Kul Games expands to Kul Moto and moves into new location

Greg Meyer, owner of Kul Games and Kul Moto, is opening up his hosting an openhouse this Saturday at his new showroom in Huntingburg.
Greg Meyer, owner of Kul Games and Kul Moto, is hosting an open house this Saturday at his new showroom in Huntingburg.

Greg Meyer, owner of Kul Games in Huntingburg, is keeping his eye on the horizon as he continues to grow Kul Games but he’s still willing to take advantage of opportunities that fall in his lap.

Since we last wrote about Meyer, he has continued to develop his line of dice and washer games; further refining the ability to provide customization for customers through licensed college and professional sports team logos and even decals specifically designed for the customer.

“We just keep improving the product line in the games,” he explained, “and we are marketing to colleges, schools and small niche markets that can take advantage of our customization.”

In addition to the original games Meyer started with—dice and washers—he is engineering a tailgater bowling game to be released later this year.

But sometimes opportunities fall in your lap.

Meyer recently became the exclusive Indiana distributor of protective motocross vests through Motocrossvest.com. Unlike many vests on the market for the burgeoning sport of motocross, these vests are made from ballistic foam and nylon. The standard has been a plastic shell that protects riders from debris thrown up during the races but did little to protect riders during impacts from crashes.

These vests cost about $50 more than a standard plastic shell but include a few extra features. They are cut to be more comfortable and expand as young riders grow. Small details like straps rather than velcro closures and high quality zippers as well as pockets sewn on the inside of the jacket for heat and cooling pads set the brand apart.

Operating under the name of Kul Moto and Kul Games, Meyer has set up a showroom for the games and new line of motocross equipment at 308 East First Street in Huntingburg. In addition to the showroom, Meyer has turned the large spaces in the rear of the building into an assembly line for his wooden games.

Originally, Meyer worked out of his garage assembling and painting the games, but found that he was distracted by things he needed to do at home. “Moving into this building allows me to concentrate on growing the business,” he explained.

Meyer’s daughter, Meghan, has come aboard to assist in the company’s social media marketing. His son, Braden, manufacturers the wooden games in the new assembly line area. “We can build 20 dice games an hour,” Meyer explained. “My goal is to pump a 1000 games a month out the door.”

tyler trent
Tyler Trent is sponsored by Kul Moto.

During the Kiwanas Car Show this weekend Meyer’s new showroom and factory will be hosting an open house with free food and door prizes from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Kul Moto sponsors Huntingburg motocross race Tyler Trent. Trent has qualified for the Loretta Lynn AMA Nationals in the 15 and under at 300 cc this year and he will be at the showroom with his quad during the day.

Meyer has also picked up a line of motocross accessories from Rocky Mountain ATV-MC.

What does the future hold for Meyer’s companies? “I want to continue to expand the games distribution and besides the new lines of motocross equipment, we are working on creating a shop that will refurbish old motorcycles and resell them.”

Original Story from May 2012:

Games bring families and friends together; that’s one thing Greg Meyer remembers about games. And that memory inspired him to start a business building games.

“I remember back in the 80’s my dad built a set of these games and we would take them camping,” Meyer said. “When he was making a set one time, I told him he should sell them. People were always asking where we got them and then he would make sets for people, so I just thought he should market them, but he never did.”

Meyer says he was making a set of games for his own family when his son told him the same thing. “So I thought, you know, I said that to my dad thirty years ago and now, a generation later, my son’s saying the same thing to me, so that’s how we really got started.”

Dice Game

The business, Kul Games, is a family operated business in Huntingburg that manufactures those fun summer games like Washers, but another old game he makes is a dice game some of you may remember. “It’s interesting that was one of our original games and come to find out it’s centuries old. It was actually an old English pub game and you know, as we got older we used it as a drinking game.”

Recently Meyer made several of the dice games for the Southridge Middle School. “Mr. Mihajlovits  [Southridge Middle School principal] played it and said it would be good for math, so they bought some to use in their special needs classrooms and math classes.”

Meyer’s company also supports the local economy. He relies on local manufacturers for all the wooden parts. The Dice and other playing pieces are also sourced through local companies.  He then takes the pieces and assembles the games at his company’s headquarters, a shop at his home. “We didn’t want to go out and buy Chinese manufactured parts, have this manufactured overseas and get some cheap game made. Everything is from local suppliers except for some stickers and we’re working on that.”

Washers

Meyer attributes the success of the business to other local businesses. Companies like Automated Routing in Jasper and  Dubois Wood in Huntingburg have helped him source good materials and taught him how to build the games.

Meyer is working on purchasing agreements with companies like Cracker Barrel and, through being at the right place at the right time, has received an order from the University of South Carolina. “I was playing washers with one of the coaches down there at USC and he asked if I could make him about ten sets,” Meyer said. “Through word of mouth I got a call the other day and the university bookstore wanted 100 sets.”

A popular feature Meyer offers is customization of the games. “If you want to add branding or your favorite team, we can build it for you,” he said. “We did a custom A. J. Cycle version of our dice game for them to sell or giveaway with purchases.”

One of Meyer’s biggest roadblocks has been educating people about the games. “Cornhole is just so popular right now, but it has just popped up in the past few years,” he said. “These games have been around for along time and I run into people that say they remember playing them when they were a kid. Kids don’t know about these games.”

To overcome this, he is adding videos to his website and Facebook page to help educate a new generation. He also has plans on hosting a tournament in the near future at the Huntingburg Conservation Club.

Meyer continues to expand his line and has added a lawn bowling game and a ring toss game that will be marketed soon.

Kul Games Facebook Page.

The family; Greg on the left, then his children Meghan, Braden and Amelia, and his wife, Ruthetta.

 

 

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