wood kitchen cabinets

Essential Cabinetry

Why Essential Cabinetry Group chose Sherwin-Williams as the coatings supplier to share in the strategy and vision for its three cabinet brands. 

Essential Cabinetry Group emerged from Gridiron Capital’s acquisition of three family-owned cabinetry businesses between 2010 and 2016. Designers Choice, Executive Cabinetry and Tedd Wood make up Essential Cabinetry’s three brands, which offer a multitude of product lines for nearly every price point – from stock and semi-custom cabinets to fully custom designs.

ALIGNING ON CUSTOMER NEEDS

Due to its wide range of prices and styles, Essential Cabinetry makes it easier for independent kitchen and bath dealers to do business. Instead of working with multiple suppliers, dealers can access all of the cabinet products they need through Essential Cabinetry.

“We can be a one-stop-shop to a dealer and provide all the products they need to go to market, which is a nice value proposition,” said Eric Skorge, Vice President of Supply Chain and Logistics, Essential Cabinetry Group. “Being a trusted partner that a dealer can rely on is just as important as offering high-quality products.”

To offer an unparalleled customer experience, Essential Cabinetry is focused on aligning its three brands and its products, including finishing materials. The cabinet manufacturer chose to transition to Sherwin-Williams as its sole coatings supplier for the entire business, allowing for consistent finish technologies across all platforms. Sherwin-Williams supplies coatings, conversion varnishes and stains, which run consistently and smoothly – offering operational efficiencies.

“We wanted more than a supplier that would just deliver paint. We wanted a collaborator that would be useful for ideation and business improvement, and that could find synergies between our businesses,” said Skorge. “I think it comes down to having one partner you can rely on and share your vision with, and Sherwin-Williams embraces that type of relationship.”

ALIGNING ON COLOR

Essential Cabinetry worked with color experts from the Sherwin-Williams Global Color & Design Center (GCDC) in early 2020 to develop a new palette for its product lines. Working with the GCDC gave the business an opportunity to bring a consistent color vision to life among its different factories.

“The GCDC provided insight into emerging color trends, which allowed us to look into different colors, like plum or blue/ green stains,” said Mark Kovich, CEO, Essential Cabinetry Group. “Working with the Sherwin-Williams team gave us more confidence to step out of our comfort zones and take new colors to market.”

With Sherwin-Williams I don’t feel like we have to reinvent the wheel. They’re coming in with recommendations, opportunities, networking, market intelligence, insights into where the market is going and how we can position ourselves to best grow our business.

Eric Skorge

Vice President of Supply Chain and Logistics, Essential Cabinetry Group

 

ALIGNING ON SUPPORT

Tim Jones, the Sherwin-Williams strategic account manager for Essential Cabinetry, and his team, also supply Essential Cabinetry with application tools, facility resources and design engineering support. To help streamline operations, the Sherwin-Williams team provided recommendations during the redesign of Essential Cabinetry’s plant layout. Jones connected Essential Cabinetry to a design engineer to create a layout proposal that would optimize the flow of the plant and reduce the amount of materials used annually.

A full-time, onsite Sherwin-Williams technical service representative works at Essential Cabinetry’s plant to understand and fix operational issues, becoming an integral part of its business. To further improve operations, Sherwin-Williams also supplied Essential Cabinetry with the Aurora Color System and equipment and supplies, including a Sames Kremlin 2K system, Mirka abrasives and Finish Repair touch-up products – ensuring an efficient and repeatable finishing process.

“Sherwin-Williams is an industry leader and innovator in the cabinet space, and they bring a lot of technical capabilities and professionalism that make us a better manufacturer,” said Kovich. “They are a good strategic partner for us that can support the growth we expect to experience.”

ALIGNING ON BUSINESS INTERESTS

For Essential Cabinetry and Sherwin-Williams, collaboration comes naturally, and their business interests often align. The two companies share a vision of business improvement and prioritize excellent customer service.

“With Sherwin-Williams I don’t feel like we have to reinvent the wheel,” said Skorge. “They’re coming in with recommendations, opportunities, networking, market intelligence, insights into where the market is going and how we can position ourselves to best grow our business.”

Sherwin-Williams is an industry leader and innovator in the cabinet space, and they bring a lot of technical capabilities and professionalism that make us a better manufacturer. They are a good strategic partner for us that can support the growth we expect to experience.

Mark Kovich

CEO, Essential Cabinetry Group


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Color and Design

When it comes to optimizing their color offering, Essential Cabinetry utilizes the data-driven trend insights from experts at the Sherwin-Williams Global Color & Design Center to make informed decisions. Read more about how our color and design services help our customers stay on the leading edge.

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Design Engineering

Essential Cabinetry connected with Sherwin-Williams design engineers to create a layout that would optimize the flow of their plant and reduce the amount of materials used annually. Read more about how our Design Engineering services can help your finishing line operate more efficiently. 

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technicians on finishing line

Technical Support

A full-time, onsite Sherwin-Williams technical service representative works at Essential Cabinetry’s plant to understand and fix operational issues. Read more about our technical service support and how we can help your business be operate more productively and maximize throughput.

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