WICHITA, Kansas, June 4, 2008 – In this world on mass-made products, a local company has thrived by producing custom, quality goods.

A horse saddle is a horse saddle right?  Well, not to ranchers, riders and horses who all know the difference between the production saddle and a custom rig.

“It has to be comfortable,” said Matt Hunn, owner of RE Hunn Leather. ”The rider has to be able to ride a saddle. You know a lot of guys in the Flint Hills are riding 10 to 12 hours a day.”

The Hunn family has been crafting custom leather ranch goods for 26 years.

“My dad started the business in 1982 manufacturing in the garage from behind the house running the route, selling to local feed stores and western stores,” Hunn said.

A saddle can cost anywhere from $100 to more than $10,000. A good custom saddle is like a Cadillac. Right now, the saddle ‘Cadillac’ business is pretty darn good. Matt has back orders that go back more than two years. It’s probably because he personally custom builds every Hunn saddle. He only makes about 40 per year.

Matt started working leather in high school and as honed his craft ever since he bought out his dad two years ago.

They used to see wholesale only, however they have found it advantageous to expand the retail line.

“With wholesale there's no getting around it, you have to produce a huge volume to get the same amount of profit that you are at retail,” Hunn said.

Some of the skilled workers have worked there for nearly 20 years, but that’s not the only reason for their continued success.

“We have an unbelievable, loyal customer base,” said Hunn. “They're the best advertisement that we have. Word of mouth spreads like crazy.”

Unlike Matt, his kids aren’t interested in the business. When he retires, he has other plans.

“Hopefully build it up to a pretty well-established business, and sell it,” he said.

To accomplish that, Matt’s considering a mail order Web site. And if all goes well, he’ll sell the business and ride off into the sunset.