Cabinetworks Retires Armstrong Lines as 19 Plants Move to Common Platform

Ann Arbor, MI—The largest privately held U.S. kitchen cabinetry company, Cabinetworks, will phase out some of its cabinetry lines used by multi-family building projects, as it resets its manufacturing platform.

Formed from the April 2021 merger of Masco Cabinets and Armstrong Cabinets, Cabinetworks Group’s 19 factories are migrating to a common product architecture, a move that COO Mark Trexler says will better serve the complex, large-batch project work for the multifamily channel, in addition to project-based work from distributors.

“These changes will allow us to develop highly focused factories that meet the specific needs of an evolving market and the channels we serve,” Trexler says. “We are committed to leveraging our network of 19 manufacturing facilities to meet the full spectrum of cabinetry needs for our dealer, distributor, home center, and multifamily channels.”

Migration from disparate manufacturing platforms to a common platform is intended to reduce operational complexity and create additional capacity using a multi-location manufacturing footprint. The transition will result in retiring the Advanta®, Echelon®, and Studio Full Access™ brands, which came from the Armstrong Cabinets side of the business. Cabinetworks will work closely with affected customers to complete work in progress or find suitable replacement brands within its other offerings.

Cabinetworks Group aims to create high-efficiency focused factories, drive targeted channel growth, and unlock additional manufacturing capacity. The plan is structured to meet the needs of its four distribution channels—dealers, distributors, home centers, and multifamily builders and specifiers—while addressing the pricing, product, service, and growth needs of these channels.

“Recent supply chain, labor and logistics challenges in our markets have reinforced the importance of a nimble manufacturing footprint, a streamlined supply chain and operational excellence,” says John Barkhouse, who was named CEO at Cabinetworks Group in November 2021.

“We’ve analyzed our channel operations thoroughly,” Barkhouse says. “Over the next 12 months we will be transitioning the majority of our single-family builder direct business to our dealer and distributor networks. We consider this a win-win, creating growth opportunities for dealers and distributors while optimizing Cabinetworks’ manufacturing capacity. We will work closely with our single-family direct customers to complete in-process projects and smoothly transition future work to our trusted dealer and distributor partners.”

Cabinetworks brands, gathered from acquisitions of predecessor companies over the years, include KraftMaid®, Medallion®, Yorktowne®, Schuler®, Cardell®, Merillat®, QualityCabinets™, MasterCraft™, Echelon®, Advanta®, Smart®, Cabinets 2000, Master WoodCraft™, Design-Craft®, Serenade™, Modico,™ and Studio Full Access.™

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