PLANO, TEXAS –  Banking on increased production and better kitchen cabinet specifications, cabinetry manufacturer  acpi, formerly known as ACProducts Inc., announced the creation of Echelon Cabinetry and Advanta Cabinets.

acpi acquired the Armstrong Cabinets operation from Armstrong Industries in 2012. Armstrong continues to make wood flooring, ceiling panels and other construction and architectural materials.

With $7 million invested in operational enhancements and process improvements, the two new cabinetry lines will have an increased production capacity of 35 percent, acpi officials said.

“For more than 18 months we’ve quietly, very aggressively reinvented the company from top to bottom to prepare us for more business,” says Nick Billig, CEO of acpi.

The new lines will allow acpi to meet an increasing demand in a market it says is currently challenged by supply and service issues.

“For some reason, shipping on-time and delivering defect-free multifamily product is a continuing challenge for kitchen cabinet makers,” says Billig.

Echelon is aimed at home builders, dealers and remodelers, while Advanta Cabinets will be aimed at multifamily clients and architects.

“We’re heavily invested into making Echelon and Advanta the trusted sources for kitchen cabinets, delivered on-time and 100 percent complete,” says Billig.

At the time of the purchase, Armstrong's cabinets business had sales of $136 million in 2011 and has approximately 750 employees.

Under the new plan acpi created the Echelon Cabinetry Visualizer, which will enable home buyers and remodelers to see cabinetry options, including style, wood, color and even accessories through a digital rendition of a kitchen setting chosen to match their layout.

The company says it also did extensive market research, which showed 61 percent of buyers who purchased new cabinetry would have made a different choice with a better visualization tool.

Advanta Cabinets for multifamily construction and remodeling projects is focused on creating improvements in the production process. Officials said the new process will bring certainty to kitchen cabinet ordering.