Page 17 - CMA PROfiles Summer 2016

Bigger T similar-sized shops around North America with
Everything’s

he CMA has been hosting high-value events
such as this since 1998 as a means of connecting

the purpose of sharing best practices and business

they do. The regional events typically involve plant
in Texas acumen, while learning how other businesses do what
tours, educational seminars, networking, and simply
a chance to talk shop and share issues, solutions and
even projects. Although they are dubbed “regional”,
these events typically draw attendees from across the
country as well as Canada.
The CMA’s March 15-16 regional event in Dal-
las, 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. 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. 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 materi-
als, hardware, and tools needed for that that day’s
production requirements.
The last visit of the day was to H. H. Ruseau in
Dallas. 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 ma-
chinery 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.

PROFILES • Volume 16 • Issue 3, 2016 • www.cabinetmakers.org 17