Some of you may have heard that our company, CCI Media, LLC, recently purchased CabinetMakerFDM from Watt Publishing Company in Rockford, Ill. Since the transaction closed on February 1, we have been working diligently to get fully up to speed on the current trends and conditions in the woodworking industry. Throughout this process, I have had several people ask, “Why would you choose to invest in the woodworking industry?” The answer is simple: I love it, and I believe in it.

My roots in woodworking go way back. While in college in Wisconsin, I worked as the night shift supervisor in a highly automated plant producing cutting boards, chopping blocks, and custom products out of hardwoods. We brought in rough lumber at one end of the plant and sent finished wood products out the other end. Between the loading docks we operated a well-engineered plant that included gang rips, straight line saws, finger jointers, sanders, shapers, routers, planers, a glue line and a double-end tenoner.

After graduation, I started a career in business-to-business magazines and was fortunate enough to be assigned to a woodworking title. The first company I was with purchased a brand called Furniture Woodworking Product News. After I became publisher of that title, we purchased a title from Hitchcock Publishing called Woodworking & Furniture Digest. We combined the two titles to form Wood Digest, which became a strong brand in the industry until it was closed by the subsequent owner during the recession in 2009. So, CabinetMakerFDM is actually the third brand I have been involved in acquiring in the woodworking market.

Throughout the 15+ years I was involved in the industry I developed a strong passion for the products, the business and the people. It is an entrepreneurial market filled with people like you, dedicated and innovative businesspeople. It is our mission to assist you in every way we can as you navigate through the recovery, and back to a state of solid economic health. Business will be different in the next few years than it has been in the past, but it will again be a robust market that rewards the diligence and hard work of its entrepreneurs.

Please contact me with any requests or suggestions as to how we might better serve you with information on the latest technologies and trends in our market. Your concerns are our concerns, and we share your passion and your vision for the future. Let’s build a strong one together.