Please welcome aboard Katie Ann Santopolo, the newest member to Team Lindemann. Many of you already know Katie whose roots run deep in the Chimney Sweeping Industry. Her passion comes from the fact that her father, grandfather, and great grandfather have all owned their own successful chimney businesses for over 25 years.

Rob Lindemann, CEO of Lindemann Chimney Supply states "Katie represents a fourth generation Chimney Sweep who is very dedicated to helping fellow sweeps obtain their goals. She is greatly loved in this industry. We are honored to have her work for us".

She started her "official" career in the Chimney Sweeping Industry working as a customer service specialist for a chemical manufacturer back in 2009. This gave Katie the chance to look at the industry from the consumers' eyes and understand the issues and problems they have. After being with the company for a short 6 months, she was given the opportunity to be the first on-staff Certified Chimney Sweep through the Chimney Safety Institute of America (CSIA).

Jeff Wiles, President of Lindemann Chimney Supply is excited to bring Katie on board. "I look forward to the experience and insight that Katie brings with her. She is very motivated and dedicated to this industry. She will be able to help sweeps with all aspects of the business."

Katie is more than qualified to provide advice. In fact, her passion in life is helping others find solutions to their problems and helping them grow their business. She grew up in the industry and seen many changes and "gets it" when it comes to having a chimney sweeping business. She has kept up with industry issues and stayed in contact with close industry friends. When the opportunity surfaced to get back into the industry, she was happy that she was able to partner with Lindemann Chimney Co, a company that she has always loved. She looks forward to the journey ahead and meeting everyone along the way! To contact Katie, she can be reached at 518-428-1212 or click here to email her.

All of us at Lindemann Chimney Supply wish you a Happy Thanksgiving!  This is the time to be thankful for our many blessings.

We are blessed to have awesome family that supports the endeavor we undertake to be the best supplier in the industry. There are times when we all travel or work long hours and we thank our families for their understanding.

Our friends in this industry include our many customers and our wonderful industry associates. This industry is truly a close-knit community. If one suffers a disaster we all feel it. And we work together to further the good of the industry.

So during this time of Thanksgiving take some time to give thanks to the most important people in your life.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Rob Lindemann, CEO, Lindemann Chimney Co.

Did you know that the Chinese symbol for crisis is the same as for opportunity? If something happens in your chimney sweep or hearth business try to look for opportunity in the situation.

Your lead chimney sweep quits without notice. Crisis or opportunity? At first it is a crisis but only because there is no solution. In the process of coming up with the best solution many things happen:  You may be reintroduced to the field; Another chimney sweep moves into the position who proves to be even better than the lead chimney sweep; You know you have to have a contingency plan in place and perhaps you start to understand the frustration that led to the lead chimney sweeps departure. As you seek the solution these many things start to make the whole picture more visible to you.

It’s 5:00 on a Friday night and your new chimney sweep dusts a customer’s house. It just so happens this customer works for the local newspaper and writes editorial columns. Crisis or opportunity? At first it seems like a crisis: 5:00 on a Friday night – who will you get to clean it?; White carpet and a light colored brick fireplace facing; A person who has the capability to blast your company for miles around.  Your new chimney sweep, who shows a lot of promise, is expecting a major chewing out and is ready to quit. To treat this as an opportunity you need to look for ways to put a positive spin on it. Get the best cleaning company out to clean his home, leaving it cleaner than before the dusting.  Talk to the homeowner about why it’s so important to have a professional clean the chimney instead of trying to treat it as a “do-it-yourself” project (in which this happens a great majority of the time). In this case, if a professional messes up, your house can get TLC treatment.  Explain why this is a fluke and show them the pricey chimney cleaning equipment that you use to sweep the chimney. Show this new sweep how to turn lemons into lemonade. Reinforce to the new chimney sweep that this can and does happen, rarely, but even to experienced sweeps.  This is your chance to show this employee how you stand behind him and reinforces his loyalty to you.

These are just a couple of examples of how you can turn a crisis into an opportunity. It all depends on how you look at it. This may mean taking a short walk away from the office. It might mean getting in your car, driving to a remote area where no one can hear what you really want to say about the situation. Often, the best option is to “step away” from the situation and think of what you would tell your best friend if the same situation happened to them.  Whatever it takes, handle it coolly and with confidence and it becomes an opportunity.

BestFlex Chimney Liner Kits are available in .005" 316 Titanium-Alloy Stainless Steel. BestFlex Liner is manufactured with the latest machining technology. As a result it is has stronger corrugations and Secure-Lock Technology which effectively seals the 7-ply crimped seam with a power grip for an ultra-tight locking seam. This makes BestFlex the best choice of its kind.

It is designed to vent fireplaces and appliances that use the following fuels; wood, oil, category I gas and coal applications. Insulation is required for the UL Listing for solid-fuels. Although it's optional for gas and oil, we still suggest insulation to enhance venting performance.

We stock two kit styles. The BestFlex Tee Kit includes a 13" X 13" Top Plate with Clamping Collar, Square Lid Rain Cap, Tee With 10" Take-Off and Tee Cover. The BestFlex Insert Kit features a 13" X 13" Top Plate with Clamping Collar, Square Lid Rain Cap and Stove Adapter with Clamp.

BestFlex is UL Listed and features a Lifetime Warranty that is transferrable to new owners if the home should ever be sold.

At Lindemann Chimney Supply we provide you with as much information as we can on upcoming chimney sweep and hearth industry events. In the upcoming seminar, Transform your Business DNA -- East Coast Summit, the presenters are Tom Urban and Jerry Isenhour. This seminar is is hosted and sponsored by the North Carolina Chimney Sweep Association and the South Carolina Chimney Sweep Guild. Here is some information about Tom Urban.

Tom is the founder and president of Estoban Corporation and has been working in the Chimney/heating industry for 28 years. His full time commitment is to provide the best equipment possible to photo document places where your head can't fit i.e. Chimney, duct work, etc. Tom is a nationally known speaker on a variety of subjects.

Tom owned and operated Urban's Chimney Sweep and Supply Company in Northeast Pennsylvania for 1978-1984. He introduced the relining of masonry chimneys with stainless steel liner and the use of ceramic blanket to wrap around the liner to prevent heat loss, which is now a industry standard. He also developed a method to ovalize the stainless steel pipe to be installed into rectangular chimney flues, which is also used to day.

He researched and developed the use of closed circuit cameras inside confined spaces such as chimney and heating/cooling ducts in buildings. This research led to the integration of cameras for use in other fields, such as agriculture, municipalities, utility companies, biologists, and engineering firms. In 1984 Tom stared Estoban Corporation and registered the trademark of its main product the Chim-Scan.

Tom designs and provides training seminars on chimney relining, oil burner technology, chimney section procedures, photo documentation and interpretation training and seminars on computer generated reports. Tom has been a teacher at the CSIA in Indianapolis, IN since it's opening in 2000. He teaches as a part of a team of four on diagnosis and documentation procedures to sweeps, engineers, and home inspectors. The 3 to 5 day course is also taken on the road twice a year. Tom developed a multi-media course that includes Power-Point presentations and hands-on study.

He has been a speaker at regional and national conventions in the chimney industry as well as heating and fireplace industries consecutively for 20 years. He was one of the founding directors of the Pennsylvania State Chimney Sweep Guild in 1982. In 1989 Tom was part of the first team of chimney professionals to document the conditions of all the fireplaces in the White House in Washington D.C. Estoban Corporation provided all the documentation equipment and Tom personally supervised the scanning and documentation of the chimneys

Tom has participated as an expert witness in numerous court cases. He worked with ABC 20/20 when they did a investigative report on carbon monoxide poisoning case in N.J. In 1998 he authored a four page report on carbon monoxide titled "Close Encounters with CO" that was printed and sold through the N.C.S.G. He provided equipment and setup for three episodes of "This Old House" on PBS, he even got to do a 4 min vinette called "Insider's Look at Your Chimney" (go to http://www.chimscan.net and click on educational videos to see it).

He is a professional member of the following organizations: National Chimney Sweep Guild (N.C.S.G) since 1979 and CSIA Certified Sweep # 210. Tom received the C.S.I.A's education Award in 2004 and the N.C.S.G. Presidents Award in 2009.

Here at Lindemann Chimney Supply we are always on the lookout for things which might help you in your business and we hit the jackpot with this product! It is an important safety and convenience item for your customer and a moneymaker for you. Everyone who has a dryer in their home should have one.

LintAlert actually senses when the dryer duct needs cleaning. Before installing you will need to thoroughly clean the dryer vent and fix any needed repairs. Then the tap and the hose is installed to the dryer vent as shown below. Attach the hose to the sensor, plug it in and calibrate it on the clean dryer vent. the LintAlert light should be green. Gradually as lint builds up the LintAlert lights will change from green to yellow to red so your customer knows it's time to get their dryer vent cleaned. When it lights up red this means the vent is 60% blocked and it also sounds an audible alarm.

If you want to do your customers a great service, promote future business, and make some good money in the process, take a minute to watch the video. We think you will agree. Click here to see the video.

The LintAlert suggested retail is $99.00 installed and the product number is 560911. To contact us for more information, click here. Feel free to call us at the following locations: Illinois 800-722-7230; Georgia 866-450-311 and New York 722-722-7230.

Posted by Karen Lamansky, Director of Marketing.