Hanlon Acoustical Ceilings
Hanlon Acoustical Ceilings used Kojo's flexible platform to reach their aggressive growth goals by gaining insights into their business.
The Story
In the competitive world of acoustical ceilings, efficiency isn’t just an advantage—it’s a necessity. Erich Lauterbach, President and CEO of Hanlon Acoustical Ceilings, has seen the industry from every angle, having worked at both small and large organizations. With extensive experience across various technologies, he knows what works—and what doesn’t.
When Erich joined Hanlon, the company was already in the process of onboarding Kojo. He took a close look at the company’s workflows before and after implementation, and the results were undeniable—Kojo was driving real value. The biggest challenge? Hanlon’s material management process relied heavily on spreadsheets, requiring manual effort that drained time and resources.
At the same time, Erich had a bold vision: to expand Hanlon’s footprint, grow into new trades, and increase profitability—starting with an expansion throughout Florida. But to get there, he knew he needed the right people and, just as importantly, the right tools. Hanlon needed a system that could streamline operations, eliminate inefficiencies, and support the company’s ambitious growth goals.
The Solution
Starting off, Erich saw one of the biggest advantages of Kojo was flexibility. He quickly became an expert, self-training in the platform and tailoring it to fit the unique needs of Hanlon. While acoustical ceilings can be a niche trade, Kojo’s customizable features allowed Hanlon to pick and choose what worked best.That impact was so significant that Erich didn’t just implement Kojo for new projects—he brought every project, even backlogged ones, onto the platform.
The results speak for themselves. By leveraging Kojo’s PO writing, QuickBooks integration, and three-way invoice matching, Hanlon has significantly reduced double billing, improved material tracking, and gained critical cost insights—all of which directly save time and money. Project managers now have the visibility and efficiency they need to stay on top of material costs and streamline their workflows.
Hanlon’s IT team runs strict evaluations of new technology and recognizes that Kojo provides value by consolidating multiple tools and processes into one streamlined system. Erich’s advice for other contractors, especially those with an IT team, is to go for it and Kojo will improve your processes.
Looking ahead, Hanlon is eager to expand their use of Kojo even further by incorporating the Bill of Materials (BOM) feature to drive even greater efficiencies. With Kojo, they’ve found the right system to support their ambitious growth goals.
Their Favorite Features
- Accounting System Integration with Quickbooks
- Invoice Matching
- Automated Purchase Orders
- Hold For Release
- Mobile App for Field
