Page 10 - CMA PROfiles Spring 2016

Member Shop Profle … continued from page 9

It was no joke however, that when David took over his ailing
father’s position as head of the company in 2007, they were under
pressure. “At the time we had a staff of 15 people and an 8,000
square-foot facility. We had no automation to speak of, and we were
struggling mightily to keep up with our production needs,” David
recalled. “We were mostly a regional operation, with the majority of
our clients in New Jersey and Delaware.”
David says he and his team recognized the need to update their
production. “In 2008 we took our first step to automation with a used
Holzma panel saw,” he said. “Our world was changed forever. We
are now on our second panel saw and just had our third CNC router in the size of their facility. And if the past eight years show an im-
installed.” With the introduction of modern equipment, which David presses growth record, that’s nothing compared to Dunigan’s goals
says is almost exclusively from Stiles Machinery, Modern Store for the next decade: annual sales of 8 figures, if you can believe it.
Equipment swept into the 21 century. “We now market and install Perhaps the one thing that hasn’t changed about the business is
st
our cabinets nationwide,” he said, “and our local Stiles distributor, the way customers are acquired. Although Dunigan employs direct
Ryan Coe of PanelWood Machinery has been an invaluable partner in mail and, of course, has an online presence, nothing can replace the
setting up an efficient manufacturing operation.” value of a satisfied customer and a good referral. “Repeat customers
A nationwide market is not the only result of Dunigan’s work to and referrals are by far the largest share of our customer base,” David
transform his company into a modern woodworking shop. From 2008 said. For all its modernization, Modern Store Equipment succeeds
to 2016, the number of staff has increased three-fold, and production because of something old-fashioned: a quality product, delivered
has increased by a factor of 20, not to mention the three-fold increase with integrity.

10 PROFILES • Volume 16 • Issue 2, 2016 • www.cabinetmakers.org