Happy New Year!
2016 ended on a high note for JB Cutting! Despite the election controversy consuming television news and social media, JB Cutting pushed on to have a phenomenal year. We are really starting to see returns on the hard work put forth by the JB Cutting team. Our Craftsman & Artisan Series of 5 Piece doors and drawers grew by 242%. The Benchmark Collection of 3DL (thermofoil) components grew by 22% and most importantly, our team grew by 30%. On the agenda for 2017: continued growth across all product lines, staff, facility and equipment.
Even though we were busy expanding the business in 2016, we had some outstanding accomplishments that shouldn’t go unrecognized. JB Cutting was recently honored as one of Woodworking Network’s “WOOD 100” and a winner of the 2016 Best of MichBusiness in the category of Succession Success. Although the recognition is nice, I feel our greatest accomplishment in 2016 was the writing of processes. When we started the year we had half a dozen processes that were mediocre. The year ended with over 200 processes written and implemented across all departments.
On the marketing side, our website was revamped and new brochures are being printed as I write! In addition, many new colors were added in both five piece and 3DL. We’ll continue to upgrade the website and keep it up to date with new colors and offerings. This is an important tool which helps us communicate information quickly to our customers.
IWF (The International Woodworking Fair) proved to be a huge success for JB Cutting. We received many new leads as well as visits from old friends and current customers. JB Cutting sent six staff members to walk the show and help work the booth. Although the days were long and tiring, we had many laughs and a good time was had by all.
In 2017 we’ll continue to plan for expansion. Our facility renovation is moving along as expected. The behind the scenes work is almost completed which included wall and cement repairs, upgraded electrical and HVAC. This year’s focus will be on layout and securing new equipment for the area. Along with added space and equipment we’ll continue to grow our team. We are developing team leads in each department and plan on hiring at least 8 – 10 more employees by the start of 2018.
We’ve also made the monumental decision to revamp our software and integrate everything into one system. This will be a tremendous undertaking for the majority of the staff but I feel we are ready and it’s something we’ve put off for too long. I anticipate we’ll be fully integrated by year end.
One of the most exciting events we have planned for 2017 is being featured as a tour site for the Stiles Executive Briefing taking place April 23rd – 25th here in Detroit, MI. We are extremely excited to show off our facility and staff to all the attendees. Plus, it will push us to “clean the house” and take care of the items that get pushed to tomorrow. Another sensational event in the works is our gold sponsorship of the Cabinets and Closets Conference and Expo in Chicago, April 11 – 13. April is going to be extremely busy, but we are looking forward to the challenge!
Best wishes to all of our employees, partners, and friends for a healthy and prosperous year!
Debra Behring