Cabinet manufacturers were again among the leaders in sales gains among FDM 300 companies in 2014. Many cabinet companies, large and small, recorded solid sales increases in both 2013 and 2014.

Overall, sales for the FDM 300 reached $43.325 billion in 2014, by our estimate. That's an increase of 9.3 percent over the 2013 mark. Sales increased for companies in most market sectors, with cabinet sales showing particularly strong growth.

The FDM 300 is a group of the 300 largest cabinet, furniture, millwork, store fixture, office/contract and component producers in North America. Additional information can be found at www.fdmcdigital.com by clicking on the FDM 300 tab or searching for a specific company.

A year ago, we calculated annual sales for this group of 300 companies to be $39.630 billion for the year 2013, an increase of 5.3 percent over sales reported and estimated for the year 2012.

This is the third straight year of sales growth. Sales increases in the past three years came after five consecutive years of declines from 2007 to 2011.

We were not able to get updated sales and employee numbers from some privately held companies, but were able to update at least part of the information on most of these firms.

According to the Kitchen Cabinet Manufacturers Association’s monthly Trend of Business Survey, participating cabinet manufacturers reported sales totaling $6 billion for 2014, up 9.2 percent compared to total sales for 2013. Stock sales were up 10.5 percent; semi-custom sales rose 7.1 percent; and custom sales increased 14.3 percent. 

For the month of December 2014, sales were up 8.8 percent compared to December 2013. Stock sales were up 1.9 percent; semi-custom sales rose 14.2 percent; custom sales increased 14.3 percent compared to December 2013.

Survey participants included stock, semi-custom and custom companies whose combined sales represent approximately 70 percent of the U.S. kitchen cabinet and bath vanity market. KCMA is the major trade association for manufacturers of kitchen cabinets, bath vanities, and suppliers of goods and services to the industry.

A year ago, participating cabinet manufacturers in KCMA’s monthly Trend of Business Survey reported sales totaling $5.6 billion for the year 2013. That figure is an increase of 20.7 percent compared to total sales for 2012. Stock sales were up 26.2 percent; semi-custom sales gained 16.3 percent; and custom sales increased 16.9 percent.

Here’s a summary of the largest companies in the FDM 300:

MasterBrand Cabinets.  Fortune Brands Home and Security’s kitchen and bath cabinetry segment’s sales figure, was $1.787 billion for cabinets. We had earlier estimated annual sales of $1.775 billion, based on third quarter sales. The company makes Aristokraft, Decora, Diamond, Dynasty, HomeCrest, Kemper, KitchenCraft, Omega, Schrock, and WoodCrafters.

Masco Corp. Sales for the Cabinets and Related Products segment for 2014 were $999 million. Our earlier estimate of $1.02 billion was based on the third quarter sales for the segment. Domestic companies include KraftMaid Cabinetry, Merillat Industries, Masco Retail Cabinet and Quality Cabinets.

American Woodmark Corp. The sales figure was from the company’s 2014 fiscal year. Sales increased from $630.4 to $726.5 million. Company operates nine manufacturing plants.

Norcraft Companies. Annual sales were estimated to be $375 million, based on third quarter information. The maker of Fieldstone, Norcraft and Starmark announced an expansion in its Winnipeg, Manitoba, plant.

RSI Home Products. Based in Anaheim, operates nine plants and makes stock and semi-custom cabinets. We did not get an update from the company and estimated annual sales to be $300 million in 2014.
Elkay. The company does not provide information. Their Yorktowne and American Cabinetry brands introduced new door styles and finishes. The company sells to Lowes, Menards, Home Depot and Sears.

ACProducts Inc. We estimated annual sales of $180 million in 2014. The Texas-based company operates a cabinet factory in Thompsontown, Pennsylvaniaa. ACProducts, Inc. bought Armstrong’s cabinet division in 2012.

U.S. Remodelers. The former U.S. Home Systems, Inc., was purchased by Home Depot in October 2012 and continues to be listed here. The company, now known as U.S. Remodelers, makes kitchen cabinets and countertops exclusively for the retailer. It is still based in Lewisville, Texas, and operates a large cabinet plant in Charles City, Va. We don’t have an updated sales figure from parent company Home Depot.  Our estimate for 2014 was $175 million.
Wood-Mode. Annual sales were reported to us to be $130 million in 2014. The Kreamer, Pennsylvania, company makes custom and semicustom cabinets.

Leedo. Leedo reported annual sales of $97 million to us for 2014. The main plant is in East Bernard, Texas. A former Cardell plant in El Campo was added in 2012.

Wellborn Cabinet Inc. Annual sales reported to us were $123 million for 2014, well above the 2013 figure. We were not able to get this number until we had published the February issue, where we had a lower number.

Also, Master WoodCraft Cabinetry LLC, a Marshall, Texas, company that is only a few years old, reported annual sales of $80 million in 2014.

And Huntwood Industries in Spokane, Washington, reported sales of $75 million for 2014.

Interestingly, only one company in the top ten overall FDM 300 list was a cabinet producer. Also, among companies removed from the list, nearly all were furniture producers. Nearly all those added were cabinet companies.