Cabinets & Closets Expo: Catch the Buzz
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Cabinets & Closets Expo: Catch the BuzzA woodworking CEO who moonlights as a bloggist for the New York Times, a tour of a high-tech architectural woodwork plant, a full-day of focused management-level education and a wide variety of product displays are among the highlights of the 2014 Cabinets & Closets Conference & Expo, April 9-11 in Somerset, NJ.

The Cabinets & Closets Conference, Wednesday, April 9 at the Hotel Somerset-Bridgewater, will open with keynoter Paul Downs, CEO of Paul Downs Cabinetmakers and author of a blog about running a small business in a tough economy for NYTimes.com, and conclude with the Industry Gala Awards Reception recognizing the Custom Woodworking Business Design Portfolio winners, Closets Top Shelf awards, BEST Kitchen Design awards, and Wood Products’ WOOD 100 and Market Leaders. Sandwiched between these events will be education sessions.

The Cabinet Conference track will feature an afternoon session on cost estimating by Sean Benetin, owner of Millwork & More and a past president of the Cabinet Makers Association, conference cosponsor.

Cabinets & Closets Expo: Catch the BuzzThe Closets Conference track includes presentations on winning new business using Houzz.com and the new Closets & Storage Professionals Planning & Design Guide just released by the Association of Closet and Storage Professionals (ACSP).

The Cabinets & Closets Expo, which earned rave reviews in its debut in Edison, NJ, is scheduled for Thursday-Friday, April 10-11, at the Garden City Exhibit Center in Somerset. The two-day expo will feature products and demonstrations from leading manufacturers and distributors of cabinet and closet hardware, wood components, computer software, woodworking machinery and other products and services.

April 10, the first day of the Cabinets & Closets Expo will be capped by a tour to Eastern Millwork in Jersey City. EMI takes great pride in its use of integrated software automation, technology and lean manufacturing to manage and enable the creation of high-end custom wood interiors and exteriors for a long list of corporate, university, retail, hospitality and residential customers. The tour is sponsored by Stiles Machinery and the ACSP.

The 2014 “Total Custom Storage Solutions” event draws from the inherent similarities and synergies of the dynamic closet and custom cabinet markets, while also paying homage to the distinctive differences that make each of these lifestyle product categories unique.

Learn more about attending or exhibiting at the conference or show at CabinetsAndClosetsExpo.com.

Conference Sessions

Conferences will be at the Hotel Somerset-Bridgewater, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Wednesday April 9.

• General Session “Keynote: You’re the Boss: Running a Small Wood Products Business in a Tough Economy” – Paul Downs, president of Paul Downs Cabinetmakers, as well as a blogger for the New York Times

• New Research: “The Mind of the Woodworking Industry” – Laurel Didier, Group Publisher, Woodworking Network

• Cabinet Conference: “Filling Your Funnel: Get More New Sales Prospects Now!” – Dave Grulke, CMA Executive Director

• “The Art of Cost Estimating & Pricing Profitably,” (3-Hour session) – Sean Benetin, Owner, Millwork & More

• Closets Conference: “Using the ACSP Planning and Design Guide as a Marketing Tool” – Jeff Klein, President, Closet Specialist, and Dave Skinner, President, We Do Closets

• “2 Second Lean in a Closet Shop” – Derek Holland, President Closet Doctor

• “Houzz.com: It HAS changed Your Business! Do You Know How?” – TBD

• Gala Awards Reception: 5:30-7:30 p.m. Featuring presentations of the annual Top Shelf, Design Portfolio, BEST Kitchen Design awards and recognition of WOOD 100 and Market Leaders

Register for the High-Tech Plant Tour

Attendees will have an opportunity to tour Eastern Millwork Inc. (EMI), one of the northeast’s most high-end, high-tech architectural woodworking plants. The tour, co-sponsored by Stiles Machinery Inc. and the Association of Closet and Storage Professionals, is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Thursday, April 10, immediately following the close of the first day of the two-day expo at the Garden State Exhibit Center.

Based in Jersey City, NJ, EMI incorporates software automation, technology and lean manufacturing to create interior and exterior woodwork for a variety of clients ranging from corporations and educational institutions through retailers and hoteliers. EMI’s constant drive to improve its ability to satisfy customers runs the gamut from information management through production and installation.

Registration for the tour is $40 if made by March 16 and $50 after. It includes round-trip bus transportation from and to the Garden State Convention Center and refreshments. Registration is subject to availability of seats on the bus, on a first-come, first-served basis. Register at CabinetsAndClosetsExpo.com.

Join the Reception

The 2014 gala design awards reception will take place April 9 at the Hotel Somerset-Bridgewater, in Somerset, NJ, during the 2014 Cabinets & Closets Conference & Expo.

Presented will be award-winning design projects from the 2013 Design Portfolio, 2014 Top Shelf Design, 2014 BEST Kitchen Design award winners, as well as Wood Product’s WOOD 100 and the Wood Industry Market Leaders.

Design Portfolio winners were announced in December 2013 Custom Woodworking Business Best of the Best Design Portfolio digital edition. Top Shelf award winners will be announced in 12 categories for the first time during the gala reception.

Top Shelf and Design Portfolio awards are given to honor designers for their creative organization solutions and woodworkers for their outstanding design, craftsmanship and execution.

Register for the reception at CabinetsAndClosetsExpo.com.

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