Long-lasting quality
Cabinet Central is an awardwinning custom cabinetry company based in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. They are passionate about providing clients with locally manufactured custom cabinetry solutions that are tailored to meet the individual needs of their lifestyles and their projects. In recent years, their passion has been repeatedly recognized by industry bodies, publications, and telecasts. For example, the company’s work was recently featured on HGTV’s ‘Trading Up with Mandy Rennehan.’ Even more recently, at the 2023 CHBA Nova Scotia Kohltech Peak Awards, they won the category for ‘Sub-Trade of the Year,’ as well the ‘Most Outstanding Kitchen’ award. “That kind of recognition is very meaningful for us,” says Tim Chaisson, founder and president of the company. “It means we’re doing something right. It means we’re building quality long-lasting products. It also means we’re building quality long-lasting relationships with our clients. It means a lot.” Tim comes from a deep background in cabinetmaking – his father, Rob Chaisson, was in the industry all his life, and the same is true of Tim. Together, Tim and Rob first founded Cabinet Central in 2016. Originally, they purchased all their components from suppliers, assembled them in their shop, and then shipped them to site to install them. About a year in, however, they bought their first CNC and edge banding machines, and they started fabricating themselves. In 2018, they purchased a 55,000-squarefoot building in Amherst, which they renovated and turned into their manufacturing facility. CABINET CENTRAL
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Today, in addition to that facility in Amherst, Cabinet Central also has a showroom at 55 Akerley Boulevard in Dartmouth. Their projects comprise a diverse mix of single residential homes and retail outlets, and their clients include builders, renovators, interior designers, and dealers. A lot of those clients, according to Tim, go back to Cabinet Central’s first year in business. “We’ve been working with a number of builders and renovators since 2016,” he says. “They took a chance on us when we started this company, we’ve delivered for them, and we’ve kept those relationships going strong.” Tim partly credits that customer loyalty to Cabinet Central’s cost-competitiveness combined with their speedy turnaround times. In turn, he credits that efficiency to the equipment they have invested in over the past couple years. This past year they invested heavily into two substantial edge banding machines that they can combine and work as one, which has really sped up the edging process. “That efficiency is pretty enticing to our clients,” he says. “They can get our product in a timely fashion. They’re not waiting 12 weeks for an order. That wins us a lot of jobs.” “Plus, they can get our product for a decent price,” Tim adds. “We’re not always the cheapest, but we’re not the most expensive either. I think our clients appreciate that.” Something else that clients appreciate is the company’s aptitude with design, Tim says: “All of our sales-slash-designers are certified kitchen and bath designers, so they have a CABINET CENTRAL
great ability to put everything together and help the client achieve a space that’s elegant, unique, and functional.” “Functionality is big for us,” he adds. “That was something my father really valued, and he drilled into our staff. He used to hate it when he’d go into a kitchen in an apartment and there was one drawer for the entire kitchen. So, when we design kitchens, we always make sure we design an efficient and effective kitchen. We make sure that there’s plenty of storage space, that the kitchen is easy to use, that everything makes sense.” “When our clients refer someone to Cabinet Central, they know that they’re going to get the best possible design at the best possible price,” Tim says. “I think that’s a big part of why they choose us and why they keep choosing us.” THE CONSTRUCTION SOURCE CANADA
Keep getting better! In addition to building longlasting relationships with retailers and builders, Cabinet Central has also built some long-lasting relationships with their employees. Currently, they directly employ 13 people in Amherst and about seven in Dartmouth. They also have a select roster of about eight installers – those are technically subcontractors, but Cabinet Central works with them on a consistent basis and Tim says they will rarely trust anyone else to install their products. According to Tim, a lot of those relationships go back to the beginning of the company. “We have such a great team,” Tim says. “Everyone who works here works hard, they hold themselves accountable, and they take pride in what they do. I think that shows in the final product and the relationships we’ve built with clients.” Cabinet Central has also formed CABINET CENTRAL
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long-lasting relationships with suppliers – many of them locally-based. For example, Tim has been purchasing from the same Moncton-based door supplier his entire 25-year-plus career in cabinetmaking. Moving forward, Cabinet Central’s goal is to continue to maintain and strengthen those relationships – and with the help of those partners, to continue to grow. “We have lots of room to grow,” Tim says. “The shop has some production capacity available. There’s definitely more room in the market. In the future, however, our main goal is not necessary growth, its improvement. We want to keep getting better at what we do.” “We’ve invested in some software that’s going to streamline our lead times even more,” he adds. “We’d love to be able to increase our dealer relationships. We’d love to be in more dealer locations. We’d especially love to tap into the New Brunswick and PEI markets, seeing as how we’re right on the border.” “That’s our vision,” Tim concludes. “We want to keep doing what we’re doing; we just want to do it better.” CABINET CENTRAL
For more on Cabinet Central, their services, past projects, and award recognition, you can find the company on Facebook at facebook.com/ cabinetcentraldartmouth, and on Instagram at instagram.com/cabinet.central THE CONSTRUCTION SOURCE CANADA
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