Cabinet and custom woodworking shop owners and managers from across North America and beyond are cordially invited to participate in the CMA’s 2014 Benchmark Study. All sizes of woodworking companies - from one person operations to shops with hundreds of employees - are encouraged to take this year’s survey.

This highly respected study takes a cross section of custom woodworking businesses and compiles an exhaustive report on the state of the industry. Included in this year’s study are brand preferences for hardware, software, shop automation and CNC machinery use, wages paid to a variety of employees based on experience, owner’s earnings, industry event and educational topic preferences and much more.

We’ve laid out aggressive plans to put this survey in as many shop owner’s hands as possible.

With over 500 qualified participants in last year’s study, we’d like to see that number increase significantly. And to sweeten the pot, we’ve added a prize drawing for qualified participants. Among the prizes are a new stationary woodworking machine, portable power tools and gift cards.

We encourage everyone in the woodworking industry to help us distribute the survey to shop owners they know. Please send everyone you know the survey link so they can participate. The better the participation, the more accurate the data in the 2014 Benchmark Study report will be.

This survey will be collecting responses through mid-January, or whenever a minimum level of qualified participants has responded. Once the survey has closed, an analysis of the data obtained will result in an exhaustive annual survey report, with a tentative issue date in early February. Survey respondents will be the first to receive copies of the 2014 CMA Benchmark Study Report.

The Cabinet Makers Association - General membership in the CMA is open to any cabinet or woodworking business or professional. Associate membership is limited to firms that supply materials, tools, machinery, services or supplies to general members. CMA’s educational speaker’s bureau provides expert, entertaining speakers on a wide variety of topics facing the cabinet and woodworking industries, and delivers more educational seminars to more woodworking professionals across the U.S. than any other organization.

The CMA is a non-profit association and was incorporated in 1998. The CMA’s mission is “to uphold the highest level of professionalism in the industry by providing its members with networking opportunities, continuing education and ongoing professional development.”

For more information about the Cabinet Makers Association, visit www.cabinetmakers.org