The Best of Both Worlds The Best of Both Worlds

through the v-groover at
whatever dimension is
necessary and the piece
is finished. It’s a huge
time saver for us.”
Another boost to the
production process is
the overhead router,
which is used primarily
to construct boxes for
millwork.
“The overhead router
is a big plus for the wood
shop,” Van Flatern says.
“We now have the ability
to use a rabbet and dado
system in addition to a
dowel system. That
option has reduced our
production time on casework considerably.”
J-CON ALSO
MANUFACTURED AND INSTALLED SOLID OAK PANELS
TO ADORN THE POWDER ROOM IN
GRUSCZAK’S
HOME.
PHOTO
BY
JEFFREY YARDIS.
Model ABG48MFT vgroover, which also has
applications in woodworking.
Drop-edges
for
straight run solid surface
countertops are fabricated by processing the slab
upside down through the
v-groover, which cuts a
90-degree “v” into the
backside. As the material
goes
through
the
machine, clear tape is
automatically applied to
the face of the slab
directly under the center
of cut, which acts as a
hinge when the cutterhead creates the groove.
Once machined, the
slab automatically exits
the machine, workers
apply joint adhesive to
the groove, and the
mitered drop-edge is
folded up and clamped,
the clear tape aligning
edge and deck perfectly
in place. After curing, the
tape is removed and the
drop-edge machined to
create a decorative profile.
“The v-groover is
important
for
us,
because we can fabricate
not only straight runs of
solid surface quickly and
efficiently, but shelving
products made of wood,”
Van Flatern explains.
“We can take a piece of
pre-finished maple, for
example, tape off the
backside and run it
THE ISSFA CONNECTION
Shortly after the move
to Thomaston, a letter
arrived in the mail inquiring whether J-Con might
support the establishment of a new trade
association for solid surface fabricators. Hilary
responded in the affirmative, and, “before I knew
it, I was the ISSFA
(International
Solid
Surface
Fabricators
Association) state coordinator for Connecticut.”
The fledgling association, eager to identify
and utilize talented people within the industry,
soon came to appreciate
Hilary’s ability to forge
relationships and organize people into cohesive
working units.
Shortly after she
became state coordinator, Connecticut was
chartered as the association’s first chapter. J-Con
also hosted the first
ISSFA regional meeting,
which included opening
its shop to other fabricators throughout New
England for tours —
something practically
unheard of in solid surface at the time.
In 1999, Hilary was
elected to the ISSFA
board of directors, serving as chairman of the
membership committee,
and later as secretary.
Total membership in the
association, excluding
associate members, is
now in excess of 700 fabrication companies scattered throughout the
world.
Because of their
involvement in the association, Mark and Hilary
have visited fabrication
shops throughout the
country. This constant
exposure to the practices and philosophies of
colleagues, many of
whom also process
wood products in addition to solid surface, has
proven a plentiful source
of new ideas that often
find their way into the JCon operation.
COMPETITION
IN
A
FLAT
ECONOMY
As was the case for
many New England
firms, 2002 was less than
a stellar year at J-Con.
The wood side of the
business, in particular,
suffered as commercial
contracts were often put
on hold or simply cancelled.
The
woodworking
percentage of total sales
slipped from a solid 65
percent in 2001 to an iffy
60 percent in 2002.
Luckily, solid surface
experienced growth dur-
ing that same period,
which has continued
strong into 2003.
One of the reasons JCon was able to post positive overall growth figures during the recent
downturn has to do with
its diversification in the
marketplace. In addition
to furnishing architectural millwork and casework, the company offers
stock and custom cabinets and solid surface
countertops for residential applications.
As commercial contracts for millwork and
solid surface headed
south, wholesale residential sales plugged along at
a relatively steady pace,
helping to stabilize an
otherwise rocky ride. In
recent years the company
extended its reach into
the marketplace by establishing a retail showroom
for the residential market.
Although advertising
for the retail showroom is
kept to a minimum,
which means it operates
chiefly on referrals, revenue from the division
represents a tidy add-on
to an already thriving
wholesale
residential
business.
Residential sales man-
ager Kathleen CullenReuther divides her time
between managing projects for kitchen and bath
dealers, remodelers and
builders, and helping end
users with the design and
selection of cabinets and
countertops for their
homes. “We offer the
Diamond™, Ultracraft™
and Wayneco brands, as
well as a builder’s grade
line of cabinets,” she says.
“Since we do millwork,
we can do an add-on to a
stock cabinet that customizes the whole installation. People appreciate
that we can give them a
custom look for a little
more than stock prices.”
RELATIONSHIPS. RELATIONSHIPS.
RELATIONSHIPS.
Ask a realtor what is
the single most important
issue when selling a
home and she will tell
you, “Location. Location.
Location.” For Mark and
Hilary Converse, a major
secret to their success
lies in the ability to forge
lasting and mutually beneficial
relationships,
whether it be with their
customers, vendors or
employees. Its importance is emphasized in
everything they do.
Consider the case of
Joseph Grusczak, A.S.I.D.,
who is a noted architectural designer of high-end
residential and commercial projects throughout
the world. Grusczak
stumbled upon the J-Con
shop when visiting another local contractor and,
curious, stopped in for a
visit.
“There was nothing
about his appearance or
demeanor to suggest that
a world-class designer of
high-end,
high-profile
projects had just walked
through our door,” Mark
remembers. “Certainly
his demeanor was professional. While working
with him, we were often
kept on our toes responding to requests for unusual and exotic materials,
and by his insistence on
absolute
perfection.
Every project we have
done with him has lifted
our company to another
level.”
Among the projects JCon has completed for
Grusczak
throughout
New England — projects
like high-end residences
in Rhode Island and large
renovations in Manhattan
— are a paneled foyer,
powder room and two
Architectural Millwork
sets of free-standing cabinets in the architect’s
home. The former oneroom cottage located in
Woodbury, Conn., has
been transformed by
Grusczak and partner Bill
DeGraff into a sprawling
living museum, featuring
building materials collected from all over the
world.
LOOKING AHEAD
Considering improvements made in the shop
toward
streamlining
operations, new market
opportunities in the commercial and residential
markets, a solid base of
customers and a dedicated and talented staff,
Mark
and
Hilary
Converse are bullish
about their prospects for
the future. And why
shouldn’t they be? Going
into 2004 the firm already
has orders on its books
nearly equal to total
sales of 2003.
Not too bad for a guy
who started out working
in the basement.
Ed. note: Russ Lee is
the editor of SolidSurface
magazine.
Solid Surface
November 2003
A Cygnus Publication
The Best
of Both
Worlds
Reprinted with
permission from
Wood Digest
Mark and Hilary
Converse, J-Con
Woodworking Inc.
Kitchen Cabinetry
a division of J CON, Inc.
135 South Main Street
P.O. Box 160
Thomaston, CT 06787
[email protected]
www.j-coninc.com
T: 860.283.8108
F: 860.283.0292
www.woodworkingpro.com
ARCHITECTURAL WOODWORK
THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS
J-Con Woodworking combines solid surface and wood for higher profits.
By Russ Lee
G
“
ETTING BACK TO THE
likely means
different things to different people. For Mark
Converse it meant getting
back to the basement.
His first stint underground came after being
laid off from his job at the
local Bradlees department store in 1971. With a
new wife to support and
little more than raw talent and courage as
assets, he began building
plastic laminate furniture
and countertops for the
residential market in his
home shop.
The enterprise soon
outgrew hearth and
home, forcing Converse
into commercial space
BASICS”
AT A GLANCE
Company name: J-Con
Woodworking, Division of JCon, Inc.
Location:Thomaston, Conn.
Owners: Mark and Hilary
Converse
Established: 1984
Number of employees: 20
Size of facility: 16,000 sq. ft.
Products: Solid surface,
architectural millwork,
casework, custom and
stock kitchen cabinets
and countertops
Market: Commercial
and residential work
in Connecticut, metro New
York, parts of Massachusetts
and Rhode Island
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.j-coninc.com
and even more growth.
After a successful run of
about 10 years, he sold
the business to his brother.
Using profits from the
sale, Mark and his wife,
Hilary, began a new business selling tools to the
trade. Sadly, the venture
went bust, and in 1984
Mark found himself back
in the basement, this time
as a woodworker.
“I had signed a nocompete contract when I
sold the countertop business,” he recalls, “so my
focus was on woodworking.”
But even before he
began his first project in
wood, Mark came across
a new material that
exhibited many of the
characteristics of hard
plastic (thermoformable,
nonporous, uniformity of
size and thickness), yet
machined and sanded
like a fine hardwood. He
had discovered solid surface, and he was immediately smitten with its
potential.
“Mark and a friend had
recently removed an oven
from a customer’s home,”
explains Hilary, “so they
THE
brought it into the basement, took off the back
and modified it to
thermoform
Corian®.
Mark designed a table
with
multidirectional
flowing curves and bent
the Corian® to shape. A
few years later representatives from DuPont (the
manufacturer of Corian®)
asked to borrow it for display in an art show. “It’s
in my office today, nearly
20 years later, and looks
as good as new.”
NEW FACILITY
Now armed with the
ability to do fine woodworking and solid surface, Mark dubbed the
new company J-Con
Woodworking after the
couple’s two children
(Jessica and Joshua), and
set out to change the
world.
In
typical
Converse style, the busi-
FINELY DETAILED OAK PANELED FOYER WAS BUILT TO EXACTING
SPECIFICATIONS FOR ARCHITECT
WOODBURY, CONN. PHOTOS
JOSEPH GRUSCZAK’S
JEFFREY YARDIS.
BY
HOME IN
ed on paper. When
improvements to the procedure are developed, the
standard operating procedure is updated.
“That requires us to
think through everything
we do at least one time,”
Van Flatern says, “and
that helps standardize
the process and increase
quality. A side benefit is
anytime we hire new
people we automatically
have a training manual
for them to study, which
cuts down on training
time and mistakes.”
ness soon busted out of
the basement in Prospect,
Conn. and into a 6,000sq.-ft. facility located in
nearby Waterbury. In
1996 it moved to its present home, a 16,000-sq.-ft.
shop in Thomaston,
Conn.
“The focus is on architectural millwork, casework, custom and stock
kitchens and solid surface,” Mark explains.
“Our market area covers
commercial and residential work in Connecticut,
metro New York, parts of
Massachusetts and Rhode
Island.”
TAKING IT TO THE NEXT LEVEL
To help direct growth
of the company, the
Converses brought in
Tracy Van Flatern as
director of operations a
little over a year ago.
Although he came to JCon with no woodworking experience, Van
Flatern’s impact was
immediately felt as he
sought to streamline
workflow in the shop.
“One of the first things
we did was to cross-train
our people between solid
surface and woodworking,” says Van Flatern,
whose background is in
the aerospace, weapons
systems and general
machinery
industries.
“There was some resistance at first because a
couple of the wood guys
didn’t want to learn solid
surface and vice versa,
but it has become a positive thing for everyone.”
The result of the crosstraining effort was a 45
percent reduction in the
workforce without decreasing shop output. Van
A DISTINGUISHING, YET MOSTLY UNSEEN CHARACTERISTIC OF THIS EXQUISITELY FASHIONED SILVER CABINET IS THE BACKSIDE, WHICH IS AS PERFECTLY CRAFTED AS THE FRONT. PHOTO BY JEFFREY YARDIS.
Flatern next set his
sights on reducing material waste and utilizing
scrap.
“When I first started
here, there were material
racks totally hidden from
view because so much
scrap wood was stacked
on and around them,” he
recalls. “We began using
the wood — some of it
had been lying around
for years — to build cabinet boxes and other
structures that weren’t
part of the finish schedule. The extra laminate
we used as backer material.”
Gradually, the shop
began to be less cluttered. Materials were
suddenly easier to find
and waste reduced. One
of the more creative uses
for scrap materials
occurs in the solid surface department, where
falloff from countertop
jobs gets stacked in a
large four-sided crate.
When the weight of scrap
reaches 1,000 lbs. Van
Flatern alerts the local
Corian® distributor, who
loads the crate onto the
delivery truck during the
next scheduled stop, and
then delivers the scrap
material to a purchaser
in another state.
“We don’t know what
they use it for and they
only take Corian® scraps,”
Van Flatern explains. “But
they pay per pound and all
we have to do is stack it in
the crate.”
Van Flatern, who is
also an ISO 9002 auditor,
puts his knowledge of
systems management to
good use in streamlining
the operations at J-Con.
Every procedure, from
filling out a purchase
order to straight-lining a
board on the ripsaw, is
analyzed and document-
A SYMBIOTIC RELATIONSHIP
The folks at J-Con
consider the marriage
between solid surface
and wood a distinct
advantage,
especially
when it comes to managing such valuable assets
as
the
company’s
employees.
“We don’t have conflicts between the wood
and the solid surface side
of the business,” Van
Flatern explains. “If we
were just a millwork
house, we wouldn’t have
the
opportunity
to
include solid surface on
a project, and vice versa.
Now we are able to offer
a turnkey project. We
also have very little
downtime because of the
flexibility
of
our
resources (employees).
In fact, I consider it a
huge advantage that they
can move from solid surface to wood as needed,
and back again.”
The constant search
for more efficient production methods in solid
surface countertop fabrication introduced J-Con
to the Auto ‘V’ Grooving
ARCHITECTURAL WOODWORK
THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS
J-Con Woodworking combines solid surface and wood for higher profits.
By Russ Lee
G
“
ETTING BACK TO THE
likely means
different things to different people. For Mark
Converse it meant getting
back to the basement.
His first stint underground came after being
laid off from his job at the
local Bradlees department store in 1971. With a
new wife to support and
little more than raw talent and courage as
assets, he began building
plastic laminate furniture
and countertops for the
residential market in his
home shop.
The enterprise soon
outgrew hearth and
home, forcing Converse
into commercial space
BASICS”
AT A GLANCE
Company name: J-Con
Woodworking, Division of JCon, Inc.
Location:Thomaston, Conn.
Owners: Mark and Hilary
Converse
Established: 1984
Number of employees: 20
Size of facility: 16,000 sq. ft.
Products: Solid surface,
architectural millwork,
casework, custom and
stock kitchen cabinets
and countertops
Market: Commercial
and residential work
in Connecticut, metro New
York, parts of Massachusetts
and Rhode Island
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.j-coninc.com
and even more growth.
After a successful run of
about 10 years, he sold
the business to his brother.
Using profits from the
sale, Mark and his wife,
Hilary, began a new business selling tools to the
trade. Sadly, the venture
went bust, and in 1984
Mark found himself back
in the basement, this time
as a woodworker.
“I had signed a nocompete contract when I
sold the countertop business,” he recalls, “so my
focus was on woodworking.”
But even before he
began his first project in
wood, Mark came across
a new material that
exhibited many of the
characteristics of hard
plastic (thermoformable,
nonporous, uniformity of
size and thickness), yet
machined and sanded
like a fine hardwood. He
had discovered solid surface, and he was immediately smitten with its
potential.
“Mark and a friend had
recently removed an oven
from a customer’s home,”
explains Hilary, “so they
THE
brought it into the basement, took off the back
and modified it to
thermoform
Corian®.
Mark designed a table
with
multidirectional
flowing curves and bent
the Corian® to shape. A
few years later representatives from DuPont (the
manufacturer of Corian®)
asked to borrow it for display in an art show. “It’s
in my office today, nearly
20 years later, and looks
as good as new.”
NEW FACILITY
Now armed with the
ability to do fine woodworking and solid surface, Mark dubbed the
new company J-Con
Woodworking after the
couple’s two children
(Jessica and Joshua), and
set out to change the
world.
In
typical
Converse style, the busi-
FINELY DETAILED OAK PANELED FOYER WAS BUILT TO EXACTING
SPECIFICATIONS FOR ARCHITECT
WOODBURY, CONN. PHOTOS
JOSEPH GRUSCZAK’S
JEFFREY YARDIS.
BY
HOME IN
ed on paper. When
improvements to the procedure are developed, the
standard operating procedure is updated.
“That requires us to
think through everything
we do at least one time,”
Van Flatern says, “and
that helps standardize
the process and increase
quality. A side benefit is
anytime we hire new
people we automatically
have a training manual
for them to study, which
cuts down on training
time and mistakes.”
ness soon busted out of
the basement in Prospect,
Conn. and into a 6,000sq.-ft. facility located in
nearby Waterbury. In
1996 it moved to its present home, a 16,000-sq.-ft.
shop in Thomaston,
Conn.
“The focus is on architectural millwork, casework, custom and stock
kitchens and solid surface,” Mark explains.
“Our market area covers
commercial and residential work in Connecticut,
metro New York, parts of
Massachusetts and Rhode
Island.”
TAKING IT TO THE NEXT LEVEL
To help direct growth
of the company, the
Converses brought in
Tracy Van Flatern as
director of operations a
little over a year ago.
Although he came to JCon with no woodworking experience, Van
Flatern’s impact was
immediately felt as he
sought to streamline
workflow in the shop.
“One of the first things
we did was to cross-train
our people between solid
surface and woodworking,” says Van Flatern,
whose background is in
the aerospace, weapons
systems and general
machinery
industries.
“There was some resistance at first because a
couple of the wood guys
didn’t want to learn solid
surface and vice versa,
but it has become a positive thing for everyone.”
The result of the crosstraining effort was a 45
percent reduction in the
workforce without decreasing shop output. Van
A DISTINGUISHING, YET MOSTLY UNSEEN CHARACTERISTIC OF THIS EXQUISITELY FASHIONED SILVER CABINET IS THE BACKSIDE, WHICH IS AS PERFECTLY CRAFTED AS THE FRONT. PHOTO BY JEFFREY YARDIS.
Flatern next set his
sights on reducing material waste and utilizing
scrap.
“When I first started
here, there were material
racks totally hidden from
view because so much
scrap wood was stacked
on and around them,” he
recalls. “We began using
the wood — some of it
had been lying around
for years — to build cabinet boxes and other
structures that weren’t
part of the finish schedule. The extra laminate
we used as backer material.”
Gradually, the shop
began to be less cluttered. Materials were
suddenly easier to find
and waste reduced. One
of the more creative uses
for scrap materials
occurs in the solid surface department, where
falloff from countertop
jobs gets stacked in a
large four-sided crate.
When the weight of scrap
reaches 1,000 lbs. Van
Flatern alerts the local
Corian® distributor, who
loads the crate onto the
delivery truck during the
next scheduled stop, and
then delivers the scrap
material to a purchaser
in another state.
“We don’t know what
they use it for and they
only take Corian® scraps,”
Van Flatern explains. “But
they pay per pound and all
we have to do is stack it in
the crate.”
Van Flatern, who is
also an ISO 9002 auditor,
puts his knowledge of
systems management to
good use in streamlining
the operations at J-Con.
Every procedure, from
filling out a purchase
order to straight-lining a
board on the ripsaw, is
analyzed and document-
A SYMBIOTIC RELATIONSHIP
The folks at J-Con
consider the marriage
between solid surface
and wood a distinct
advantage,
especially
when it comes to managing such valuable assets
as
the
company’s
employees.
“We don’t have conflicts between the wood
and the solid surface side
of the business,” Van
Flatern explains. “If we
were just a millwork
house, we wouldn’t have
the
opportunity
to
include solid surface on
a project, and vice versa.
Now we are able to offer
a turnkey project. We
also have very little
downtime because of the
flexibility
of
our
resources (employees).
In fact, I consider it a
huge advantage that they
can move from solid surface to wood as needed,
and back again.”
The constant search
for more efficient production methods in solid
surface countertop fabrication introduced J-Con
to the Auto ‘V’ Grooving
through the v-groover at
whatever dimension is
necessary and the piece
is finished. It’s a huge
time saver for us.”
Another boost to the
production process is
the overhead router,
which is used primarily
to construct boxes for
millwork.
“The overhead router
is a big plus for the wood
shop,” Van Flatern says.
“We now have the ability
to use a rabbet and dado
system in addition to a
dowel system. That
option has reduced our
production time on casework considerably.”
J-CON ALSO
MANUFACTURED AND INSTALLED SOLID OAK PANELS
TO ADORN THE POWDER ROOM IN
GRUSCZAK’S
HOME.
PHOTO
BY
JEFFREY YARDIS.
Model ABG48MFT vgroover, which also has
applications in woodworking.
Drop-edges
for
straight run solid surface
countertops are fabricated by processing the slab
upside down through the
v-groover, which cuts a
90-degree “v” into the
backside. As the material
goes
through
the
machine, clear tape is
automatically applied to
the face of the slab
directly under the center
of the cut, which acts as
a hinge when the cutterhead creates the groove.
Once machined, the
slab automatically exits
the machine, workers
apply joint adhesive to
the groove, and the
mitered drop-edge is
folded up and clamped,
the clear tape aligning
edge and deck perfectly
in place. After curing, the
tape is removed and the
drop-edge machined to
create a decorative profile.
“The v-groover is
important
for
us,
because we can fabricate
not only straight runs of
solid surface quickly and
efficiently, but shelving
products made of wood,”
Van Flatern explains.
“We can take a piece of
pre-finished maple, for
example, tape off the
backside and run it
THE ISSFA CONNECTION
Shortly after the move
to Thomaston, a letter
arrived in the mail inquiring whether J-Con might
support the establishment of a new trade
association for solid surface fabricators. Hilary
responded in the affirmative, and, “before I knew
it, I was the ISSFA
(International
Solid
Surface
Fabricators
Association) state coordinator for Connecticut.”
The fledgling association, eager to identify
and utilize talented people within the industry,
soon came to appreciate
Hilary’s ability to forge
relationships and organize people into cohesive
working units.
Shortly after she
became state coordinator, Connecticut was
chartered as the association’s first chapter. J-Con
also hosted the first
ISSFA regional meeting,
which included opening
its shop to other fabricators throughout New
England for tours —
something practically
unheard of in solid surface at the time.
In 1999, Hilary was
elected to the ISSFA
board of directors, serving as chairman of the
membership committee,
and later as secretary.
Total membership in the
association, excluding
associate members, is
now in excess of 700 fabrication companies scattered throughout the
world.
Because of their
involvement in the association, Mark and Hilary
have visited fabrication
shops throughout the
country. This constant
exposure to the practices and philosophies of
colleagues, many of
whom also process
wood products in addition to solid surface, has
proven a plentiful source
of new ideas that often
find their way into the JCon operation.
COMPETITION
IN
A
FLAT
ECONOMY
As was the case for
many New England
firms, 2002 was less than
a stellar year at J-Con.
The wood side of the
business, in particular,
suffered as commercial
contracts were often put
on hold or simply cancelled.
The
woodworking
percentage of total sales
slipped from a solid 65
percent in 2001 to an iffy
60 percent in 2002.
Luckily, solid surface
experienced growth dur-
ing that same period,
which has continued
strong into 2003.
One of the reasons JCon was able to post positive overall growth figures during the recent
downturn has to do with
its diversification in the
marketplace. In addition
to furnishing architectural millwork and casework, the company offers
stock and custom cabinets and solid surface
countertops for residential applications.
As commercial contracts for millwork and
solid surface headed
south, wholesale residential sales plugged along at
a relatively steady pace,
helping to stabilize an
otherwise rocky ride. In
recent years the company
extended its reach into
the marketplace by establishing a retail showroom
for the residential market.
Although advertising
for the retail showroom is
kept to a minimum,
which means it operates
chiefly on referrals, revenue from the division
represents a tidy add-on
to an already thriving
wholesale
residential
business.
Residential sales man-
ager Kathleen CullenReuther divides her time
between managing projects for kitchen and bath
dealers, remodelers and
builders, and helping end
users with the design and
selection of cabinets and
countertops for their
homes. “We offer the
Diamond™, Ultracraft™
and Wayneco brands, as
well as a builder’s grade
line of cabinets,” she says.
“Since we do millwork,
we can do an add-on to a
stock cabinet that customizes the whole installation. People appreciate
that we can give them a
custom look for a little
more than stock prices.”
RELATIONSHIPS. RELATIONSHIPS.
RELATIONSHIPS.
Ask a realtor what is
the single most important
issue when selling a
home and she will tell
you, “Location. Location.
Location.” For Mark and
Hilary Converse, a major
secret to their success
lies in the ability to forge
lasting and mutually beneficial
relationships,
whether it be with their
customers, vendors or
employees. Its importance is emphasized in
everything they do.
Consider the case of
Joseph Grusczak, A.S.I.D.,
who is a noted architectural designer of high-end
residential and commercial projects throughout
the world. Grusczak
stumbled upon the J-Con
shop when visiting another local contractor and,
curious, stopped in for a
visit.
“There was nothing
about his appearance or
demeanor to suggest that
a world-class designer of
high-end,
high-profile
projects had just walked
through our door,” Mark
remembers. “Certainly
his demeanor was professional. While working
with him, we were often
kept on our toes responding to requests for unusual and exotic materials,
and by his insistence on
absolute
perfection.
Every project we have
done with him has lifted
our company to another
level.”
Among the projects JCon has completed for
Grusczak
throughout
New England — projects
like high-end residences
in Rhode Island and large
renovations in Manhattan
— are a paneled foyer,
powder room and two
Architectural Millwork
sets of free-standing cabinets in the architect’s
home. The former oneroom cottage located in
Woodbury, Conn., has
been transformed by
Grusczak and partner Bill
DeGraff into a sprawling
living museum, featuring
building materials collected from all over the
world.
LOOKING AHEAD
Considering improvements made in the shop
toward
streamlining
operations, new market
opportunities in the commercial and residential
markets, a solid base of
customers and a dedicated and talented staff,
Mark
and
Hilary
Converse are bullish
about their prospects for
the future. And why
shouldn’t they be? Going
into 2004 the firm already
has orders on its books
nearly equal to total
sales of 2003.
Not too bad for a guy
who started out working
in the basement.
Ed. note: Russ Lee is
the editor of SolidSurface
magazine.
Solid Surface
November 2003
A Cygnus Publication
The Best
of Both
Worlds
Reprinted with
permission from
Wood Digest
Mark and Hilary
Converse, J-Con
Woodworking Inc.
Kitchen Cabinetry
a division of J CON, Inc.
135 South Main Street
P.O. Box 160
Thomaston, CT 06787
[email protected]
www.j-coninc.com
T: 860.283.8108
F: 860.283.0292
www.woodworkingpro.com
ARCHITECTURAL WOODWORK
THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS
J-Con Woodworking combines solid surface and wood for higher profits.
By Russ Lee
G
“
ETTING BACK TO THE
likely means
different things to different people. For Mark
Converse it meant getting
back to the basement.
His first stint underground came after being
laid off from his job at the
local Bradlees department store in 1971. With a
new wife to support and
little more than raw talent and courage as
assets, he began building
plastic laminate furniture
and countertops for the
residential market in his
home shop.
The enterprise soon
outgrew hearth and
home, forcing Converse
into commercial space
BASICS”
AT A GLANCE
Company name: J-Con
Woodworking, Division of JCon, Inc.
Location:Thomaston, Conn.
Owners: Mark and Hilary
Converse
Established: 1984
Number of employees: 20
Size of facility: 16,000 sq. ft.
Products: Solid surface,
architectural millwork,
casework, custom and
stock kitchen cabinets
and countertops
Market: Commercial
and residential work
in Connecticut, metro New
York, parts of Massachusetts
and Rhode Island
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.j-coninc.com
and even more growth.
After a successful run of
about 10 years, he sold
the business to his brother.
Using profits from the
sale, Mark and his wife,
Hilary, began a new business selling tools to the
trade. Sadly, the venture
went bust, and in 1984
Mark found himself back
in the basement, this time
as a woodworker.
“I had signed a nocompete contract when I
sold the countertop business,” he recalls, “so my
focus was on woodworking.”
But even before he
began his first project in
wood, Mark came across
a new material that
exhibited many of the
characteristics of hard
plastic (thermoformable,
nonporous, uniformity of
size and thickness), yet
machined and sanded
like a fine hardwood. He
had discovered solid surface, and he was immediately smitten with its
potential.
“Mark and a friend had
recently removed an oven
from a customer’s home,”
explains Hilary, “so they
THE
brought it into the basement, took off the back
and modified it to
thermoform
Corian®.
Mark designed a table
with
multidirectional
flowing curves and bent
the Corian® to shape. A
few years later representatives from DuPont (the
manufacturer of Corian®)
asked to borrow it for display in an art show. “It’s
in my office today, nearly
20 years later, and looks
as good as new.”
NEW FACILITY
Now armed with the
ability to do fine woodworking and solid surface, Mark dubbed the
new company J-Con
Woodworking after the
couple’s two children
(Jessica and Joshua), and
set out to change the
world.
In
typical
Converse style, the busi-
FINELY DETAILED OAK PANELED FOYER WAS BUILT TO EXACTING
SPECIFICATIONS FOR ARCHITECT
WOODBURY, CONN. PHOTOS
JOSEPH GRUSCZAK’S
JEFFREY YARDIS.
BY
HOME IN
ed on paper. When
improvements to the procedure are developed, the
standard operating procedure is updated.
“That requires us to
think through everything
we do at least one time,”
Van Flatern says, “and
that helps standardize
the process and increase
quality. A side benefit is
anytime we hire new
people we automatically
have a training manual
for them to study, which
cuts down on training
time and mistakes.”
ness soon busted out of
the basement in Prospect,
Conn. and into a 6,000sq.-ft. facility located in
nearby Waterbury. In
1996 it moved to its present home, a 16,000-sq.-ft.
shop in Thomaston,
Conn.
“The focus is on architectural millwork, casework, custom and stock
kitchens and solid surface,” Mark explains.
“Our market area covers
commercial and residential work in Connecticut,
metro New York, parts of
Massachusetts and Rhode
Island.”
TAKING IT TO THE NEXT LEVEL
To help direct growth
of the company, the
Converses brought in
Tracy Van Flatern as
director of operations a
little over a year ago.
Although he came to JCon with no woodworking experience, Van
Flatern’s impact was
immediately felt as he
sought to streamline
workflow in the shop.
“One of the first things
we did was to cross-train
our people between solid
surface and woodworking,” says Van Flatern,
whose background is in
the aerospace, weapons
systems and general
machinery
industries.
“There was some resistance at first because a
couple of the wood guys
didn’t want to learn solid
surface and vice versa,
but it has become a positive thing for everyone.”
The result of the crosstraining effort was a 45
percent reduction in the
workforce without decreasing shop output. Van
A DISTINGUISHING, YET MOSTLY UNSEEN CHARACTERISTIC OF THIS EXQUISITELY FASHIONED SILVER CABINET IS THE BACKSIDE, WHICH IS AS PERFECTLY CRAFTED AS THE FRONT. PHOTO BY JEFFREY YARDIS.
Flatern next set his
sights on reducing material waste and utilizing
scrap.
“When I first started
here, there were material
racks totally hidden from
view because so much
scrap wood was stacked
on and around them,” he
recalls. “We began using
the wood — some of it
had been lying around
for years — to build cabinet boxes and other
structures that weren’t
part of the finish schedule. The extra laminate
we used as backer material.”
Gradually, the shop
began to be less cluttered. Materials were
suddenly easier to find
and waste reduced. One
of the more creative uses
for scrap materials
occurs in the solid surface department, where
falloff from countertop
jobs gets stacked in a
large four-sided crate.
When the weight of scrap
reaches 1,000 lbs. Van
Flatern alerts the local
Corian® distributor, who
loads the crate onto the
delivery truck during the
next scheduled stop, and
then delivers the scrap
material to a purchaser
in another state.
“We don’t know what
they use it for and they
only take Corian® scraps,”
Van Flatern explains. “But
they pay per pound and all
we have to do is stack it in
the crate.”
Van Flatern, who is
also an ISO 9002 auditor,
puts his knowledge of
systems management to
good use in streamlining
the operations at J-Con.
Every procedure, from
filling out a purchase
order to straight-lining a
board on the ripsaw, is
analyzed and document-
A SYMBIOTIC RELATIONSHIP
The folks at J-Con
consider the marriage
between solid surface
and wood a distinct
advantage,
especially
when it comes to managing such valuable assets
as
the
company’s
employees.
“We don’t have conflicts between the wood
and the solid surface side
of the business,” Van
Flatern explains. “If we
were just a millwork
house, we wouldn’t have
the
opportunity
to
include solid surface on
a project, and vice versa.
Now we are able to offer
a turnkey project. We
also have very little
downtime because of the
flexibility
of
our
resources (employees).
In fact, I consider it a
huge advantage that they
can move from solid surface to wood as needed,
and back again.”
The constant search
for more efficient production methods in solid
surface countertop fabrication introduced J-Con
to the Auto ‘V’ Grooving
through the v-groover at
whatever dimension is
necessary and the piece
is finished. It’s a huge
time saver for us.”
Another boost to the
production process is
the overhead router,
which is used primarily
to construct boxes for
millwork.
“The overhead router
is a big plus for the wood
shop,” Van Flatern says.
“We now have the ability
to use a rabbet and dado
system in addition to a
dowel system. That
option has reduced our
production time on casework considerably.”
J-CON ALSO
MANUFACTURED AND INSTALLED SOLID OAK PANELS
TO ADORN THE POWDER ROOM IN
GRUSCZAK’S
HOME.
PHOTO
BY
JEFFREY YARDIS.
Model ABG48MFT vgroover, which also has
applications in woodworking.
Drop-edges
for
straight run solid surface
countertops are fabricated by processing the slab
upside down through the
v-groover, which cuts a
90-degree “v” into the
backside. As the material
goes
through
the
machine, clear tape is
automatically applied to
the face of the slab
directly under the center
of cut, which acts as a
hinge when the cutterhead creates the groove.
Once machined, the
slab automatically exits
the machine, workers
apply joint adhesive to
the groove, and the
mitered drop-edge is
folded up and clamped,
the clear tape aligning
edge and deck perfectly
in place. After curing, the
tape is removed and the
drop-edge machined to
create a decorative profile.
“The v-groover is
important
for
us,
because we can fabricate
not only straight runs of
solid surface quickly and
efficiently, but shelving
products made of wood,”
Van Flatern explains.
“We can take a piece of
pre-finished maple, for
example, tape off the
backside and run it
THE ISSFA CONNECTION
Shortly after the move
to Thomaston, a letter
arrived in the mail inquiring whether J-Con might
support the establishment of a new trade
association for solid surface fabricators. Hilary
responded in the affirmative, and, “before I knew
it, I was the ISSFA
(International
Solid
Surface
Fabricators
Association) state coordinator for Connecticut.”
The fledgling association, eager to identify
and utilize talented people within the industry,
soon came to appreciate
Hilary’s ability to forge
relationships and organize people into cohesive
working units.
Shortly after she
became state coordinator, Connecticut was
chartered as the association’s first chapter. J-Con
also hosted the first
ISSFA regional meeting,
which included opening
its shop to other fabricators throughout New
England for tours —
something practically
unheard of in solid surface at the time.
In 1999, Hilary was
elected to the ISSFA
board of directors, serving as chairman of the
membership committee,
and later as secretary.
Total membership in the
association, excluding
associate members, is
now in excess of 700 fabrication companies scattered throughout the
world.
Because of their
involvement in the association, Mark and Hilary
have visited fabrication
shops throughout the
country. This constant
exposure to the practices and philosophies of
colleagues, many of
whom also process
wood products in addition to solid surface, has
proven a plentiful source
of new ideas that often
find their way into the JCon operation.
COMPETITION
IN
A
FLAT
ECONOMY
As was the case for
many New England
firms, 2002 was less than
a stellar year at J-Con.
The wood side of the
business, in particular,
suffered as commercial
contracts were often put
on hold or simply cancelled.
The
woodworking
percentage of total sales
slipped from a solid 65
percent in 2001 to an iffy
60 percent in 2002.
Luckily, solid surface
experienced growth dur-
ing that same period,
which has continued
strong into 2003.
One of the reasons JCon was able to post positive overall growth figures during the recent
downturn has to do with
its diversification in the
marketplace. In addition
to furnishing architectural millwork and casework, the company offers
stock and custom cabinets and solid surface
countertops for residential applications.
As commercial contracts for millwork and
solid surface headed
south, wholesale residential sales plugged along at
a relatively steady pace,
helping to stabilize an
otherwise rocky ride. In
recent years the company
extended its reach into
the marketplace by establishing a retail showroom
for the residential market.
Although advertising
for the retail showroom is
kept to a minimum,
which means it operates
chiefly on referrals, revenue from the division
represents a tidy add-on
to an already thriving
wholesale
residential
business.
Residential sales man-
ager Kathleen CullenReuther divides her time
between managing projects for kitchen and bath
dealers, remodelers and
builders, and helping end
users with the design and
selection of cabinets and
countertops for their
homes. “We offer the
Diamond™, Ultracraft™
and Wayneco brands, as
well as a builder’s grade
line of cabinets,” she says.
“Since we do millwork,
we can do an add-on to a
stock cabinet that customizes the whole installation. People appreciate
that we can give them a
custom look for a little
more than stock prices.”
RELATIONSHIPS. RELATIONSHIPS.
RELATIONSHIPS.
Ask a realtor what is
the single most important
issue when selling a
home and she will tell
you, “Location. Location.
Location.” For Mark and
Hilary Converse, a major
secret to their success
lies in the ability to forge
lasting and mutually beneficial
relationships,
whether it be with their
customers, vendors or
employees. Its importance is emphasized in
everything they do.
Consider the case of
Joseph Grusczak, A.S.I.D.,
who is a noted architectural designer of high-end
residential and commercial projects throughout
the world. Grusczak
stumbled upon the J-Con
shop when visiting another local contractor and,
curious, stopped in for a
visit.
“There was nothing
about his appearance or
demeanor to suggest that
a world-class designer of
high-end,
high-profile
projects had just walked
through our door,” Mark
remembers. “Certainly
his demeanor was professional. While working
with him, we were often
kept on our toes responding to requests for unusual and exotic materials,
and by his insistence on
absolute
perfection.
Every project we have
done with him has lifted
our company to another
level.”
Among the projects JCon has completed for
Grusczak
throughout
New England — projects
like high-end residences
in Rhode Island and large
renovations in Manhattan
— are a paneled foyer,
powder room and two
Architectural Millwork
sets of free-standing cabinets in the architect’s
home. The former oneroom cottage located in
Woodbury, Conn., has
been transformed by
Grusczak and partner Bill
DeGraff into a sprawling
living museum, featuring
building materials collected from all over the
world.
LOOKING AHEAD
Considering improvements made in the shop
toward
streamlining
operations, new market
opportunities in the commercial and residential
markets, a solid base of
customers and a dedicated and talented staff,
Mark
and
Hilary
Converse are bullish
about their prospects for
the future. And why
shouldn’t they be? Going
into 2004 the firm already
has orders on its books
nearly equal to total
sales of 2003.
Not too bad for a guy
who started out working
in the basement.
Ed. note: Russ Lee is
the editor of SolidSurface
magazine.
Solid Surface
November 2003
A Cygnus Publication
The Best
of Both
Worlds
Reprinted with
permission from
Wood Digest
Mark and Hilary
Converse, J-Con
Woodworking Inc.
Kitchen Cabinetry
a division of J CON, Inc.
135 South Main Street
P.O. Box 160
Thomaston, CT 06787
[email protected]
www.j-coninc.com
T: 860.283.8108
F: 860.283.0292
www.woodworkingpro.com