Carol Johnson, Southern Indiana Business Report
LOOGOOTEE – A new custom cabinet design and build business in Loogootee is taking off since it opened in a former Dollar General store and received tax abatement from the Loogootee City Council.
RedFox Cabinetry & Design owners Stacy and Todd Wilcher design and build complete kitchens, bathrooms, laundry rooms, built-ins, home office, and custom closets. They will also be manufacturing cabinet doors and edge banding for other shops.
Located at 813 W. Broadway St., RedFox has eight employees that construct cabinets in an 8,000-square foot shop. An additional 3,200 square feet is used for a showroom and office space.
“It’s grown more than I anticipated,” said Todd Wilcher, founder and president. “Demand is tremendous. The last seven or eight years with interest rates down, people were building like crazy. And even now with interest rates up, people are still spending money. The business is not losing any steam.”
If demand continues, Wilcher anticipates expanding to 20 employees in the next four years. Wilcher said he is committed to paying his employees a competitive wage and bringing business to Martin County.
Having the right equipment to produce high quality cabinets is a significant investment. In May, RedFox Cabinetry received a five-year tax abatement on $650,000 of property. Just this week, the company was awarded a Manufacturing Readiness Grant from Conexus Indiana, which was facilitated in part by the Indiana Small Business Development Center.
“We’re really excited to bring new money into Martin County,” said Kyle Street, RedFox vice president of operations. “Once all the equipment is finally here and we can scale the business, we’re going to look to hire more people. We want to help Martin County. It’s historically been considered a poor county and we want to be part of changing that and invest in this community as much as possible.”
RedFox’s most recent investment was a CNC router, which can do all the parts for one set of cabinets at once. It has reduced production time from 90 minutes to just 5 minutes.
From coffee tables to cabinets
Wilcher started making furniture as a teenager attending Barr-Reeve High School and was quick to pick up other building skills.
After high school, he worked as an explosives handler at Naval Surface Warfare Center-Crane for seven years and remodeled homes in his spare time, including gutting and renovating his own house.
With so many cabinet shops in Daviess County – there are more than 100 – Wilcher initially didn’t see a future in the business.
In 2016, he and Stacy started their cabinet business, Wilcher Custom Cabinetry. Initially, he began hauling and installing cabinets for local shops. He said, “We were always held up on doors.” So, the focus was to make and supply doors and drawers to the cabinet shops in the area.
Initially, the focus was to make and supply doors and drawers to the cabinet shops in the area.
Of the hundred or so cabinet shops, many of them small family businesses, in Daviess County, most don’t have the room to make drawers and doors, so they turn to other shops to supply them.
Seeing how much demand there was for cabinets, Wilcher decided to become a full production cabinet shop. It wasn’t long before he was getting business from contractors in Indianapolis, Fishers and Carmel.
As business took off, supply chain delays with getting new equipment limited growth, but with the new equipment installed, RedFox is preparing to scale up and meet demand.
RedFox has three different cabinet lines that span from a high end line to an economy line. All aspects of production are done in house, from cabinet construction to the final finishes of paint, stain and glaze.
Starting a business is not without risks and sacrifice. The Wilchers invested $300,000 after selling their home and their equipment investment will total $650,000. For the Wilchers, the investment in the cabinet business is an investment in Martin County’s future.
“Martin County has a new generation of entrepreneurs,” he said. “We’re here because we want the county to stand out and retain talent instead of letting our people move away for jobs.”
To plan your project with RedFox, call 812-296-4263. Appointments are recommended but not necessary; walk-ins are always welcome.