Kia Kaha Canoes and Paddles was one of the three businesses completely wiped-out in last week’s fire that destroyed a 13,000-square-foot warehouse in Puhi, Kauai. Kia Kaha’s production and design workshop was located in the warehouse. Kauai County officials estimated the damage to the building and the businesses to be in the millions.
Kia Kaha owner, Maui Kjeldsen unfortunately lost two canoe molds and all his custom Kia Kaha paddle molds in the fire along with his production materials for future orders and twenty completed paddles that were about to be shipped. Kjeldsen hopes to secure a new location for his warehouse and have Kia Kaha’s capacity to accept new paddle orders secured as soon as possible.
Kjeldsen apologizes to all his customers that have been patiently waiting for their paddles. “Obviously these are circumstances beyond our control. I will work hard to get the paddles back into production hopefully before the end of the paddling season.” He is asking customers to please visit his website www.kiakahacanoesandpaddles.com for the latest status on the paddle production.
The only bright spot is that Kjeldsen had just returned from a trip to his OC-1 canoe manufacturer in China. He had delivered his Wainui and new Hiko OC-1 canoe molds for production so they were not destroyed in the fire. Therefore the production of both the Wainui and the Hiko OC-1 canoes will not be interrupted and Kia Kaha is currently accepting orders. To place an order or for more information, please email info@kiakahacanoesandpaddles.com.
On a personal note, Kjeldsen who is a Kauai fireman and expecting his second baby with his wife Jody wanted to express his sincere gratitude and appreciation to his customers, all the firefighters who tackled the blaze and to his family, friends and the community for all their support. “I was two weeks away from taking some time off with the new baby’s arrival and was working hard to complete my outstanding paddle orders. This fire has changed everything. The important thing is that no one was hurt”. (Photo: Kauai Fire Department Prevention Bureau)
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Submitted by Cara Mazzei on Mon, 05/17/2010 - 2:01pm
Wow, that sucks! Luckily no one was hurt. I love my Kia Kaha paddle. Good luck to Maui in his new location.
Josh
#1 Mon, 05/17/2010 - 3:45pm
Ugh,
So sorry to hear that man ...
Lost molds, materials A N D the near impossible to achieve, " just gotta get these out and I'm finally caught up ones." Thats a real kick in the nuts.
Keep going with a fresh start and I bet all the new 'phoenix ' stuff will be even better.
aloha,
pog
#2 Mon, 05/17/2010 - 5:17pm
That sucks! Good thing Maui also has the fireman gig. I'm sure he'll bounce back twice as strong!
#3 Mon, 05/17/2010 - 6:03pm
Sorry to hear about the fire. What a terrible, terrible tragedy. I love my Kia Kaha paddle. (Yes, LOVE)
Damn, is the OC-1 business that cut-throat? Was Kezo on the island that day?
#4 Tue, 05/18/2010 - 7:06am