<h1>Maximizing your space</h1><p class="deck">For the last 18 years, SpaceMakers Closet Interiors, a full-service closet company, has been designing, fabricating and installing custom-built cabinetry including closets, pantries, home/commercial offices, laundry rooms, garages and hobby rooms.</p><p>With a wide range of materials including continuous slide ventilated shelving, melamine in 13 decorative colors, and hand-stained hardwoods including mahogany, cherry, walnut, and maple, SpaceMakers prides itself on offering its clients and dealers innovative designs and quality fabrication using automated woodworking machinery and professional installation.</p><p>"Our claim to fame is the best possible design, highest quality materials, and maximum use of space . . . all at factory direct prices," says president, Dennis Rose.</p><h2>Manufacturing space at a premium</h2><p>A visit to the 30,000-sq.-ft. facility reveals that space is at a premium at SpaceMakers because of its land-locked position. According to company president, Dennis Rose, "Because of our growth, we are currently looking for either a larger manufacturing facility or an additional building near our current headquarters." But that's not to say that the company hasn't set up an efficient manufacturing process in a linear fashion that has contributed greatly to its success.</p><p>Melamine and wood veneer panels are stored on one end of the building and then processed down the line which includes two Biesse panel saws, one front loader and the other a rear loader.</p><p>Four edgebanders including two Biesse Stream edgebanders and two Fletcher contour banders, take care of all the edge work.</p><p>While line boring is performed on a Ritter 150 spindle press, a new CNC boring machine is on order that is designed especially for SpaceMakers' specific applications. For specialized routing and drilling, a Biesse Rover 346 point-to-point machine is utilized. Finally, a Koch glue and dowel inserter help produce drawers. A new machine, a Gannomat cam drill and automatic inserter, speeds up the fabrication of knock down shelving.</p><p>Two staining booths where a lacquer finish is applied using Binks equipment adds the finishing touches to SpaceMakers' closet systems.</p><p>"We have a well organized and efficient finishing department with six employees and two stain booths," Rose says. "We hand rub our stains instead of spraying so we can create a more uniform finish."</p><p>While it may seem SpaceMakers has utilized the latest technology available to them, Rose says the company is looking closely at membrane presses in order to manufacture its own profile drawer faces and raised panel doors. In addition, a machine builder is developing a specialized borer/router for all vertical panels.</p><p>"It will drill holes for our cleat system, rout for baseboard height and curve the front of our hanging panels," says Rose.</p><h2>The synergy of design and manufacturing</h2><p>The trend in closets is toward the wood grain melamine colors or solid stained hardwoods.</p><p>"Closets are becoming fancier with fluted columns, rosettes, crown molding, raised panel or prism doors, and more bells and whistles," says Rose. "People want their custom closets to look more like their kitchens. Our company has the infrastructure to meet these demands."</p><p>State-of-art equipment is only half of the equation for SpaceMakers; designers make up the other important half.</p><p>"Designers are trained to take into consideration obstructions such as access doors, light switches, heat vents and low ceilings when creating the custom design," says Rose. "Closet design is really an art and it takes years to become an expert in the field."</p><p>Using an in-house developed CAD program which shows perspective views from different angles in the closet helps designers master the "art" of closet design.</p><p>According to Rose, the current trend in closet design is toward the wide range of wood tones rather than the plain white closets of the past. A variety of melamine colors can be dressed up with crown moulding, cabinetry toe kicks, fluted trim, rosettes, profile drawer faces and raised panel doors. Prism glass see-through doors and drawers are also very popular, while stained wood veneers for the discriminating homeowner are also dramatically increasing in numbers.</p><p>"These homeowners want their closets to match closely to their kitchen and bathroom cabinetry," he says. "Our clients are requesting us to build up to 12-ft. high ceilings in order to maximize every inch of space. To accommodate those demands, we provide pull-down hydraulic lifts to reach clothes in high ceilings. Because of the success of our closet systems, we now design, fabricate and install media centers, home and commercial offices and bookcases."</p><p>The company has also taken on fabrication of its own countertops using Formica and Wilsonart laminates.</p><p>The company's standard hardware includes both door and drawer handles and knobs in chrome, brass and brushed chrome. SpaceMakers has access to hundreds of cabinet hardware ranging from ultra contemporary to sophisticated traditional. Rose says the company now offers four different closet rods in chrome, brushed chrome, brass and brushed brass.</p><p>However, in terms of regional design trends, Rose has noticed a drastic difference between the Atlanta, Ga. area and their dealer network in Florida.</p><p>"Atlanta is more of a traditional city with the deep darker colors being requested more often than the lighter finishes," notes Rose. "Our Florida dealers want a lighter, more contemporary look."</p><h2>Two businesses in one</h2><p>What is unique about SpaceMakers, however, is in the last 18 years the company has managed to combine two businesses into one building . . . an Atlanta-based retail arm and a dealer network comprising of 50 dealers east of the Mississippi River.</p><p>"As our dealer program grows, we will definitely need more space," says Rose. "We're already running close to two shifts per day and it may be necessary to run 24 hours a day."</p><p>Plans are underway to remedy this situation as well. "We're planning to purchase additional warehouse space near our existing facility. We will be moving our staining and painting facility to this new location which will free up space for staging our Atlanta jobs as well as packing our dealer orders."</p><h2>Challenges still exist</h2><p>"Every business experiences some challenges during these uncertain economic times," according to Rose. And SpaceMakers is no exception. With increased labor costs, escalating material costs, employee health insurance, workers' compensation rates and price competition, just to name a few.</p><p>"We meet these challenges every day and are fortunate to have a qualified and motivated workforce who share our goals and aspirations," he says.</p><p>While outsourcing is an issue that challenges the secondary woodworking market, it hasn't had much of an effect on the day-to-day business operations of the company. SpaceMakers only outsources its vinyl wrapped raised panel doors and solid wood door and drawer faces to a local vendor. Everything else is fabricated in-house.</p><p>Despite these challenges, sales growth in both 2003 and 2004 for SpaceMakers has been in the 20 to 25 percent range, and with the expansion of the company's dealer program, the future remains bright for the company.</p><div class="sidebar"><h2>SpaceMakers Closet Interiors</h2><p><b>Established:</b> 1987</p><p><b>Location:</b> Marietta, Ga. (main factory/showroom) and Duluth, Ga. (showroom)</p><p><b>#of employees:</b> 50</p><p><b>Facility size:</b> 30,000 sq. ft.</p><p><b>Products:</b> Closet systems</p><p><b>Market area:</b> All states east of the Mississippi River</p><p><b>President:</b> Dennis M. Rose</p><p><b>Vice President:</b> Ellen P. Rose</p><p><b>Design and Technology Manager:</b> Rachel Barich</p></div>