Crowe’s Cabinets building a solid future

By ELISE McKEOWN SKOLNICK

VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT

LOWELLVILLE — Most people have more than a 60-foot commute to work.

Some members of the Crowe family go no further than that, though. Their custom cabinet and casework business occupies a 6,000-square-foot building next to the family home.

Paul Crowe started Crowe’s Cabinets 30 years ago on the porch of the house that once belonged to his grandfather.

“We had an old porch and we had an old table saw,” said Paul’s wife, Robbie. “And there was a lot of sawdust going into the house.”

Paul began cabinetmaking in high school. He took a job with a cabinetmaker, but it wasn’t long before he decided to branch out on his own.

For the first year, it was just the two of them. Robbie was, and still is, the bookkeeper for the business.

“I have no clue how to write a paycheck or deal with taxes,” Paul said.

He started with residential remodeling jobs and some cabinet work, building up a small clientele. A year into the business he was able to hire his first employee and build a shop next to the family home.

That first shop seemed very big, Paul said.

“But now we’re four times bigger and it seems awfully small,” he added.

They have expanded the building twice and rent warehouse space in New Bedford, Pa.

The business, which employs seven, has grown so much that it received a Growth Award from the Regional Chamber in 2007 for its increase in sales.

Sales grew 33 percent in 2006 and 25 percent in 2007. Last year, sales totaled $1.5 million.

The real change in the business came years ago when Paul was asked for prices by a few commercial contractors.

“It was a different market that we weren’t accustomed to, so it took a few years to figure it out,” Paul said. “We also found out that contractors were really careful about who they would hire because their name is on your work, so it took a long time to crack that nut with each contractor.”

Now Paul works with about 15 contractors, mostly local, on a regular basis. Most are contractors working on schools, banks and hospitals.

Though it’s tucked away in a residential neighborhood, the business doesn’t suffer because of its location, Paul said.

“We’re not a retail business,” Paul points out. “Nobody ever needs to see us.”

When he first started out, work was done with templates. Ten years ago, however, he installed his first computerized machine. Paul has since replaced it with a larger one.

Both in computer technology and in the physical size of the machine, the business outgrew the first machine, Paul said.

They can create simple, frameless cabinets such as those in schools, or more intricate pieces such as duplications of some of the curvy, ornamental hardwood brackets in the Arms Museum in Youngstown.

Paul’s son, Tim, helped him realize the need to upgrade their computerized machinery. The third of six children, Tim got involved in the business as a teenager.

“He wanted to go to Ursuline High School,” Robbie said. “So we said, ‘You need a job.’”

So, to help earn money for school, Tim started sweeping the floors of the shop and was able to attend Ursuline. He continued working in the shop while earning a business degree from Youngstown State University.

He moved beyond sweeping to production, administrative work and shop drawings. Now he’s involved in project management, project estimating and computer work.

It seemed to make sense to be involved in the business, Tim said.

“I enjoyed the construction of products and seeing how it goes together and figuring out a faster way of doing it,” he said.

Now that he’s involved in the management side of the business, he’s busy trying to come up with a cheaper way of doing the work.

Paul said he plans to add sales, drafting and project management personnel this year. If that leads to increased sales volume, the business may add more staff in the shop, he said.

He also is considering adding on to the building or moving.

“But that is more of a long-range thing,” Paul said. “Frankly, I’m very spoiled by my 60-foot commute. I haven’t scraped a windshield in years, just to get to work.”

It’s still unclear if any of their other children will become involved in the business, Robbie said. Three of their oldest four have started different careers. But their younger two are in sixth and seventh grade — and one of them has started sweeping the shop floor.