Registration is open for the 2013 Cabinets & Closets Conference & Expo, Feb. 27-March 1 at the New Jersey Convention Center in Edison, NJ.

The Total Storage Solutions event kicks off Wednesday, Feb. 27 with the Cabinets & Closets Conference at the Sheraton Edison Hotel Raritan Center. The day-long event opens with a general session featuring keynoter Robert Reiss, host of the nationally syndicated “CEO Show.” After it breaks into separate tracks: one tailored for closets firms, the other for custom cabinet professionals. The conference will be capped off by a cabinet/closet industry awards reception featuring presentation of the 2013 Top Shelf, Design Portfolio and ACSP Pioneer awards.

Feb. 28 the Cabinets & Closets Expo opens at the New Jersey Convention & Exposition Center, also in Edison. Highlighting product displays from leading suppliers to the cabinet and closet markets, free how-to demonstrations will be featured throughout the two-day expo.

Cabinet & Closet Factory Tours
The event concludes Friday, March 1 with a pair of optional roundtrip bus tours. The first, all-day event, visits the New York City showrooms of Transform and Hafele, plus a stop at the 911 Memorial; then heads to Union, NJ to visit production operations of Canary Closets and Cabinetry. An alternate four-hour afternoon tour also visits Canary Closets and Cabinetry, plus a high-tech custom cabinet operation.

For those arriving in Edison Tuesday afternoon, the Association of Closet and Storage Professionals added an Executive Forum & Mixer, featuring a pair of case studies on hiring and firing and on preparing your business for sale. It starts 4 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 26 at the Sheraton Hotel.

Discount Conference Registration
Attendees can save more than 20% on Wednesday’s Cabinets & Closets Conference fees by registering by January 26, 2013. An additional discount is available for those who register for the Tuesday and Wednesday Closets programs.

Free expo-only registration is also available through January 26. Online expo-only registration is $10 beginning January 27 and will be $25 at the door.

Hotel Reservation Deadline
January 26 is also the deadline for room reservations at the Sheraton Edison Hotel, 1.5 miles from the New Jersey Convention Center. Show organizers have negotiated a rate of $129 (plus tax) if booked by then. Reserve online or call 732-225-8300. cabinetsandclosetsexpo.com

2013 CABINETS & CLOSETS CONFERENCE & EXPO SCHEDULE

TUESDAY, FEB. 26 – SHERATON EDISON HOTEL

EARLY-BIRD CLOSETS EXECUTIVE

FORUM & MIXER

4:00 P.M. Case Study #1: How to Fire and Not End Up In Court

5:30 P.M. Reception Break

6:30 P.M. Case Study #2: Preparing Your Business For Sale

WEDNESDAY, FEB. 27 – SHERATON EDISON HOTEL

CABINETS & CLOSETS CONFERENCE GENERAL SESSION
8:00 A.M. Welcome

8:20 A.M. Keynote Presentation: Lessons Learned From Leading Entrepreneurs, presented by Robert Reiss, The CEO Show with Robert Reiss

9:40 A.M. State of the Custom Cabinet & Closets Industry, presented by Laurel Didier, Group Publisher, Woodworking Network

CABINETS CONFERENCE TRACK
10:30 A.M. Tips for Selling & Marketing Custom Cabinets

NOON Peer2Peer Networking Lunch

1:15 P.M. Moving from Residential to Commercial Woodworking Projects

2:00 P.M. Automating a Custom Wood Production Shop

3:00 P.M. Costing & Estimating Custom Projects

4:30 P.M. Open Forum: What’s Your Problem?

CLOSETS CONFERENCE TRACK
10:30 A.M. Enhancing Your Digital Marketing Capability

NOON Peer2Peer Networking Lunch

1:15 P.M. Our Product is Closets, Our Power Is People

3:20 P.M. Sales and Marketing or Is it Marketing and Sales?

ALL-INDUSTRY NETWORKING RECEPTION
6:00 P.M. – 8:00 P.M.
Includes presentation of the winners of the 20th Annual Custom Woodworking Business Design Portfolio Awards, 7th Annual Closets Top Shelf Awards and 2013 ACSP Pioneer Award.

THURSDAY, FEB. 28

NEW JERSEY CONVENTION CENTER

10:00 A.M. - 5:00 P.M.
Cabinets & Closets Expo

FRIDAY, MARCH 1

NEW JERSEY CONVENTION CENTER

8:00 A.M. - 6:00 P.M. Showroom Tour

10:00 A.M. - 3:00 P.M. Cabinets & Closets Expo

1:30 P.M. - 5:30 P.M. Manufacturing Plant Tour