Page 12 - CMA PROfiles Summer 2018

CMA REGIONAL EVENT REPORT

Trade school

education

pays off

Danzo Group
in Pasadena

On March 26, the CMA held a regional event the day before
the Cabinets & Closets Conference & Expo in Pasadena,
California.
Event sponsors make it affordable for owners of small
shops to participate in our regional events, and we really
appreciate their generosity. The Pasadena breakfast
was sponsored by Drawer Box Specialties, the lunch
was provided by Osborne Wood Products, and our
transportation was made possible by Colonial Saw.

The first tour stop was The Danzo Group, a CMA member VSI Custom Cabinets
company in Baldwin Park. Danzo has a great story: Two guys
who met in high school shop class began the business when many systems in place to make things easier for their
they were 21. They are outgrowing their current space and employees. They use Asana project management software
hope to buy their own facility within the next few years. In to manage their work and even share access with their
addition to being a custom cabinet manufacturer, they are contractors. They also partner with Cerritos, a local
also a CNC job shop. (You can read more about Danzo in community college, to help with curriculum development
this issue’s cover story.) and recruit employees.
Our second stop was VSI Custom Cabinets in Lynwood. Both of these companies demonstrated the importance
The owner, Marco Vargas, stressed two key points of trade school education in our industry. While some
throughout the tour – the importance of communication people consider cabinet-making a dying art, there are still
and the extent of VSI’s Lean implementation. VSI has put opportunities – you just have to look for them.

10 PROFILES SUMMER 2018