Happy New Year!
2015 was remarkable, and I’m SO excited for 2016! Here is a quick recap and a preview of the exciting things JB Cutting has planned for 2016.
Sales stayed steady throughout 2015 and our Craftsman Series of polyester wrapped 5 Piece Doors increased by 50%! I traveled to see many existing and new customers throughout the Midwest and East Coast. The Cabinets and Closets Conference and Expo brought us to Chicago and the Closet and Storage Summit took us to the happening town of Savannah. I absolutely love visiting with old friends, meeting new ones and getting a chance to see how other shops run.
The offices were finally renovated! The long process was well worth the time and effort. The end result is amazing! We purchased that new edgebander (in the works since 2014), some other smaller equipment and re-organized our component shop. All of our efforts were working towards streamlining and improving the quality of our new Artisan Series of TFL Doors which we are ramping up in 2016.
Onto the excitement of 2016! Our team here is working extremely hard to ensure JB Cutting is a preferred vendor as well as a great place to work. One of our employees summed it up best when he said that once structure and processes are in place, the company is better organized to get jobs done faster without sacrificing quality. This is a tremendous and continuous amount of work but a step in the right direction.
Our next adventure this year will not only be attending IWF but displaying at the show. Come see us in booth 4134! It will be an enormous time commitment and probably not as much fun as we’ve had in the past as an attendee. However, the exposure we’ll gain from the largest woodworking show in the US is huge. I’m excited for the new prospects and contacts I’ll meet.
We will also start working on our ultimate goal which is manufacturing operations under one roof. This is more of a 2-3 year plan but every good plan needs to start somewhere. We’ve owned the building adjacent to our current location since 2008 and have been slowly moving manufacturing operations to this larger location. The non-renewal of some tenant leases kicks off the first step of our plan. The next step will be to build a bigger and better pressroom to house more equipment.
Most years l am apprehensive at the start of the New Year, but this year, I’m energized and ready to dive in!
Wishing you an exciting and energized 2016!
Debra Behring