Page 15 - CMA PROfiles Winter 2018

Ken Kumph has
had many career
accomplishments CMA PERKS
in the course
of building a Premier Builders is a big fan of the
highly successful CMA and its programs.
construction and
cabinetry business “The CMA helps bring another
in Massachusetts level of professionalism to our
over more than trade,” Kumph says. “Being able to
three decades.
connect with other business owners
But one of the is excellent. We can relate to each
Ken Kumph and his son Matthew
singular qualities
that strikes you in talking with Kumph about his career is a more other and talk about business and
subtle one: He has always listened to his instincts and made technology.”
bold decisions about changing directions, both personally and
in his business. He is also proud that the company
has won a Wood Diamond award
For Kumph, that pattern began early. After high school, he signed
up for computer repair school, but he soon figured out that this every year since 2010.
might not be the best career path for him. In high school, he had “It’s great to get awards from your
skills in cabinetry shop, and had also built and sold picnic tables
and other wood projects; Kumph realized he would be happiest industry peers,” he notes, adding
doing “hands-on” work building things. that he recently had poster-size
It’s easy to dismiss what you love to do in favor of what’s prac- prints made of the company’s
tical, but Kumph decided he didn’t have to pick one path over winning projects and hung them in
another; he went to work for a local remodeling contractor as an the shop. “The guys like seeing that
apprentice. After two years on the job, his mentor recommended
that he study at Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston. stuff, and so do I.”
Kumph earned his college degree in building construction
technology while doing small carpentry and building projects
on the side.

After graduation, Kumph began working with two of his close
college friends. “They had a house to build that summer,” he
recalls, “and we embraced the opportunity. It was exciting
and I learned so much.” He worked as a project manager for
a couple more years before starting his own construction
business in 1986.

BUILDING A BUSINESS AND A REPUTATION
As the company explains on its website, when Kumph chose
the name “Premier” for his construction firm, “it represented a
single-minded focus to become just that—Premier Builders.”
A saddle stand he made for his wife as a Christmas
Thirty-one years later, the construction business has helped gift was recognized with first place in the “Furniture:
scores of happy clients with high-end residential projects and Creative Solution Under $25K” category.
commercial interiors.

CABINET MAKERS ASSOCIATION 13