As the CEO and founder of a successful 50-year-old custom cabinet and millwork business in Laurel County, James Stidham has faced many challenges. His desire to meet or exceed those more demanding tasks has kept the company growing and diversifying Stidham Cabinet Inc. since it opened in 1975.
The increasing use of technology has played a pivotal role in the company’s success.
Stidham’s most recent challenge was to reduce finishing time so the company can complete contracts faster and take on new work. The purchase of a CEFLA flatline finishing machine will accomplish that goal by improving the finishing department’s precision, quality and time.
Two organizations with the mission to help small businesses grow in Kentucky partnered to fund this investment.
The first was University of Louisville’s Kentucky Manufacturing Extension Partnership’s (MEP) Catalyst Equipment Match (CEM) program, which provided a grant for the purchase. This program provides up to a 50 percent match for investments in capital equipment and next-generation technologies.
“It’s making all the difference,” Stidham said. “We have been looking to upgrade this process for years but didn’t have the money to make this big move all at once.”
“The CEM program was developed to help small and mid-sized Kentucky manufacturers offset just enough of costs to allow for growth and expansion,” said Scott Broughton, executive director of Kentucky MEP. “Stidham Cabinets was a perfect example of the type of company CEM was meant for. They needed help and we were delighted to have them in the program.”
Stidham says the MEP grant has been invaluable to his small business and its growth.
“It’s been a real game changer,” Stidham said. “With the grant, we are comfortable with the balance of debt and payments.”
The family chose to work with regional nonprofit business lender Southeast Kentucky Economic Development Corporation (SKED) to fund the equipment purchase.
Stidham said working with SKED has made a big difference in their bottom line.
“Usually, the interest rate is favorable, the red tape for the loan is much less, and there is usually some helpful advice or information that comes along with the loan,” said Stidham. “They constantly encourage us to grow and do better.”
SKED Director of Lending Bob Burgess said helping the Stidhams purchase this new technology has been rewarding.
“James and his staff are dedicated to excellence in their production,” Burgess said. “This new equipment will enable them to do more work and increase their bottom line. We are pleased to have played a role in seeing that happen.”
Before purchasing the new equipment, the company was finishing their products the same way they had for 50 years.
“With this equipment, we now have the entire finishing process up to the same level as the rest of our plant,” Stidham said, adding that the finishing team can now clean, paint, sand and seal 50 cabinet doors in an hour. Before the recent upgrade, that task took 10 hours of manual labor.
But this new automated equipment won’t cost anyone at Stidham Cabinet their job.
“We’ve bought new equipment over the years to help meet customer demand,” Stidham said. “This new automation won’t take anyone’s job; it just allows us to move people around and take on more work orders.”
