Ordering in

Outsourcing is hiring a third party to perform tasks that were traditionally performed by employees in-house, and businesses have been doing it for centuries. For example, most small businesses hire a tax consultant or an accountant. In woodshops, outsourcing is a particularly apt solution for the production cycle. The most immediate advantage is not having to buy new or specialized machines to expand production, and not having to hire or train employees to operate them.

But it goes far beyond that. If sales are slow, the shop doesn’t need to reduce its staff: it can just place fewer orders with the supplier and keep overhead costs at bay. That’s important in the current labor market because nobody wants to lose a good employee.

Outsourcing can reduce the red tape involved in payroll, and it can be a way to handle costly manufacturing restrictions imposed by local, state or federal government. Then there’s pricing. Large suppliers enjoy large volume discounts and often pass these along (at least in part) to smaller shops. And choice: those same factories can work with a wide range of materials, coatings, profiles, species and other options, so the small shop can offer a much wider selection to its own customers.

There are downsides to outsourcing, too. The shop loses some control over the production process, including a degree of quality control. The supplier may also change some basics, such as using a different type of connector or a less durable laminate or edge banding. The supplied hardware may not be familiar to the woodshop, although most suppliers will oblige a shop that wants to use its own slides, pulls and hinges. There may be communication, scheduling, or delivery challenges. There’s a chance that sharing software or files can open the door to a data breach. And there is always the remote chance that an unscrupulous supplier might do an end run around the woodshop and start supplying a customer directly.

Those risks underscore the need to partner with a trustworthy, reliable, and highly recommended supplier who has earned solid reviews. It’s also critical to involve key players on the shop floor at the earliest stage of the process, and seek their input on what components should be outsourced. Failing to do so can possibly create a culture of alienation in the woodshop, when trusted employees feel their role is being challenged or even eliminated. Someone who has built boxes for a decade might not take kindly to seeing them arrive on the loading dock in a flat pack on a pallet. It’s important for employees to feel ownership, involvement and pride in their work. When new roles are being devised, those values require consideration. The hands-on people need to be involved, and feel involved, in the transition.

Clients are increasingly concerned about the environmental impact of manufacturing, so a woodshop that can provide resource-friendly reassurances can help instill confidence. Outsourcing suppliers who have developed an environmental program, or who make a conscious effort to steer customers to more sustainable choices, can help a shop earn added respect and trust from a client.

Decore-ative Specialties (decore.com) is one such provider. The company offers solid wood choices in drawer sides and other components, with an environmentally friendly option. Its Natural and Standard material grades include some characteristics not seen in clear grades, such as variations in grain and color. “Embracing natural characteristics,” the company says, “allows a tremendous increase in the amount of material that can be used, therefore maximizing our forest resources.”

It’s a good point. Downgrading can save a lot of raw wood, and money. A drawer side or interior is only seen when extended, so it’s a logical place to economize. The difference between FAS (83.3 percent clear cutting required) and No. 1 Common (66.6 percent) is not that dramatic in a secondary application like this, as opposed to a highly visible cabinet door panel. Factories such as Decore-ative can use economies of scale to purchase large volumes of hardwoods in various grades and use it more economically. That’s an option that isn’t always available to smaller woodshops. As part of its environmental focus, the manufacturer also offers composite wood products that contain glue with lower levels of formaldehyde, which is a natural Volatile Organic Compound (VOC). The supplier also reinforces the notion that veneer on MDF can save trees, as this allows a clear log to provide many more select components than can be done with solid boards. And Decore-ative also works with reconstituted veneers that can give common hardwoods the appearance of exotic or endangered species.

While environmental issues are on peoples’ minds, aesthetics are in their hearts. Keeping up with trending styles is another area where outsourcing can help a smaller shop. For example, Dura Supreme Cabinetry (durasupreme.com) in Howard Lake, Minn., says that its product development department carefully considers cutting-edge trends. The team, which includes color forecasters and veteran designers, studies trends throughout the kitchen and bath industry. That’s hard to do in a one- or two-man shop. The result of that research is a constantly evolving catalog from the supplier that lets its woodshop customers offer trendy choices to clients. Among the latest additions are a flat panel overlay or inset door called Covington that has a deep center panel and a sculpted inside profile.

One of the larger outsourcing suppliers, Elias Woodwork (eliaswoodwork.com) also closely tracks what’s trending and in response has released several new RTF door and laminate slab colors this spring. In February, Elias added 11 matte, ultra-matte and high gloss colors to its line of thermally fused laminate (TFL) doors and drawer fronts. TFL is made by fusing a resin-impregnated paper directly to a substrate of quality MDF. Heat and pressure activate the resin in the saturated décor paper, essentially bonding it to the substrate and creating a finished panel that is ready to be machined. The manufacturer’s advanced laser edgebander delivers a virtually invisible transition from the band to the face of the door or drawer front.

A couple years ago Elias introduced a line of five-piece thermofoil doors and drawer fronts that closely simulate wooden mitered doors with grain running along the stiles and rails. In March this year, the color options for this line were expanded, so a woodshop can offer customers several more choices in this low maintenance range.

Wisconsin-based WalzCraft (walzcraft.com) also keeps in step with trending colors and has introduced new RTF, paint and laminate colors. The company added seven finish options to its 3D Laminate door collection, including four gray-tone wood grain options and three popular solid colors. The new shades are available in one-piece 3D Laminate doors and drawer fronts, a wide range of moldings, and various types and sizes of sheet goods. These doors, also known as RTF or thermofoil cabinet doors, consist of a routed one-piece MDF door with a vinyl film that is applied using heat and pressure. The 3D nature of this product comes from the ability of the vinyl film to form itself to the contours of the face and sides of the door or drawer front.

Walzcraft has also added several pastel paint options. The new colors are very appealing and include Lighthouse (which has a hint of blue), a slightly pink sandstone hue called Sand Dollar, and a muted gray named Flagstone.

Beyond aesthetics and environmental concerns, customers also prize functionality. Clever storage solutions are high on everyone’s list, and one area that is often overlooked is the space around the plumbing in a sink base or vanity. In February, Keystone Wood Specialties (keystonewood.com) posted that it can build “an under-sink drawer to the exact dimensions you need. You won’t have to settle for a standard sized U-drawer, and can create a more user-friendly cabinetry configuration for your customer.” And returning to the sustainable theme, Keystone offers these drawers in both a premium clear hardwood, or else in its clever Bee-line option. Both are solid hardwood and constructed with blind dovetail joinery. But the Bee-line product is made from short lengths of saved cut-offs that are formed into end-jointed and edge-glued boards (essentially a version of butcherblock). The result is an attractive, interesting and environmentally conscious drawer box that features dependable quality at an affordable price.

The bulkiest part of a custom kitchen is the box, or chassis. It helps when a shop can find a regional supplier that can shave a little off the cost of shipping and the wait time for order delivery.

Arkansas Wood Doors (arkansaswooddoors.com) has added six new profiles and 43 colors to its Poly Doors collection. The doors are constructed from exact match, polyester wrapped MDF moldings and melamine center panels and they come in Tafisa, Uniboard and American Laminates colors. The company offers matching accessory moldings.

Atlanta Cabinet Shop (ACS, atlantacabinet.com) is a member of the Cabinet Makers Association. In addition to specializing in slab and Shaker style door and drawer fronts, ACS also offers TFL and acrylic panels in solid colors and wood grains that rival the look and feel of wood and wood veneer.

As the name suggests, Cabinets Quick (cabinetsquick.com) prides itself on quick turnaround times. This California-based manufacturer offers a wide range of styles and materials, plus built-in storage solutions, pull-out shelves, or other specialized products.

Cabinotch (cabinotch.us) is an award-winning company that has developed an innovative system for assembling face-framed and full-access cabinet boxes that feature formaldehyde-free, PureBond hardwood plywood. Cabinotch delivers a chassis that includes the face frame, sides, backs, bottoms, tops and shelves. The woodshop then completes the cabinet with its own (or outsourced) doors, drawers, finishes and hardware. Layouts created using KCD Software can be submitted to Cabinotch.

Grand Junction, Colo. is home to CabParts (cabparts.com). In business for more than 35 years, this supplier provides made-to-order (MTO) and ready-to-assemble (RTA) cases, doors, drawer fronts, drawer boxes, hardware and accessories to professional woodshops.

Another long-term supplier, Canary Closets & Cabinetry (canarycc.com) in Union, N.J., manufactures a complete line of home storage cabinetry as either knock-down or assembled units, and features full backs and matching color inside and out. The complementary five-piece doors are constructed from polyester-wrapped moldings in four profiles and over 40 different colors.

Cooper Enterprises (cooperenterprises.com) is a full-service cabinet manufacturer in Ohio that has just introduced a new online closet design configurator. The tool makes it possible for woodshops and even homeowners to design custom closets on a computer or tablet. Cooper also machines solid surfaces and is a preferred fabricator for Fenix fingerprint resistant surfaces.

In addition to custom drawer boxes, organizers, hardware and moldings, Louisiana-based Hardware Resources (hardwareresources.com) offers NorthPoint Cabinetry. The line features a wide array of QuickBuild cabinet designs that are in-stock and ship quickly from strategically located warehouses across the U.S. There are two high-quality cabinet collections, Premier and Essentials.

Beyond residential and commercial cabinetry, Stratton Creek Wood Works (strattoncreek.com) in Kinsman, Ohio, also has significant experience in preserving and restoring historical structures on the National Register, and strict adherence to period-specific architectural guidelines. The owner of this outsourcing supplier, Bill Sandrock, has an impressive millwork resume.

There are many highly reputable cabinet door suppliers in the outsourcing industry, and several of these also supply other components. For example, Minnesota-based Northern Contours (northerncontours.com) is probably best known for doors, but the business also makes moldings, countertops and other parts. Among its almost 60 cabinet door and drawer fronts are 3D laminate, wood veneer, acrylic, and aluminum frame options. There are Shaker, flat, beaded, raised panel, one- and five-part designs in the catalog, in a huge array of colors and coatings.

REHAU (rehau.com) is also more familiar for something other than its doors. The Virginia company is a powerhouse in the edge banding sector, but also manufactures custom cabinet doors with perfectly matched, adhesive-free LaserEdge banding. This has a pre-applied, co-extruded polymer functional layer that replaces the traditional glue used to apply banding. It creates a seamless joint between the band and the board, and it can be used with all zero-joint edgebanding machines including hot-air, laser, plasma and NIR. Available door styles from Rehau include slabs, three-part panel doors (two vertical stiles and one rail), or five-part Shaker doors that are made with five separate panels that each have LaserEdge on all four edges.

TaylorCraft Cabinet Door Co. (taylorcraftdoor.com) in Taylor, Texas, offers a more traditional flavor. In addition to edge-banded contemporary designs, TaylorCraft builds custom wood cabinet doors in cope and stick designs in 18 stocked species, and it can source many others. The catalog includes a wide variety of inside edge, outside edge and panel profiles, and differing lumber grades, too, from Knotty to Select.

Buying in drawer boxes was the original target of most outsourcing, and it was widely done even before buying doors became popular. Woodshop owners realized that dovetailing boxes was eating too many hours, especially in smaller shops where the process was less automated and required a lot of set up with a jig. Today, there are numerous highly reputable box builders including Amish Country Woodworx (acwoodworx.com); in Goshen, Ind.; CCF Industries (ccfdrawers.com) in Apollo, Pa.; Drawer Box Specialties (DBS, dbsdrawers.com) in Orange, Calif.; Drawer Connection (dcdrawers.com) in Mesa, Ariz.; New England Drawer (newenglanddrawer.com) in Exeter, N.H.; Timbercraft Custom Dovetailed Drawers (timbercraftdrawers.com) in New Milford, Conn., and Top Drawer Components (topdrwr.com) in Apache Junction, Ariz. Many of these companies offer clever design options, such as the Drawer-in-a-Drawer from Top Drawer that has customizable partitions in the upper compartment.

Of course, outsourcing isn’t restricted to doors, boxes and drawers.

There are several innovative resources available that can turn an interesting kitchen into an exciting one, using clever accents, lighting, shelving, moldings, hardware, pull-outs, corner mechanisms and more. The following websites are well worth a visit during the planning and design stages of an outsourced project:

CabinetParts.com (cabinetparts.com); Century Components (centurymade.com); Conestoga Wood Specialties (conestogawood.com); Designs of Distinction (brownwoodinc.com); Doug Mockett & Co., (mockett.com); Häfele America (hafele.com); Kings Corner (kingscorneronline.com); NewMouldings.com (newmouldings.com); Osborne Wood Products (osbornewood.com); Outwater Industries (outwater.com), and Rev-A-Shelf (rev-a-shelf.com).  

This article was originally published in the June 2023 issue.