All smiles around NK today as it was announced this weekend on Philly.com, in the Philadelphia Inquirer and the Daily News that the company made the “Top Workplaces 2012″ list for the first time! We ranked #40 on the list for small businesses.

I think I speak for the NK family when I say we feel very honored to be working for a company who made the list. Even before ranking as a “Top Workplace”, NK employees have always felt like the company was a great place to work and it’s exciting to officially share the news.

To keep the environment friendly and fun, NK’s management and employees and constantly coming up with ideas to engage everyone and keep the atmosphere light. For starters, dogs stroll around the office on a daily basis and greet our visitors upon arrival. There can be up to 6 dogs here on any given day. And really, who doesn’t love a dog stopping by their cube for a few treats and a belly rub?

In addition, NK runs fitness programs and “stop smoking” programs to help employees get back in shape and stay healthy. Starting April 1st, we’ll be kicking off our annual NK Fit Challenge where employees break up into teams and compete “Biggest Loser style”. We also have monthly all employee lunches, fun holiday parties, and NK outings throughout the year. In fact, this coming June, NK employees will be competing in the Independence Dragon Boat Regatta on the Schuylkill River.

When initially surveyed in 2011 regarding Top Places to Work acknowledgement, employees gave a lot of positive feedback.  One employee talked about looking forward to going to work every day and said, “I get to work with great people doing meaningful work every day.” When asked why they loved their job, another employee replied, “My ideas are heard and utilized. I work with a great team that I am able to learn from as we continue to grow our company. Open doors and willingness to talk through problems keeps us moving forward…”

NK really is an exciting place to work, just ask any of our employees. To stay updated on what’s going on at NK, be sure to check out our Facebook page!

So tomorrow is week 3 in our battle of the sexes competition at NK. Who will come out on top this week? Eight of the guys verse eight of the gals in a head-to-head push-up for pull-up competition. A few weeks back, our Rowing Sales Manager, Ben Churchill came up with the interesting idea to round up an all male team and face off against their female counterparts in a battle of the sexes competition. The contest is set for eight weeks and which ever team loses will have to wash the other team’s cars. At first, the guys thought they had the win in a bag, but to their surprise, the girls cranked out a total of 83 push-ups week one, while the guys only came through with 61 pull-ups.

It will be interesting to see what tomorrow’s challenge brings….stay posted for the final results in April and see who will have the cleanest cars of NK.

The Kestrel team is getting ready for our first annual dealer summit that’s happening next month here in NK’s facility.  The dates of the summit are Thursday, April 12 and Friday, April 13 with a Welcome Reception taking place Wednesday evening, April 11. The two days to follow will be filled with a variety of sessions that we feel will help increase dealers’ knowledge of Kestrel products and provide them with the tools to sell more Kestrel Pocket Weather Meters in their stores.

Here is a sneak peak at the agenda:

• Tour the NK Facility
• Participate in dealer round table discussions
• Meet the Kestrel team
• Develop new product knowledge
• Become educated in technical support issues
• Learn market strategies
• Discuss new ideas among your peers
• Understand how to reach customers more effectively

We are really looking forward to having a chance to see some of our dealers we have not seen in a long time and officially meet others who we have only “met” over the phone. This will also be a great opportunity for dealers to discuss among themselves different market strategies and ideas to help increase sales.  So far we have a good number of dealers registered and among them are several of our international dealers.

Registration is currently open and we encourage any one who is considering the summit to register early! The summit is free of charge to our dealers but space is limited!  Register today.

We have also arranged for discounted rates at a local hotel where a shuttle will pick dealer’s up each morning and bring them to the summit (approx. a 5 minute car ride). To book a room online click here and use the group code KDS411. To arrange your stay over the phone call Diana McLimans at (610)358-9400 ext. 623 and mention you are attending the Kestrel Dealer Summit.

If you have any other questions regarding the summit, feel free to contact us. We look forward to seeing everyone in April!

In the February issue of Rowing News, two of NK’s rowing products were highlighted among several others as “game changers” in rowing.  The NK team feels proud to have its products included on the list with other products that transformed the sport into what it is today. Those that made the list consisted of the Ergometer, Big Blades, Fiberglass and Carbon Fiber Boats to name a few.

Where would the sport be if it wasn’t for this game altering ideas? For instance, life before the CoxBox forced the coxswains to lug around 3 different pieces of equipment to get the same information they can now get with just one. As the article mentions, prior to 1979, “coxwains had a bunch of sound equipment crammed into a metal lunch box.” [In the past], “the coxwain had a stop watch taped to one leg, a stroke watch to the other, and the now-repaired sound system between his feet.”

Next on the list for NK was the Pace Coach, now named the Speed Coach since several features and upgrades have been added to the product since its debut in the 1980′s.  Before the Speed Coach existed, rowers had no real way of knowing how fast they were going so they had nothing to accurately measure it against each time they got on the water. After the invention of the Speed Coach, the boat’s speed could be measured in real time, taking the guesswork out of the game.

NK team of engineers will continue to work hard to come up with new innovative ideas that will keep improving the sport and making things more practical for the athletes.

If you have any ideas or product needs that you’d like to share, feel free to post below.

It’s January, and we all know what that means….SHOT show time in Vegas! This is definitely one of the Kestrel team’s favorite shows of the year, getting to see other vendors, long-time customers, and new users as they stop by our booth at the show.

This year, we’ll be introducing a newer Kestrel, the Tactical unit. The option is only available in the 4000 and 4500 series. The new model features all of the same features and functions as the regular version except the Tactical line also adds in a matte label that is camouflaged to blend in and reflect less light.  The unit also comes with Lithium batteries that are less weight and have a longer battery life. In addition, a berry compliant lanyard comes attached to the Tactical Kestrel.  Lastly, the newest addition to the Kestrel line comes with a Tactical MOLLE Case for convenience storage. Be sure to visit booth 3621 to check them out!

Of course, some other familiar favorites will also be available for purchase at the booth. We’ll have our Kestrel 4500 with Horus unit as well as our Blue Ocean Rugged Megaphone. As always, we’ll be running some hard to pass up specials including Tactical MOLLE cases for just $20 (regularly $39), show prices on our entire line of handheld weather meters, free screen protector kits and more.

This year we’ll also be spreading the brotherly Philadelphian love at our booth by hosting a “Tastykake Sampling” every day at 2PM. So if you’re craving an afternoon snack, the Kestrel booth is the place to be!

We are really looking forward to seeing new and familiar faces and seeing what the newest gear is this year. We hope you’re able to stop by and say hello during the show.

We’ve always built our Kestrel Pocket Weather Meters to be extremely durable and tough but we heard a story from a proud Kestrel user that made us realize just how rugged the meters actually are. One of our Kestrel customers uses her Kestrel meter regularly for Search and Rescue K9 operations, which is standard equipment for many handlers.

During a SAR K9 call out, this particular Kestrel user took her Kestrel 4500 out to measure some of the environmental elements that could affect the operation such as wind speed, temperature, wind direction, and relative humidity. When she went to grab it from her bag the very next day, it was nowhere to be found. After a good bit of searching she gave up, figuring she dropped it along the way and it was lost for good. Months later, after a long winter and spring and a great deal of snow and rain, the woman’s son came across the Kestrel carry case covered in mud in the horse pasture. Sure enough, when he picked it up and unfastened the velcro, the Kestrel meter was inside. He returned it to his mom and when she tried to turn it on, it worked!  She thinks one of her four-legged search and rescue co-workers may have mistaken it for a toy earlier that year and wanted to play a game of “hide and seek”.

She was pleased to learn that after months of the unit sitting under feet of snow, inches of rain, and covered in mud, the only thing that the Kestrel unit needed was a new impeller. With the simple pop out design, replacing the impeller was an easy fix, costing less than $20 and it’s good as new. Now, we think that is money well spent!

We enjoy hearing back from all of our customers. Thanks to our users for sharing their stories of how their Kestrel Pocket Weather Meters survive many of nature’s elements. If you have a story you’d like to share, feel free to email us and let us know.

We’re going to have some great deals and money savers this coming Black Friday that will be valid one day only! We’re knocking big bucks off of some of our favorite products, and because the discounts are big, we’re only offering them to those on our email list.  Don’t worry if you’re not on our list, there is still time to sign up. You can add yourself simply by going to http://bit.ly/nkbkfriday so be sure you sign up soon.

Here is how it will work:

On Thanksgiving Day, we’ll be sending out an email to our fans and customers who are signed up with us detailing what deals will be available the very next day. Our offices are closed Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday so all orders must be submitted online. The discounts are only available Black Friday so offers cannot be applied to previous or future orders.

Remember to check your email on Turkey Day for details.