Diamond CNC
Diamond CNC

A custom kitchen presents a practical manufacturing challenge. Its components must fit a particular space, yet producing them efficiently requires a reliable, repeatable process. In its 2025 manufacturing outlook, the National Institute of Standards and Technology identified flexible automation as an opportunity for smaller manufacturers to handle shorter production runs and adjust more readily to changing requirements.

That possibility matters beyond the factory floor. For homeowners, builders, and cabinet dealers, the value of customization depends partly on whether a manufacturer can accommodate different specifications while keeping production manageable. A system that handles variation efficiently could expand the choices available to customers.

However, equipment is only part of that transition. NIST also emphasizes workforce training alongside automation, recognizing that employees need preparation to work with increasingly sophisticated production systems. Moving materials through machines more quickly offers limited value if the surrounding operation cannot keep pace.

Together, those priorities suggest a broader question for smaller manufacturers. Can they build production systems that accommodate individual orders while developing the people and processes needed to support greater output? Cabinetmaking offers a useful setting in which to examine that question.

Rob Clare, founder of Diamond CNC, a Canadian cabinet and component manufacturer, sees recruiting and retaining skilled employees as a persistent challenge. His response has been to adapt automation associated with larger factories to an operation serving varied custom orders. Inside his production facility, that approach takes shape through robotics and computer-controlled equipment, offering a practical illustration of the manufacturing shift he envisions.

Clare explains the approach through "batch size one," meaning that an individual component can move through the production line without requiring a large quantity of identical pieces. Within the equipment's size limits, he says, successive orders can carry different specifications. The objective is to make customization compatible with higher-volume production facilities.

Clare explains that automation has changed how his team prepares cabinet components for assembly. The automated cell brings together cutting, edging, machining, and sorting, with an employee overseeing the process. In his experience, this approach has reduced the need for workers to move materials between machines, allowing them to focus more on assembly, finishing, and quality control.

The transition remains a work in progress, Clare acknowledges. He notes that the system still requires adjustments, while storage for finished goods has become another challenge. In his view, improving component production also means planning for how products will be assembled, stored, and moved through the rest of the operation.

Clare traces the investment to a need he saw among cabinet shops seeking precision components without purchasing their own machinery. He began producing parts after his day job in a small workshop behind his parents' home. His parents helped finance the first machine, he recalls, taking on a financial commitment that put their home at risk.

As the operation expanded, Clare says, integrating new machinery required changes to the systems supporting it. The latest overhaul involved rebuilding machining programs, software, and ordering processes. He notes that getting these elements to work together took sustained testing and refinement.

The changes also reshaped employees' responsibilities. "The same people who we had before this stuff went in are still with us now," Clare says. He explains that work shifted toward assembly, quality control, packaging, and handling finished products as machines assumed more of the repetitive movement between production stages.

For dealers and contractors, Clare sees value in working with manufacturers that can accommodate both condominium developments and individual custom kitchens. He explains that this flexibility could help them take on projects with different production requirements while sourcing components without investing in manufacturing equipment themselves.

Looking further ahead, Clare envisions what he calls "cloud manufacturing." In that future arrangement, compatible factories could receive digital design files and produce cabinetry closer to its installation site. He presents this as a longer-term possibility, dependent on compatible systems and appropriate quality checks, rather than an established network.

His experience points toward a practical starting point for manufacturers considering similar changes. Examine how orders move through production, where workers need additional skills, and what happens after components leave the machines. Clare's emphasis on reinvestment and adaptation suggests that flexibility develops through sustained operational work. For smaller manufacturers, the opportunity may lie in connecting custom specifications, reliable production, and human oversight well enough to serve a broader range of needs.