Furnishing a Holiday Tradition; Kimball Hospitality Helps Restore Historic Opryland Hotel

A holiday season tradition has resumed this year in Nashville, thanks in part to Kimball Hospitality, the nation’s leading provider of guestroom furnishings, as the beloved Opryland Hotel once again welcomes visitors. Devastated by the floods that drenched Nashville earlier this year, the famous landmark has been closed for a full restoration since May. Over 1,000 people have been working daily to ensure the grand reopening date was met. That commitment was shared by Kimball Hospitality, which guaranteed the management team of the Gaylord Opryland Resort that all the furnishings for 600 rooms would arrive on time.

Kimball Hospitality Helps Restore Historic Gaylord Opryland Hotel (Photo: Business Wire)

Nashville’s iconic Gaylord Opryland Hotel reopened on November 15th, 2010. The seven month restoration of the hotel represents the rebirth of a tourist attraction long connected with the holiday season. Nearly one million guests visit the Gaylord Opryland Hotel annually for its twinkling Christmas Light Show, the hallmark of the world-famous “A Country Christmas at Gaylord Opryland”.

Kimball Hospitality committed to delivering newly made custom furnishings for 579 rooms in the renovation of the Magnolia wing of the famous hotel, just in time for Christmas. “The importance of this grand reopening date was not lost on us,” said Bob Bomholt, Vice President, Sales of Kimball Hospitality. “This project showcases the type of service and logistical support that Kimball is known for around the world. We committed to our customer and are extremely proud to have played a small role in this restoration.”

“A key factor in the success of this project was the on time delivery of the furniture for the renovation of the Magnolia wing of the property,” stated Richard Oakes, Executive Director of Corporate Procurement for Gaylord Entertainment. “With the quick turn around from design to installation, Kimball Hospitality worked closely with my team, including our logistics partner, JK Logistical Operations, to formulate and execute an intricate plan to ensure that high quality furniture products were delivered to ensure our successful and on time completion of this project.”

Kimball Hospitality was awarded the project in early June. Kimball partnered with Gaylord’s design firm, nationally recognized TVS Interiors, Inc. of Atlanta, to bring their distinctive furniture solutions to life. The casegoods were produced using cherry and ribbon-striped sapele veneers and accented with stainless steel metal legs and trim details.

Installation of the new room furnishings began in mid September and ran through completion in late October. Kimball scheduled production of guestroom furniture products to install 100 rooms per week for six weeks in order to meet the grand reopening deadline at the resort. All told, Kimball Hospitality produced 961 beds, 776 bedside tables, 579 desks, and 579 television cabinets. Said Bomholt, “We felt a little bit like Santa Claus with each delivery, knowing we were helping to restore a wonderful holiday tradition.”

The Gaylord Opryland Hotel project is one of a series of renovations and new construction projects for premiere properties that Kimball Hospitality has recently supplied to customers across the country, including the exquisite new JW Marriott Marquis Miami and the JW Marriott San Antonio, the largest property in the brand’s chain.

Kimball Hospitality, a brand unit of Kimball International, Inc. (NASDAQ: KBALB), is a global contract manufacturer that specializes in proprietary and custom designed furnishings for the hotel, casino, and resort industries. Kimball’s reputation for quality, service and performance in the hospitality market is well known among designers and developers of properties worldwide. Kimball Hospitality strategically focuses on providing products via three market sectors: custom, program and catalog. Proudly celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2010, Kimball Hospitality has furnished hundreds of thousands of guest rooms and suites across the globe.

About Gaylord Entertainment:

Gaylord Entertainment (NYSE: GET), a leading hospitality and entertainment company based in Nashville, Tenn., owns and operates Gaylord Hotels (www.gaylordhotels.com), its network of upscale, meetings-focused resorts, and the Grand Ole Opry (www.opry.com), the weekly showcase of country music’s finest performers for more than 80 consecutive years. The Company’s entertainment brands and properties include the Radisson Hotel Opryland, Ryman Auitorium, General Jackson Showboat, Gaylord Springs Golf Links, Wildhorse Saloon, and WSM-AM. For more information about the Company, visit: www.GaylordEntertainment.com

About Kimball Hospitality:

Kimball Hospitality, a brand unit of Kimball International, is a leading provider of both standard and unique, custom furnishings for the global hospitality industry. From major destination resorts and urban center hotels, to well-known hotel chains, Kimball Hospitality provides hotel planners and designers with the products, services, and capabilities they can rely upon to furnish facilities around the world. To learn more about Kimball Hospitality, visit their website at: www.KimballHospitality.com

About Kimball International:

Recognized with a reputation for excellence, Kimball International is committed to a high performance culture that values personal and organizational commitment to quality, reliability, value, speed, and ethical behavior. Kimball employees know they are part of a corporate culture that builds success for Customers while enabling employees to share in the Company’s success through personal, professional and financial growth.

Kimball International, Inc. (NASDAQ: KBALB) provides a variety of products from its two business segments: the Electronic Manufacturing Services segment and the Furniture segment. The Electronic Manufacturing Services segment provides engineering and manufacturing services which utilize common production and support capabilities to a variety of industries globally. The Furniture segment provides furniture for the office and hospitality industries, sold under the Company’s family of brand names. To learn more about Kimball International, Inc., visit the Company’s website on the Internet at: www.kimball.com

“Kimball International … We Build Success!”

Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=6519913&lang=en