40 years of providing high quality cabinetry solutions to customers: Ideal Cabinetry

Cabinet design is a central pillar of any home or office space, no matter how big or small. For many, kitchen and bath cabinets present an opportunity to expand a functional element into an expression of one’s self within the home and create a space to love and be proud of. Cabinetry sets the tone for the design, style and functionality of the space, and is something you and your visitors interact with daily, both visually and physically. That’s why the design language is so important, from both a functional and aesthetic perspective.

Ideal Cabinetry stands out amongst a plethora of US based cabinet companies due to their quality products and speed. They produce four main product lines: Firstly, it manufactures semi-custom all-plywood cabinets, for kitchen and bathroom, targeted at home builders and remodelers. The company also has a simplified stock cabinet line, carried by The Home Depot and Lowes. Thirdly, Ideal Cabinetry produces the Mill’s Pride brand, a ‘ready to assemble’ line of cabinets, designed to be assembled at the job site. Finally, there is WeatherStrong Outdoor Cabinetry, for summer kitchens and grill islands. All product lines are produced and shipped within ten business days.

In conversation with Richard Healey, Founder of Ideal Cabinetry

Q. What was the motivation behind starting Ideal Cabinetry?

Ideal Cabinetry was founded in 2006 with the goal of providing high-quality cabinetry, built and shipped in a compressed time frame. Driven by the success of home renovation shows on TV, more and more US homeowners were looking to remodel their homes and complete their projects in a reduced time frame. At the time, the standard lead time for semi-custom cabinets was anywhere from six to twelve weeks and Ideal Cabinetry provided a solution to homeowners: a reduced lead time of seven to ten days.

Q. Tell us about your material procurement process. How do you select the vendors?

Following the recent turbulence in the global supply chain, we have vertically integrated our manufacturing as much as possible. With close to 750,000 square feet of production and warehousing, across four locations, today we manufacture all of our cabinet components in-house. For the essential raw materials and hardware required for production, we have aligned ourselves with reliable vendors, both in North America and internationally.   

Q. There are other entities in this segment. How do you differentiate yourself?

The US cabinet industry has many national and regional manufacturers. What sets Ideal Cabinetry apart is our quality and our lead time. With today’s challenging supply chain and employment market, many manufacturers are extending their lead times, whereas we are maintaining our ten-day turnaround.

Tell us about your inventory management system.

Managing raw material inventory is critical to the financial success of any company. In conjunction with Netsuite by Oracle, we have developed sophisticated planning tools, which analyze historical usage and combine forecasted sales, in order to establish future demand. We compare this data with the lead time of the individual material, in order to minimize inventory whilst ensuring continuous production. 

Q. What are the factors that affect the pricing of your products?

There are two main factors which affect the pricing of our products. Firstly, the cost of raw materials, overhead and the labor to produce the product. These combine to establish a baseline for profitability. Secondly, we strive to provide the most value to our customers, so we price our products aggressively. This strategy, combined with our short lead-time, defines our value proposition.

Q. How do you market your services?

Our cabinetry lines are sold to regional home builders and independent dealers, as well as through national retailers, such as The Home Depot, Lowes and Costco.com.

Q. Do you have any new services ready to be launched?

At Ideal Cabinetry we are always innovating. In fact, we just opened a chain of retail showrooms in South Florida, under the banner of Florida Outdoor Kitchens. This new concept provides home owners and remodeling professionals with a turnkey solution for functional and stylish outdoor kitchens, featuring our Weatherstrong cabinetry. We plan to open 35 to 45 stores statewide, before expanding into other suitable markets.

Q. What does the future hold for your company and its customers? Are exciting things on the way?

As we navigate the current economic challenges, we are excited about the future. Ideal Cabinetry continues to add new products and services and we anticipate continued growth. We are focused on the ever-changing needs of our customers and are ready to react to those demands.  

Meet the Leader behind the success of Ideal Cabinetry

Ideal Cabinetry was founded in 2006 by Richard Healey and a team of experienced cabinetry experts. Prior to 2006 Richard, as Founder, created one of the most innovative and forward-thinking cabinet manufacturers in the United States: Mill’s Pride. Richard has always believed that people deserve quality but shouldn’t have to wait to get it, that’s what drives Ideal Cabinetry. At the heart of all of Richard’s endeavors has been a strong focus on employee satisfaction and creating a work environment where everybody can succeed. Ideal Cabinetry is a family business in every sense of the word, and in keeping with this one of Richard’s children recently joined the business as the next generation, with the goal of continuing to grow the company and follow in Richard’s footsteps.

“Ideal Cabinetry continues to add new products and services and we anticipate continued growth. We are focused on the ever-changing needs of our customers and are ready to react to those demands.”

“Following recent turbulence in the global supply chain, we have vertically integrated our manufacturing as much as possible.”