Wood-Mode’s Factory Training School

Back in November, I had the wonderful opportunity to visit Wood-Mode and attend a Factory Training School in scenic Kreamer, Pennsylvania.  Kreamer is north of Harrisburg and not far from Gettysburg. Unfortunately, I had no time for sightseeing.

Over five full days I was immersed in everything Wood-Mode and Brookhaven.  There are five Product Information Manuals throughout the Wood-Mode

product lines.  Each of the two Brookhaven types and eachof the Wood-Mode Design Groups has its own specific “catalog”.  Moulding and Trim, common to all types and Design Groups, also has its own unique manual.

While that was very informative, the real highlight of the trip is seeing the Wood-Mode factory in person.  It is over one million square feet under roof.  In fact, their entire process starts with raw wood.  “Not every tree gets to be a Wood-Mode cabinet”.

Most surprising to me was seeing that even though it’s a “factory” there is a large “people component”, it is assembled by hand,

finished by hand and inspected by quality control before it is released for packaging and shipping.  This method is employed for both Wood-Mode and Brookhaven.

This is not a stock cabinetry. No cabinetry is assembled until an order is placed at the factory. That is why you can order your cabinet to a specific width within a 1/16 of an inch instead of having to choose from standard sizes.

There are generations of families that have worked at Wood-Mode since 1942 when it was a small mill shop.  The level of craftsmanship is still evident in every step of the process.

Wood-Mode is owned and operated by one of the original families and is still committed to being of the finest quality it is possible to produce.