| Photo courtesy Interior Woodworking Specialists. |
| Leading Innovations |
| SpartaCraft, Connelly Springs, NC Expanding from its traditional base of display cases for members and veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces, SpartaCraft has given heavy emphasis on expansion into custom home theater and related cabinetry. Stone Age Millworks, Oak Harbor, WA “We’ve worked very hard on standardization of product components which has improved assembly time and reduced rework,” says President Lee Steigerwale. “Most of this is a result of the front end submittal drawings and software/CNC programing.” Vorst Custom Cabinets, Findlay, OH Improved organizational systems and job materials flow are being implemented, as the firm establishes a new cabinet manufacturing facility location. |
INTERIOR WOODWORKING SPECIALISTS, Redmond, WA — When partner Tracey Hepner of I.W.S. foresaw the downturn, she started immediately to look “outside the box” to reach new and diversified markets. She hoped to sustain I.W.S. through the downturn, then catapult it “to being recognized as an industry leader,” Hepner says.
“To bring new products to market takes time and money, of which I.W.S. had little,” Hepner acknowledges. “And I wanted to vary the product offerings enough to allow for growth in a number of different cabinet arenas.”
I.W.S.’s first product is in the outdoor patio cabinet market. (See it at mypatiocabinets.com.) Other products are close to being marketable both in the healthcare and the modular products industries (shown).
Have something to say? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.