilities. At first, they allowed resellers to have listings on Amazon.
“We did that for quite a few years and then we realized that as Amazon was growing and our product was growing, the brand wasn’t getting the attention it should have,” she said, noting that customers were getting an inconsistent shopping experience which was impacting sales.
The pair streamlined their brand presence in 2020 by taking full control of the company’s Amazon listings. In their first year they saw a substantial 50% increase in sales, with orders continuing to grow as more people picked up woodworking as an indoor hobby during the pandemic.
“Every day you wake up, you hop on the [Amazon] app, you check your company, and there’s money in there – every single day,” said Caleb Kimbro, Kim’s cousin and the company’s Amazon marketing specialist. “The consistency of Amazon is truly unreal.”
Caleb, who has been with the company since 2020, credits Amazon’s suite of seller tools and data insights with helping Preservation Solutions sharpen its marketing strategy and better understand its customer base. Features like Brand Analytics, A+ Content and Amazon Advertising have helped the company present a cohesive brand image and effectively reach its niche audience.
“For every dollar we spend [with Amazon Advertising], depending on the product, we get anywhere between 3-5x of our money spent,” he said. “When you really go into it and work on your bids and your keyword negation, you can find your specific customers and what they’re looking for.”
“We’ve had tremendous results because of that,” Caleb added.
The partnership continues to open new doors, with Amazon’s B2B program allowing Preservation Solutions to serve small businesses and commercial customers alongside individual consumers. And by using Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA), the company is continuing to scale and meet growing demand.
“Fulfillment by Amazon definitely saves our warehouse time. It has really allowed us to scale by getting more product out right away, and then we can focus on marketing and selling those products,” said Kim.
As Preservation Solutions looks to the future, the company has ambitious goals to go global and multiply its growth tenfold over the next five years with Amazon as a partner, while continuing to honor Dale Knobloch’s legacy of preservation.
“We feel like we’ve just scratched the surface,” said Kim.