Apex Homes' President Wins Distinguished Alumnus Award

Lynn Kuhns, President of Apex Homes in Middleburg, PA was recently given the 2015 Distinguished Alumnus Award from Sun Area Technical Institute in New Berlin, PA.

Lynn Kuhns, President of Apex Homes

Lynn started as a sales representative for Apex Homes and has served in various roles including sales manager, VP of operations and up to and including his current responsibility of President.  The founder of Apex Homes died suddenly in November 2007 without a clear succession or estate plan in place.  To compound the issue, this tragedy occurred just before the housing crash that would subsequently cause a more than 50% drop in sales within two years.  Even though Lynn was not the president at the time, it was his leadership that enabled the company to keep the doors open during this tough time period. 

In 2013, when the owners of the company could not see another way out, Apex Homes filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, which allowed the company to reorganize.  However, the cards were stacked against Apex Homes and it was thought by many that the company would not survive.  Lynn saw an opportunity where others didn’t see any hope and he doggedly pursued ways to achieve his dream of ownership / leadership of Apex as well as save the 120 family sustaining jobs.  He personally visited each of the builders and was honest with them regarding Apex’s financial situation as well as his goals of saving the company.  Lynn then met with the vendors and laid bare the Apex situation and his plan to save the company. 

After hear “no” many times from many banks, Lynn kept looking for alternatives and persevered by putting together a group of investors, most of whom work at Apex, to purchase the company so those who believed in Apex could also share in the rewards.  After several years, Lynn’s dream of ownership came true and he was able to purchase the company and create a new Apex Homes, one that is financially sound and with inspired employees who can share in the company’s success.  

Lynn is now the President and majority owner of Apex, with the commitment to reinvest in the employees and facilities so the company can not only withstand future economic hurdles, but prosper as well.  The future is bright for Apex Homes because of the honesty, integrity and leadership of Lynn Kuhns.

For all his hard work and dedication to help bring Apex Homes back from bankruptcy and preserving many jobs that would have been lost, Lynn was an easy choice for SUN Tech’s the 2015 Distinguished Alumnus Award.

Congrats to Lynn, his family and all the people at Apex Homes.