The storms and flooding in the gulf coast area have affected the personal and business lives of many, including some CMA members.  Wondering how you can help? Consider offering to assist cabinetmakers in the area with their production capabilities and perhaps even sourcing materials and equipment to get them back in business as quickly as possible. If you want to volunteer, please email director@cabinetmakers.org and we’ll do our best to connect you with the shops that need the help.

​JKL Machinery, an equipment and systems solutions provider based in Brighton, Michigan, is now a distributor of the Alphacam solution, by Vero Software.
 
“Joining forces with JKL Machinery ensures that our shared customers will receive excellent guidance on maximizing the power of their machinery and software,” said Perry Boyett, Alphacam Sales & Services Director-North America. “The range of knowledge offered by the JKL team will provide even more opportunities for Alphacam users to succeed.”
 
Alphacam 2017 R2 includes enhancements to the Automation Manager that simplify workflow, including Multi-drill control, new Styles functionality, and further support for additional CAD file formats.
The introduction of Automation Manager Plus across all levels of Alphacam allows advanced automation to support the processing of Constrained Drawings and Parametric Sketches, and Part Grain Direction through sheet Grain Direction and Alignment Vector options. It also includes the Cabinet Door Manufacture (CDM) module.
 
About JKL Machinery
JKL Machinery utilizes today's most advanced, solutions-based technologies to service the Woodworking, Plastics, Non-Ferrous Metal, and Composites industries. The company takes the time to thoroughly understand customer needs and goals. This enables it to determine the right combination of equipment and software to both solve problems and meet the manufacturing process requirements of customers.
 
Over 32 years of involvement in plant modernizations; plant layout, LEAN concept consulting, ergonomic and environmental solutions have allowed JKL Machinery to develop the expertise to understand and integrate rapidly-changing technologies and manufacturing methods. And, when change inevitably occurs, it also offers complete plant liquidation. JKL Machinery is linked to a national database for marketing used equipment. It has worked carefully to assemble a team of industry-leading suppliers and manufacturers to provide the most advanced and proven machinery technologies available. JKL Machinery appreciates the opportunity to earn business and look forward helping customers grow.
 
About Vero Software
Headquartered in England, Vero Software designs, develops, and supplies CAD/CAM/CAE software radically enhancing the efficiency of design and manufacturing processes, providing its customers with exceptional value through high productivity gains and significantly reducing time to market.
 
The company’s world-renowned brands include Alphacam, Cabinet Vision, Edgecam, Machining STRATEGIST, PEPS, Radan, SMIRT, Surfcam, WorkNC and VISI, along with the production control MRP system Javelin. Despite the diversity of application, these solutions have one thing in common: they all address the rising challenges of achieving manufacturing efficiencies and bring huge value to the operations in which they are deployed.
 
Vero has direct offices in the UK, Germany, Italy, France, Japan, USA, Brazil, Netherlands, China, South Korea, Spain and India supplying products to more than 45 countries through its wholly owned subsidiaries and reseller network.
 
Vero is part of Hexagon (Nordic exchange: HEXA B), a leading global provider of information technologies that drive quality and productivity across geospatial and industrial enterprise applications.
 
For more information, please visit www.verosoftware.com.

Custom cabinet and closet design software often has designers scrambling to figure out instructions for CNC machines, forcing them to think ahead to manufacturing while they are trying to focus on design. KCD enables designers to design without worrying about instructions for the CNC machine or its operator, with:

• Embedded intelligence that automatically assembles the cut list for the CNC machine
• Automatic confirmation that instructions and measurements are consistent, accurate and realistic.

The automatic assembly of a cut list right from the designer’s design eliminates several major hassles for custom cabinet and closet makers. As KCD Software owner and developer John Murphy explains, “Let’s say you want to design a line of cabinets with one finished side. With KCD Software, you don’t have to interrupt the design phase to set up elaborate CNC instructions. The software automatically understands the design and creates a cut list with one finished side.”

In many custom cabinet and closet shops, several people may handle different stages of a single project or one person may be expected to expertly handle every stage. KCD Software makes sure that communications are clear from designer to CNC operator and makes up for a lack of experience in CNC manufacturing by automatically checking both the original measurements and the CNC instructions. KCD Software confirms that both measurements and instructions are consistent, accurate and realistic, helping to ensure that orders are executed correctly from design through manufacturing.

​KCD Software is an award-winning manufacturer of custom software designed to facilitate woodworkers, designers, builders, and renovators of cabinetry and closets. For more information, visit our website at www.KCDSoftware.com. 

GoKeyless, a leader in the field of keyless locks, is proud to announce their membership in the Cabinet Makers Association. With dedicated specialists that work exclusively with cabinet manufacturers, GoKeyless brings 14 Years of keyless lock experience to CMA Members and offers a one stop shop for all of their cabinet maker clients.  
 
"We have over 400 clients in the cabinet making industry, their time is important and not to be wasted," said GoKeyless' Director of Cabinet Channel Sales, Mike Walker. "We are here to provide them with the knowledge, service, and buying power that has been lacking with lock suppliers in this industry. We stock products from the major manufactures like Digilock, Master Lock, Compx, Kaba, Codelocks, Kitlocks, Lockey and FJM to name a few.  Even if you do not see it on our website, it does not mean that we will not be able to get it for you."  
 
About GoKeyless
 
GoKeyless has been at the forefront of the keyless lock industry for 14 years, carries an A+ rating with the BBB, and works with many fortune 500 companies, and all branches of the U.S. Military, and Government. 
Visit us at www.gokeyless.com 
 

Stiles Machinery Inc. provided dynamic solutions to over 2,000 industry professionals at AWFS 2017 in Las Vegas. Stiles’ booth was hallmarked by state-of-the-art manufacturing machinery, many new smart technologies, and the trusted customer support of over 150 expert staff who assisted attendees in discovering unique solutions to many industry challenges.
​
The highlight of the show was undoubtedly the announcement of the next generation of industry 4.0 innovation, tapio. Stiles was pleased to be the first to introduce tapio to the North American market, where it is poised to revolutionize the woodworking industry by providing streamlined access to valuable data from each stage of the manufacturing process. Designed to dramatically increase the efficiency of production management including production optimization, plant and machinery operation, predictive maintenance and more; tapio users can not only receive real-time data from any machine, at any time, but also of their entire production process - all from the palm of their hand.

Along with tapio, attendees experienced a wide range of solutions in solid wood and panel processing designed to help operators get more from their machinery, including the SALVADOR SuperPush 200 Optimizing Cross Cut Saw and the first intelligent operator assistance system in panel sizing history, the intelliGuide. The intelliGuide system supports the operator visually by guiding them with an LED light strip and new laser technology projected directly onto the workpieces during operation, dramatically increasing efficiency and reducing operator error.

If you were unable to attend this year’s AWFS fair in Las Vegas, you can still experience your solution online at StilesAWFS.com or by attending Stiles’ upcoming Benchmarking Technology Tour, where attendees will explore the most innovative, efficient, and productive manufacturing facilities across Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands. For more information about this and other upcoming events, visit Stilesmachinery.com/events.

About Stiles Machinery Inc.
For more than 50 years, Stiles has been helping manufacturers succeed. As the largest supplier of quality machinery,
Stiles provides a Total Production Solutions approach by also offering equipment integration, financial services,
education, service and parts. By having a wealth of solutions whether defined as people, products or services, Stiles
merges the best thinking and the best ideas into a solution that works best for their customers. Headquartered in Grand Rapids, Mich., Stiles has regional offices in High Point, North Carolina; Bristol, PA; Coppell, Texas; and Rancho
Cucamonga, California. Stiles is a proud member of the HOMAG Group, a global leader in the production of industrial
machines for manufacturing. Visit Stiles at www.stilesmachinery.com.

Question: We hired a new employee about a week ago and now she is telling us that she is 4 months pregnant. She did not disclose this during the hiring process. The manager wants to terminate her employment. What are the possible ramifications if we terminate her? It looks as if she was seeking employment for health insurance benefits only.
 
Response: It is unlawful to discriminate against employees on the basis of their membership in a protected class, and this includes gender and pregnancy.  In fact it is an express violation of federal law (and your state’s law is similar) to take adverse employment action, which would include the termination of employment, because of a woman's pregnancy or even her failure to disclose that she is pregnant -- no law requires a woman to do so. Accordingly, we strongly advise against terminating the employment of the new employee based on the fact that she is pregnant or because she did not advise prior to her hire that she was pregnant.
 
Specifically, the federal Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 makes clear that discrimination based on pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions is a form of sex discrimination that is expressly prohibited by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.  State law in your state is consistent on this issue. Therefore, we reiterate our strong advice against any proposal to end the employment of this employee based on her disclosure of being pregnant, or her failure to previously disclose that she was pregnant, or because the employer suspects that she sought "employment for health insurance benefits only." A decision to end employment based on any one or more of these reasons is unlawful, and exposes the employer to potential (if not likely) claims of pregnancy and gender discrimination that may be difficult to defend, if defensible at all.
 
The best practice and our recommendation is to ignore the fact of the employee's pregnancy and treat her exactly as you would any other employee from a performance and policy standpoint. She should not be treated any differently, and certainly no worse, on account of the fact that she is pregnant, nor should she be subjected to adverse action because she did not previously disclose she is pregnant (as noted, this was not required of her, nor should the employer have asked) or because the employer speculates she may have sought employment to secure health insurance benefits. Even if the latter assumption is true (and the employer should avoid making any inquiries to verify), it would not be a lawful basis on which to discriminate against her, including ending her employment.

Of course, her pregnancy does not entitle an employee to better or more preferential treatment in the workplace, either. If the subject employee does not meet performance expectations or violates company policy, she can and should be treated no differently than any other non-pregnant employee who is similarly situated would be treated. The employer must take care to ensure that any adverse action taken in this situation, however, is not different or more severe than that which would be issued had she never disclosed that she was pregnant (and particularly given that the manager may be predisposed to do so as it appears he or she is displeased with this employee's failure to disclose her pregnancy during the hiring process -- as noted, there was no obligation on her part to do so).
 
For more information on pregnancy discrimination, please see https://www.eeoc.gov/laws/types/pregnancy.cfm and https://www.eeoc.gov/laws/guidance/pregnancy_guidance.cfm. We also recommend that you have the manager review these resources as it appears he or she may be unfamiliar with the federal law as it relates to pregnancy discrimination in the workplace. It may further be beneficial to provide him or her and other managerial and supervisory personnel with training as to basic employment law obligations in the workplace to ensure the workplace is free from unlawful harassment and discrimination, and that managers and supervisors are aware of their obligations under federal and state discrimination laws relative to employment.
 
 
© 2014 Advisors Law Group, All Rights Reserved
To learn more about the Federated Employment Practices Network®, contact your local Federated Marketing Representative, or visit www.federatedinsurance.com.

Federal Brace’s Franklin Hidden Support is named a Top 100 Product of 2017 by Professional Remodeler, an industry resource for those within the remodeling and design industries. Pro Remodeler curates their list of the Top 100 products from reader engagement and viewership over the course of the year. Building materials, hardware, tools, fixtures, fittings, and more are all included in their listings and are divided into 11 different categories including Kitchens, Baths, Decks & Porches, Siding & Trim, amongst others. Federal Brace’s Franklin Hidden Countertop Bracket is prominently featured in the Interiors category, alongside other industry innovators such as Benjamin Moore, Datile, CertainTeed, and Top Knobs.
 
The Franklin Hidden Countertop Bracket is designed to be mounted on the side of a stud and be flush with the top plate of a half or pony wall, providing ample support for any breakfast bar, reception counter, or entertaining space while remaining virtually hidden to even the most discerning eye. Best of all, no routing is required. The Franklin is built to be a workhorse - to provide the utmost in support, strength, and security, while allowing cabinetry and countertops to be the designs focal point.

For more information on Franklin Hidden Countertop Bracket and other award-winning products from Federal Brace, visit them at www.federalbrace.com. Their support staff can also be reached during business hours EST at (877) 353-8899 or at any time by emailing customerservice@federalbrace.com