- St. Martin Cabinetry America says it will open an assembly plant in Cressona, PA. A unit of St. Martin Cabinetry, Shanghai, China, the new U.S.-incorporated operation will allow the company to expand into sales of higher-end semi-custom cabinetry.

"After seven or eight years of exporting OEM products, we wanted to do something a little bit more of our own design," says Eric Carlson, VP operations for St. Martin Cabinetry America. "My boss is interested in doing something a little bit more designerly."

Carlson says St. Martin Cabinetry America, which has acquired a vacant plant in Cressona, PA, has prepared products for distribution in Eastern regional markets, emphasizing cabinets with 7/8-inch hardwood maple doors from lumber milled in the U.S. as well as in Asia. "We have about 12 lines line up," Carlson says. "We will bring in flat products and assemble it."

St. Martin Cabinetry, which exhibited at the K/BIS kitchen and bath show last spring, will have about 10 people in its Cressona plant, with start-up expected in April. "We are very excited to be operating in the States under our own brand," says Carlson, who has been based in Shanghai. "In a couple months will have the warehouse set up. We are looking for great people to work with us."