BUILT TO FIT: HOW TRUELINE TURNED CUSTOM STAIR WORK INTO A REGIONAL SPECIALTY

In a sector where many shops are under pressure to widen their offer, Trueline Moulding Group has taken a narrower route. The Kelowna, B.C.-based manufacturer, incorporated in 2012 after acquiring Rise & Run Manufacturing, has built its business around three categories: stairs, railings, and mouldings. That focus sounds simple. In practice, it has required the company to adapt to changing design tastes, tighter engineering requirements, and the material realities of wood manufacturing in Interior B.C.

The company is led by owner-manager Colin Fitchett, who describes the business in direct terms: “We do stairs, mouldings, and railings. That’s pretty much what we do.” That plain definition captures both Trueline’s discipline and its operating logic. The company has expanded within its category, not away from it.

That distinction matters. In secondary wood manufacturing, growth often comes with the temptation to chase adjacent work. Trueline suggests a different pattern: broaden the solution set for existing customers, but keep the production model anchored to core competencies.

Trueline’s current structure grew out of a practical decision. Fitchett says he and his partners had already spent more than two decades in the trade before the business was formed. When their previous employer went into receivership, the issue was not market access. It was manufacturing capacity.

“Really, all we needed at the time was equipment,” he says. “We already had sales because we had been in the industry for a long time. We had relationships. We just needed somewhere to manufacture.”

That led to the purchase of Rise & Run Manufacturing, a local company with equipment and a facility that could serve as a launch point. Trueline operated there for roughly five years, outgrew the building in about four, and then moved into its current site after purchasing land and constructing a new facility.

This origin story reflects a common but underappreciated pattern in custom manufacturing. The commercial value often sits less in a logo than in relationships, trade knowledge, and the ability to turn drawings into installed product. Equipment matters. So does floor space. But Trueline’s real starting asset was accumulated industry experience.

ADAPTING TO METAL AND GLASS, WHILE STAYING IN LANE

The company’s product evolution shows how specialty manufacturers can respond to shifting design preferences without abandoning their identity. Fitchett says Trueline has “had to lean out of wood a bit” as local demand moved toward welded metal and glass. Yet he does not frame that change as a departure from the business, but as a variation within railing and stair work.

In many custom shops, product categories are less rigid than the production processes behind them. A railing may include wood, steel, glass, or cable, but it still requires templating, fit-up, coordination, finishing decisions, and installation discipline. Trueline has built its offer around that broader understanding.

The company manufactures its wood products in-house. It brings in glass components, but handles templating and installation itself. For metal work, the workflow includes templating, drawing, fabrication coordination, and installation. The through-line is not material purity. It is control of the finished assembly.

Fitchett is explicit about the company’s limits: “We don’t go too far beyond that because we believe in doing what we do well.” For small and mid-sized manufacturers, that is a practical constraint. Adaptation does not have to mean sprawl.

The regional context supports that approach. The Okanagan market is well suited to a high level of custom residential work and a relationship-driven contractor network. Fitchett contrasts that environment with more standardized housing markets, arguing that e-commerce does not fit a business where much of the work remains bespoke and site-specific.

CLIMATE CONTROL IS NOT A SIDE ISSUE

For any wood manufacturer working in a dry climate, material behaviour is a production variable. Fitchett says the company humidifies its building during winter and tries to hold conditions at about 35 percent humidity. In January and February, when temperatures drop, wood dries quickly. Locally appropriate sourcing can help, because material brought in from the coast may move as it adjusts to Interior conditions.

Most eastern hardwoods arrive at about 6 to 9 percent moisture content. Softwood from Vancouver tends to come in at roughly 10 to 11 percent. Both may be workable, but each requires attention.

Site conditions can be more problematic than plant conditions. Fresh drywall, trapped humidity, poor sequencing, and inadequate sealing can all affect installed performance. This creates a familiar issue for custom wood shops: the manufacturer controls machining and assembly, but not the environment the product enters.

Fitchett’s response combines process control with customer education. “Wood is still a living, breathing material,” he says. The company has expanded its documentation to explain care requirements and set expectations with clients. This functions as both service and risk management.

THE STAIRCASE AS ENGINEERED PRODUCT

Stair work has become more engineered and document-intensive. Fitchett describes it simply: “A stair is basically a piece of furniture that you can walk on.” The statement reflects both craftsmanship and performance requirements.

Regulatory expectations have increased. Municipalities require engineering, documentation, sign-offs, and inspection compliance. In mixed-material systems, complexity rises further, as different components may require separate engineering streams.

This has changed internal workflows. Informal handoffs from field measure to shop floor are no longer sufficient. Trueline measures jobs, produces CAD drawings, and sends defined drawings into production. This reduces ambiguity and supports installation.

The company prefers to install its own work. This protects engineered intent and reduces the risk of field errors becoming disputes. With one team controlling measurement, drawing, manufacturing, and installation, coordination improves.

This approach is particularly relevant in complex projects involving curves, custom geometries, and multiple materials. The company is often involved well before fabrication begins.

REINVESTMENT AS OPERATING ROUTINE

Technology investment at Trueline is continuous rather than episodic. “There’s always reinvestment happening. Machinery upgrades never really stop,” Fitchett says.

Recent investments include a newer moulder and both 3-axis and 5-axis CNC capacity. The newer moulder improves accuracy, speed, and changeover efficiency. In a custom environment, these gains support flexibility and throughput.

Modern equipment improves more than cycle time. It enhances repeatability, reduces setup friction, and strengthens the link between design and finished product. Combined with CAD workflows, it supports a more disciplined production system.

The company’s growth remains measured. It has expanded within its lane and extended its regional reach while maintaining its specialization.

PEOPLE, CULTURE, AND STAYING POWER

The final point is about management. Fitchett says he wishes he had started his own company earlier, but his more developed observation concerns people. “If you bring in good people, they create good culture,” he says. The company has a core group of long-term staff who have stayed over time.

In custom stair and millwork production, tacit knowledge remains central. Machines, drawings, and engineering are critical, but experienced employees interpret nuance, anticipate installation risks, and resolve problems before they escalate.

Trueline has built its position through disciplined specialization. It operates in a custom regional market, has expanded its material mix without losing its manufacturing identity, and has tightened its process around CAD, engineering, climate control, and installation. In a fragmented specialty market, focus enables adaptation rather than limiting it.