Business

Cabinet Makers Anticipate Growth in 2012

By Mike Botta

December 22, 2011 – The nation’s cabinet makers and custom woodworkers are bullish on growth prospects for 2012, according to initial results of a survey conducted by the Milwaukee-based Cabinet Makers Association (CMA).

Some 76 percent of respondents said they are more optimistic about business prospects in the coming year while only 13 percent expect to see declines. In 2011, roughly 67 percent of custom woodworkers reported growth in business with more than half reporting growth of more than 15 percent.

The 40-question survey, which closed to participation earlier this month, is intended to present a cross-section of information on woodworking operations that can be used by individual shops as a benchmark to help compare and manage their businesses, according to CMA.

Cross-Tabulation of Data

The survey addressed a variety of business topics, including employee wages, facility size, CNC equipment availability, business development plans and marketing practices. The CMA is cross-tabulating responses by shop size, location and other factors.

“While it’s fairly easy to get bits and pieces of the kind of information we are gathering in this survey, to have it in a useable form where a shop owner can actually compare his/her data to others in similar markets means more than just the numbers,” Dave Grulke, CMA executive director, said. “That means a shop owner can not only learn where they stack up, but where they can better invest their time, money and effort to significantly strengthen their business profitability.”

Preliminary Results

Among the initial survey data released by CMA:

--- 54 percent of respondents have showrooms; of those, 24 percent have located their showrooms away from their shops.

--- 89% have no dedicated full- or part-time sales resources.

--- 28% have marketing budgets set aside. Those with dedicated budgets appear to be more optimistic about growth prospects for 2012.

--- Facilities in the 5,000-10,000 square-foot range reported higher sales volumes in 2011 than smaller shops.

--- CNC shops reported higher shop rates than non-CNC shops: 70 percent of CNC shops charge from $50-$75 per hour, compared with 50 percent of non-CNC shops; 23 percent of CNC shops charge $75-$100 per hour compared with 17.9 percent of non-CNC shops; No participating CNC shops charge less than $50 per hour, while 18 percent of non-CNC shops reported charging below $50.

More Information

The final report, available this month, will be shared with all custom woodworkers who participated in the survey, according to the association. More information is available from CMA at 414-377-1340. www.cabinetmakers.org