THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, May 12, 1996 TAG: 9605100238
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 16 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Business
SOURCE: BY MARGO MATEAS, CORESPONDENT
DATELINE: SUFFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 74 lines
TO JERRY AND JULIE Manning of All Wood Cabinet Corporation, the future looks as solid as the wood cabinets they build.
The brother-sister team is the driving force behind the success of All Wood, which moved to Suffolk in 1992 from its Norfolk base as Butler Creek Cabinets. It is now based on Pitchkettle Road.
Following in the experienced footsteps of father, Jerry Sr., a cabinet-maker with 40 years experience, the two have catapulted the once-small manufacturer into a major supplier of solid-wood cabinets to Lowe's, the Paneling Factory, Griggs Lumber and a number of custom cabinet installations, most recently at the downtown Washington Square Mall. Projected sales loom at the half-million dollar mark this year.
Success depends upon teamwork, according to 27-year-old Jerry Jr. ``I've learned that my opinion isn't always the best one,'' he said. ``I want to hear what other people think. I used to think I had to do everything myself. Now I ask for help, and I really listen when someone has an idea.''
That is music to 25-year-old sister Julie's ears, who remembers the two ``fighting like cats and dogs'' when they were younger. ``We get along great now,'' she said. ``We have a common goal - and that is the cabinetry. I build the doors and handle the accounting, and Jerry supervises production and delivery. It's a good system.''
In an effort to maximize production and still maintain quality, Jerry installed a comprehensive computer system and even wrote some of the programs himself.
``I tried to find ways that we could standardize our work but make sure it would be right every time,'' he said. ``Most shops are still cutting things manually, which leaves room for error. The computer ensures razor-sharp accuracy all the time.''
Jerry remembers the day his dad called to ask him to quit his job as a draftsman for Fairfield Homes in Dale City and come to work with him.
``He said he couldn't find anyone to work with him that he could depend on. He wanted to turn something over to me, and I thought it was a great opportunity.''
The biggest benefit from the business is not profits, say both Mannings, but the chance to work together as a family.
``When I was growing up, Dad worked for the government, and he was busy. I was in school doing other things, and we really didn't get to see each other much. Now I have the greatest job - I get to see him every day. Who can say that they get to work side by side with their dad and learn what he knows? It's incredible,'' Jerry Jr. explains.
``I'm definitely Daddy's little girl and Jerry's baby sister when it's just the three of us,'' Julie admits. ``But when it's business, it's business. They respect my advice.''
She remembers her father teaching her to work with all the tools in his shop as she grew up. ``Whatever I wanted to build, he taught me.'' Her experience as a title clerk in the automotive industry prior to joining the family enterprise prepared her for the daily monitoring of details that go into creating a fiscally sound business.
``Business is great,'' sister and brother echo. ``Getting up in the morning knowing you're doing this for yourself, and not for someone else, is the greatest reward of all.''
For general manager Jerry Sr., seeing both his business and his children grow is no small measure of satisfaction. ``I'm just the little guy around here,'' he smiles. ``You want to talk to the bosses - they're the ones in charge.'' ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by JOHN H. SHEALLY II
Together, Jerry Jr., Julie and Jerry Manning run the family
business, All Wood Cabinet Corporation on Pitchkettle Road in
Suffolk.
by CNB