The Pierick family has been making cabinets in Dane County, Wisconsin, for decades, and they learned a thing or two over the years as they served the community in which they live. 

Ed Pierick Jr., owner of Quality Custom Cabinets in Belleville, Wisconsin, has been in the family business since he was a kid. His Dad, Ed Sr., started the business as Ed’s and through the years the name has changed several times. 

The company became Quality Custom Cabinets in 2005, and currently operates in about 5,500 square feet.  With the growth of residential buildings in his area, which includes the college town of Madison, he has found that he is running out of space, which is one reason he is contemplating expansion. 

So, when he wanted to improve production capabilities, saving space was one of the key research criteria he used in his search for a new machine to enhance his business’s capabilities. 

In addition to space, he also needed to improve speed and efficiency, and wanted to make work safer and easier to use for his small group of talented and experienced craftsmen.   

When you are a part of a community, every purchasing decision you make is made not just in terms of dollars and cents, but also through the lens of quality, reputation, worker safety and economics. 

Upgrading its workhorse
The workhorse at the shop was an old sliding table saw. It worked just fine, still used on occasion, in fact, but over a long, productive day could make for back-breaking work, especially as the workers got older. Having to lift the sheets of plywood and other material put strain on the workers’ bodies.

Pierick is a thoughtful businessman, and he takes his time to make the decision. When he says that he did a ton of research, you believe him. What his hours, then days, weeks and months of research led him to conclude was that he needed to upgrade his table saw, and a vertical panel saw might be the answer. It checked all the boxes.

In the end, he chose a Striebig vertical panel saw from Colonial Saw. The saw has a 5-foot x 10-foot cut capacity. Pierick said he can cut two sheets at a time, or about a 2-inch depth cut. The unit features a 5-1/4hp, 3-phase motor with brake, one-piece, and a full-length center shelf with movable fingers.

The literal vertical orientation of the saw took little space, and it could do the myriad jobs that his small custom shop needed it to do. Being able to slide the panels onto the saw from the side makes it easy to load and move the panels, especially as compared to the table saw, and gravity helps do the cutting. It was easy to use, quick to learn. 

“I was looking for better quality speed-wise, faster, and a machine that would save shoulders from not having to push stuff through the table saw,” he said. Pierick added that of all the machines that he explored, which included CNC machines and other sliding table saws, they would have taken up way too much room. “I still feel like even though this doesn’t take up a lot of space, it still does the work of what you know any other machine that we could have bought.”

In a quick demonstration, after setup, it took Pierick approximately 10 seconds to make three cuts. 
“I made three cuts basically using one hand, versus on the table saw I would have been pushing it through, making sure that I was tight tight to the fence, hoping that it doesn’t kick back at you,” he said. “We’re all used to using it, but this machine is so much easier.” 

In the few months that he has integrated the Striebig, Pierick said the biggest impact on the business is the quality of the cuts. 

“We noticed right off the bat that we were cutting pieces square to the right dimensions and then building the cabinets after we cut, with this has been great,” he said.

The machine has proved to be versatile. They’ve been able to use it for projects that go beyond just cutting cabinet parts. Other recent jobs included solid wood butcher block tops, and some large walnut tops. 

“It is great for cutting perfect sizes Square butcher block tops,” he said, “and then also we’ve actually straight line ripped a couple of boards, too, just to get a perfect edge for our really long pieces that go with the countertop.”

Ease of use
Vertical panel saws allow gravity to be your friend as you pull the saw to the bottom of a panel during cutting. The saw head allows Pierick to lock the saw in place at 90-degree increments for performing rip or crosscuts. The saw blade moves through the stationary panel, allowing for greater control and reducing the risk of kickback.

With vertical saws, the panel is typically held upright, minimizing the need to lift heavy materials onto the saw table. The vertical orientation of the panel and blade reduces the amount of blade exposed, minimizing accidental contact. The middle supports operate essentially like a middle fence that makes it easier to do cross cuts without having to bend down. Operators are less likely to strain their backs while feeding or cutting material.

Pierick said that he plans to continue improving and growing.

“Just like when we bought the Striebig, I just want to get better with every job,” he said. “I don’t want to stay the same. Every tool we buy or expansion we make must make us more efficient, productive, and make it easier for my guys. The cabinets must be as good or better than when they go out the door. ”