As readers of this blog may know, I am with DACKOR 3D Laminates here in North America. Aside from stocking the laminates and making them available to the market and creating trends, we do a lot of specifications. Sometimes cabinet companies have a misunderstanding of what we do.
SPECIFICATION
As you may be aware, before a condo, apartment or hotel breaks ground, the designers choose colors and come up with a general design to be bid on. Designers are contracted either by the Architectural firm or directly by the owners. This is a critical point because if they specify an offshore producer.... or a veneer, for example, and your company's strength is membrane pressing doors then something could be specified that your company does not have a comparable advantage in. Just like HPL, Solid Surface and other architectural products, Dackor gets our colors specified and we do our best to also value engineer the project. We explain how important melamine matches are however ultimately this is a decision for the ultimate customer, the owner of the project.
WHY DO DESIGNERS WORK WITH MATERIAL SUPPLERS?
It is commonly known that Designers work with material suppliers rather than cabinet makers. I have suspected that the reason is that its viewed that for the Designer to work with the subs on a project that it is interfering with the bidding process. Often cabinet companies get exclusive materials and the price of their final work reflects that. By specifying the material, multiple people can bid on the project. This is the first theory. The second theory is that GCs do large projects and may owe funds to one supplier and so interfering with subs and specifying them may affect the cash flow of a project. In summary, its an industry conclusion that designers like to specify materials and then empower the GC to work with whom they choose. So if we are specifying 3D Laminates and you like working with our product segment we are doing you a service. We are lining up a project to fall into your wheel house and better assure that you get the project.
CHANGING SPECS
Dackor is not in the business of going to existing projects and trying to convince them to switch colors. Since our main customer is those with membrane or vacuum presses, we would never disrupt their business by trying to convince a color to be switched to ours. It is our goal to support and to further enhance the business of the door pressing community.
MISUNDERSTANDINGS
If you are a cabinet company who has previously done work for a General Contractor and then you see a Dackor specified laminate, it may seem that we are disrupting your business. This is inaccurate because the project could have been specified in an off shore cabinet color or a surfacing product which your factory is not equipped to produce. From your perspective, the GC is your customer and the wishes of the owner or the designer seem irrelevant however they are the ultimate customer who is paying for the cabinets. Also GCs use a wide variety of cabinet vendors and just having the spec be initially in a 3D Laminate gives your company a leg up to assure that its you who gets that project.
RECOMMENDING CABINET COMPANIES
Dackor is independent and does not favor any company over the other however if you own a membrane press its you who we want to impress, who we want to develop a relationship with. Its important to see our role in the process and to see value in us being out specifying 3D Laminates. Why not get closer to us to find out about other opportunities and to utilize us as an extension of your sales efforts. In addition, we can custom match colors and bring in colors to enable you to win projects that would normally go to another technology or go to another producer.
OTHER INDUSTRIES THAT SPECIFY
We are all aware that HPL producers such as Wilsonart, Formica and Laminart specify their laminates as well as countertop companies like Corian, Cambria and Silestone. In these markets it is quite common for items to be specified and there are such an abundance of companies who can process these materials. Please note that as a membrane or vacuum presser that you are in a unique group and although you are used to controlling the supply of these materials that it is not out of line or unordinary for us to specify our laminates prior to the GC being name and certainly before the Cabinet company is named. By the time you are called to bid the project we may have had a year prior into the specification process. Be sure to reach out to us and to work closely with us so that we can work towards mutual benefit. Ultimately we want to work more closely with you and to develop a closer relationship.
CONCLUSION
Dackor gets involved very early on in projects to specify our laminates. Projects specified in Dackor have been long before you have been involved in that project and before the GC has even been awarded the projects. If your company brings to us a project after the fact then we will refer to you and not even communicate with the Designer or owner for that matter. We understand very clearly the protocol and operate in that manner. We hope that you embrace us, become a customer to us and that we can feed each other business and grow together.
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