Company History
1982: American Lincoln Homes Founded
Founded as Contemporary Classic Log Homes by American Lincoln, Ltd, by Richard Spoor (formerly head of the truss manufacturing division of American Forest Products in Upstate NY, then a supplier to Lincoln Logs, Ltd.), and former minority partner, Ken Meyer (formerly Southeastern Regional Sales Manager for Lincoln Logs, Ltd). The current Beasley Rd site was selected because of it's excellent access to highway systems and it's central location for the initial core of Southeastern US dealers. The site also came equipped with an operating planer mill. Spoor remains current majority owner and Chairman.
1984: AmerLink Division Launched
Planning Guide produced; several stick built homes built, on a turnkey basis, with the majority in the MD, DE, PA area.
1984-86: National Employee Recruitment; International Sales Commence
Hired experienced personnel for stick-built division (construction, sales and customer service), log home/marketing for sales expansion. Sales of log home packages to Japanese client companies began, later to expand into South Korea, Taiwan, Philippines, Europe and the Caribbean.
1986: Telemarketing Division Expanded
Ultimately reached a zenith with 65 telemarketing reps at the downtown Rocky Mount Headquarters.
1987: Company Officially Renamed AmerLink, Ltd.; Post & Beam introduced; National Television Advertising Program Launched
Post & Beam Planning Guide produced and model erected on-site. Since the initial TV advertising began, primarily on ESPN (Saturday morning outdoors shows), we have remained one of very few log home companies to continue the use of cable and/or satellite TV advertising as a way to reach our customers.
1988: Precut Log Option Added
Initially sub-contracted out for our Japanese customers, this option was fully introduced to domestic customers (and performed by our own employees).
1989: Franchised Dealerships Offered
Core dealers were converted from prior dealership relationships (with AmerLink) with upfront fee waived; monthly fees applied. For a time, several high volume franchisees were an important arm of the company's sales organization.
1990: North Carolina Sales Center Opens
Together with the erection of what is now our Headquarters building, the Company relocated back to Gold Rock with models right on I-95 (the Walton model was actually moved from its original location on Beasley Rd).
1993: Builder/Dealer Program Launched
As the Franchised Dealer Program never quite met expectations, the decision was made to concentrate efforts on builders who could be referred by our telemarketing sales team (to overcome the "who's going to build it" objection).
1994: Barn Division Launched
Initially launched as Barns 'R Us and later renamed Timbrblox, the idea was to appeal to both previous log home buyers and good log home prospects with an affinity for equestrian activities. A Leisure Barn model was erected at NC Sales Center; instructional video shot and appended to log home construction video.
1996: Manufactured Home Division Established
Initially partnered with high quality mobile home manufacturer Mansion Homes, the first incarnation of In The Woods offered log sided mobile homes. Five units were set up at the NC Sales Center. Unfortunately, we discovered that our higher quality was simply not what that market cared about.
1997: In-House Financial Counseling Began
Our initial relationship with Waterfield Finance spawned a beneficial relationship that continues to this day and has been an important part of our success by taking a critical burden off the customer's shoulders.
1999: AmerLink Construction Division Launched
Initially begun with employee staff, this division has—since about 2001—utilized only experienced log home builders on a sub-contract basis.
2000: High-end Handcrafted Log Home Division Established
In The Woods was redefined to offer our customers a wider range of distinctive homes. To date this division has crafted everything from completely handcrafted log homes to hybrid milled/handcrafted homes featuring many handcrafted round log accents including beams, posts and railings, trusses, covered carport structures and several pavilion type structures.