Brian's Cabinets

Bend, OR

The 42,000-square-foot state-of-the art custom facility, designed by Bend based STEELE Associates Architects and built by Empire Construction & Development, took two years, after the cabinetry specialist outgrew its former 33,000-square-foot location off American Lane. Brian’s Cabinets has garnered a reputation for crafting products of exceptional quality and value since its relatively humble beginnings as a two-person shop in 1977, and has evolved to become a prime manufacturer with cutting-edge production capabilities that has strived to stay at the forefront of its industry’s design and construction technology. Project architect Adam Stephen observed, “Todd and his team were very well organized and the end results of how things made sense spatially were reflected in their preparation. They went through some 38 different iterations and the floor was taped out to scale regarding placement of equipment etc., so the final plant transition from the old to new facility was made as seamless as possible.”

The majority of the new space is occupied by the main production area, featuring 40 foot ceiling height and voluminous natural light, thanks to clerestory windows throughout the manufacturing facility, flanked by a showroom and offices on the ground level and a partial upper mezzanine overlooking the shop floor. Other amenities include conference and meeting rooms, and an employee kitchen/break room featuring a glass-paneled overhead door leading to a generous outdoor patio. Owner Todd Hakala said, “Our primary focus is on custom work, exclusively in the residential sector, and we have developed strong long-term relationships with a number of clients, including shipping to major customers in Northern California.” We undertake around 30 to 40 projects a month in a wide range of sizes, and our people worked with the design team and Oregon Manufacturing Extension Partnership (OMEP) who specialize in promoting a ‘lean manufacturing’ operating philosophy, to come up with the optimal layout and function for the new building to best meet our needs. Another important component was the extensive dust collection system fabricated by CSL Systems out of Eugene. It is a sophisticated process which pulls dust particulate from every corner of the plant, and Larry Scharf of mechanical engineers CEA Engineering hit upon pursuing Energy Trust incentives to re-use heat generated by the friction of the system, meaning Todd can heat the space virtually for free.