A Lifetime of Cabinetry Service Led to Diamond CNC Development

Diamond CNC is coming up on eight years this July 2023. Within this short period of time, the cabinetry and ready-to-install kitchens business has seen the business flourish in ways they could’ve never imagined. Rob Clare, president of Diamond CNC, explains “both my dad and I have been in cabinetry our entire lives, but this is the biggest company that either of us has developed or worked at. We started out with a CNC just cutting components in a garage behind my dad’s house, which is where the name comes from, then the business took off from there and here we are nine years later, and our Nanticoke factory is 35,000 feet.”

“We’re a mid to upper-level cabinet supplier for contractors, designers, and dealers. We will do custom colours and materials if that’s what the designer is looking for, but typically, the most common thing we’re doing is white melamine boxes with white beaded doors, white drawers, or dovetail drawers.”

This process is certainly no facile task. It takes time, dedication, and often readjustments, to keep Diamond CNC up to par for the owners and staff. That’s why Clare decided to start shutting down the manufacturing plant for two weeks during the Christmas holidays every year. This time is dedicated to rearranging, revamping, and reorganizing to consistently keep the brand image contemporary and innovative. The 2022 Christmas season was no different, but it was filmed on the Diamond CNC Youtube channel. Clare set aside the time to display exactly how all of the company’s equipment is moved to promote efficiency and productivity. Almost 75% of all of the equipment is moved to a new location in the shop.

Clare discloses “I put everything I have into this, so going away for a holiday isn’t really big for us. Rearranging workflow is much more fun to us than it is to go away on vacation. The biggest reason we do this is that ordered a new edge bander, that was bigger than our previous one and we didn’t have the space for it in the same spot.”

The revamp is not a strictly holiday-related event, however. Diamond CNC does take some time off in the summer as well to organize. “We do a summer holiday shutdown as well for a couple of weeks, typically we try to every six months if there’s something we want to change. This is the perfect time as we’re already closed for production,” notes Clare.

It’s no secret that the Canadian economy is unpredictable and that most businesses are planning their next move “one day at a time.” Diamond CNC is no different. However, they work diligently to be prepared for the future and modernize as much as they can. Clare reveals “I think we will start doing some component work for other companies and cabinet shops to fill in the gaps of our labour. With the future coming up, I’m looking to hire two more staff this year and work less myself.”

The father-and-son-owned business is set for a future shake-up. “My dad is looking to retire next year, so I will be taking on running the entire production myself. I’m looking for what the next thing to buy is, we have a new robotic in a box we haven’t touched yet, and I want to get more into robotics and automation. We’ve fine-tuned all of our processes for human production, and I think we’re almost at the peak of what’s capable with human staff, so the next phase is to implement some robotics,” says Clare. “With the labour shortage over the last few years, I thought we’d need robotics so we wouldn’t have to hire people, but now, I think we need robotics so we can put our workers on more skilled projects.”

Throughout the past nine years, Diamond CNC has been looking forward and committed to its growth. With new machinery being bought and installed, new staff being welcomed to the team, and Clare looking to take over the entire production, it’s clear the business is booming.

Ellie King is the Editor of Wood Industry / Le monde du bois magazine and weekly E-digest. She has years of experience in B2B writing and editing and is empowered by the opportunity to share the marvels, pitfalls and weekly news of Canada’s secondary wood industry with our readers.