Everything's Bigger in Texas

The CMA’s March 15-16 regional event in Dallas, Texas was BIG, of course. 
 
The first day of the event the group toured local woodworking shops, which were BIG compared to what CMA members are used to.  But the size of the shop doesn’t affect how much you can learn from it; big or small, you can always learn something.
 
The first visit was to Long Star Cabinet & Millwork in Greenville, Texas. The business was started in 1992 in his garage, and now employs 32 workers to produce 80 cabinets a day. Lone Star recently bought a CNC machine to increase their production capacity, and also gained quality as an added benefit.
 
The second visit was to Advanced Fixtures (AFI) in Farmersville, Texas. Although AFI was significantly larger and more automated, the company also started in a garage. One takeaway from this tour was that each work stations was stocked with only the materials, hardware, and tools needed for that that day’s production requirements.
 
The last visit of the day was to H. H. Ruseau in Dallas, Texas. H. H. Ruseau produces the Holly Hunt line of high-end furniture and has design showrooms in major cities across the country, as well as London. Their production process was primarily hand-crafted and they realize the need for lean and automation.
 
The second day of the event was spent in Stiles Machinery’s regional showroom, participating in educational seminars as well as seeing their BIG machinery in action. The seminars covered topics such as cabinet door manufacturing and justification, the dos and don’ts of edgebanding from a maintenance standpoint, an introduction to zeo edgebanding, an overview of Industry 4.0, and proper ways to prepare product prior to finishing.
 
The majority of the attendees were from Texas, with the exception of one who made the trip all the way from Ontario, Canada. These frequently-held regional events continue to draw visitors from across the country and continent, regardless of the physical location.
 
The next event is planned for May 18-19 in Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN and LaCrosse, WI.  Then we head to Boston in mid-June. For more details and registration information, please visit: www.cabinetmakers.org/events.html