A Cranbrook business has recently upped its game, and been recognized nationally for its high quality of work.
Cranbrook Interior Woodwork recently won the Award for Excellence in Quality and Service for Residential Projects from the Architectural Woodwork Manufacturers Association of Canada (AWMAC). It's the fourth straight year the Cranbrook outfit has won the award, putting it in a league of its own.
This year, the business won gold for excellence in quality based on its work in the Osborne residence in Cranbrook.
Cranbrook Interior Woodwork has been running since 1975, and has been operated by Blair and Diane Cooke since 2003. In those past nine years, the business has grown quite a bit, Blair said.
Indeed, Cranbrook Interior Woodwork supplies fine interior commercial and residential millwork and cabinetry through Western Canada and the territories — a huge market area for a company with a staff of 15.
However, extra help has arrived, in the form of a new CNC edgebander, an enormous machine which came to Cranbrook from Germany via Toronto. The edgebander applies veneers, PVC's, plastic laminate and solid wood up to 15mm (5/8ths of an inch) in thickness.
"Before, doing it with another piece of equipment, didn't have the capacity for as many options to 'final process' the piece," Blair said.
Blair said the new piece was essential to keep up with the demands of their vast territory.
"Once the decision was made which way to go, we went out looking at pieces of equipment," Blair said. "This took some time. We were fortunate that this piece had just arrived in Canada, and met our needs.
"It allows us to keep up, in a high quality way."