East Earl, Pa.  – Conestoga Wood Specialties recently completed a 47,000-square-foot addition to its East Earl, Pennsylvania, facility to consolidate and expand its finishing operation and streamline capabilities. The cabinet components manufacturer cited consistent market growth and a rising demand for painted kitchens among the reasons for the expansion.

“Demand for paint continues to rise market wide," said Conestoga CEO Anthony Hahn. "We’ve been doing the math all along, knowing we had to grow our capacity to stay ahead of the curve. We have the best track record for quality and on-time delivery in the industry, and we intend to keep it that way.

According to the company, for the past five years its painted finish volume has averaged more than 20 percent year over year growth – more than doubling its daily piece volume. Research by a cross-functional team at Conestoga led to the decision to purchase a Venjakob finishing system from Stiles Machinery, which would handle  priming, painting, and topcoating capabilities.

Read more Conestoga Wood Specialties' components to success New cabinetry components along with edgebanding and finishing technology help Conestoga Wood Specialties keep an edge over the competition.

The expansion took six months to complete. The completed finishing facility includes:
• a Venjakob automatic flatline finishing system which applies and dries coatings on the various wood components;
• a freestanding spray booth with a downdraft feature, for use when manual application is necessary;
• a freestanding infrared oven with state-of-the-art with programmable heating for products coated in the off-line spray booth;
• and sanding rooms with downdraft tables that include self-contained filtration systems to remove particulate dust from the hand sanding area, and returning clean air to the room.

Following completion of the expansion, Conestoga said it has experienced a 200 percent increase in finishing efficiency.

“The improved repeatability, shorter cycle times, and significantly larger workspace have provided us with the long-term growth solution we were shooting for," said Jason Earhart, Conestoga finishing technical manager.

Hahn added, “This expansion has significantly increased our finishing capabilities, enabling Conestoga to meet our customers’ demands for the highest quality finishes and on-time delivery they’ve come to expect for many years to come.”