Reprint of article from The Appleton Post-Crescent October 28, 2006

Arcways Staircase Makes Stylish Statement in “Extreme” Home

Written by Terri Doughtery

The signature feature of the Iowa home featured on Sunday’s “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” was created – quite rapidly – in the Fox Cities.

Arcways, a high-end staircase manufacturer in Neenah, got a pleading call from the show’s producer in early September. They were due to build a house for a family whose home had been destroyed by a fire, but the interior designer didn’t like the way the foyer was shaping up.

The foyer needed an eye-catching feature, just the type of staircase Arcways is known for. But could the staircase manufacturer provide it within a week?

When owner Tom Stilp asked employees if they were willing to put in the overtime the project would require, the response was overwhelmingly positive.

“I was fully aware that it would take all of us to pull this off,” Stilp said. “If people weren’t interested in doing the OT we’d pass on it. But everyone was like, ‘Great!’”

A drawing of an elaborate S-shaped freestanding stair was drawn and sent back to the designer that same day. It was quickly accepted, and Arcways employees got to work.

Building a staircase of that size usually takes three weeks, but employees were able to do it in four days. Fifty employees worked around the clock to get the staircase built and shipped to Iowa by the middle of the next week.

“It is by far the most tricked out or distinct product in that whole home,” Stilp said. “They filmed the whole stairway coming off our truck and through the front door.”

The show’s crew also stopped by Arcways’ Neenah office in early October, while they were in Wisconsin to film a home makeover near Dundee. Paige Hemmis, an interior designer on the show, and the crew spent half a day at Arcways, going through the steps needed to produce a staircase.

“The producer said we probably had a least a couple minutes on national TV, that what we do is extremely fascinating,” Stilp said.

Arcways is a high-end staircase manufacturer, with customers all over the world. Only 4 percent of its products stay in Wisconsin.

The staircase in the Iowa “Extreme Makeover” home is worth $60,000, but Arcways built and installed it at no charge to them.

“If you’re doing this you should donate your time and efforts and materials,” Stilp said. “We felt that’s the only right way. It’s for just an incredible cause.”

Sharon Stilp-Kressin owns Arcways with Stilp, her brother, and is a fan of the show. Its values mesh with their business’s philosophy.

“Our company always tries to do things for the community and give back,” she said. “We’re real family-oriented with our employees, and this fit right in. It was a great experience.”

Stilp-Kressin and Stilp were at the site when the home was unveiled to the family but didn’t get a chance to go inside and see their reaction to the staircase.

They will find out – with the rest of the country – when the episode airs at 7 p.m. Sunday on ABC, seen locally on WBAY-TV Channel 2.

Copyrighted material, reprinted with permission of The Appleton Post-Crescent.