New CLOSETS event adds zest to 2005 Texas Woodworking Show: experience a unique co-located event, featuring trade show exhibits and a pair of full-day educational conferences, March 16-18 in Dallas.

Three days ... Two events ... One locale. The fifth biennial Texas Woodworking Show & CWB Conference grows in size and stature with the addition of the first-ever independent national trade event devoted to the scorching hot closets and home organization industry.

The CLOSETS & HOME ORGANIZATION CONFERENCE & EXPO[TM] is a milestone-event for executives of established closet and garage organization system companies, as well as aspiring closet manufacturers, designers, contractors and home builders.

This unique, co-located event will take place March 16-18, in Dallas, TX, and is sponsored by Wood & Wood Products, Custom Woodworking Business and CLOSETS magazines.

The event kicks off with a pair of full-day business conferences on Wednesday, March 16--one devoted to closet and organization system professionals and the other to custom woodworkers interested in improving their estimating skills.

Day two--Thursday, March 17--dawns with a breakfast keynote address by Thomas Moser, founder of the high-end, custom furniture firm, Thos. Moser Cabinetmakers of Auburn, ME. Immediately following Moser's speech is the start of the two-day trade show, featuring displays by more than 200 woodworking machinery and supply exhibitors, plus a pavilion featuring products of special interest to closet manufacturers.

COST ESTIMATING WORKSHOP

9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Wednesday, March 16 Running concurrent to the Closets Conference is a "Cost Estimating & Profitable Bidding" workshop. It is sponsored by Custom Woodworking Business and presented in special cooperation with the Architectural Woodwork Institute.

Anthony Perno, Managing Partner of Casework Technologies Ltd., Albuquerque, NM, will be the featured presenter. Perno has nearly 30 years of experience in construction, manufacturing and fabrication, including 20 years in the woodworking industry. He has worked his way up from the production bench to ownership. Perno is also a regular presenter of AWI's cost estimating work shops and has lectured on the topic at past CWB events in Dallas and Chicago.

The workshop will feature several project bid examples and focus on when to bid, how to use a cost-based approach, preparing a professional bid for submittal and more.

CLOSETS CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS

9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Wednesday, March 16

The Closets Conference is sponsored by CLOSETS magazine and presented in special cooperation with the National Closet Group. The NCG, established in 1999, consists of about 50 independent closet companies throughout the United States.

Each of the featured speakers is a closet and/or garage organization system professional; most are members of the NCG. Following are the conference topics and biographies of the featured presenters.

Creating a Winning Sales Team

Speaker: Steven Mann, Partner, Crowne Closets & Cabinetry, Las Veqas, NV Steven Mann and his partner, Burt Galper, have owned Crowne Closets & Cabinetry since 1992. Since then, the company has grown into the largest independent closet company in the country. The company operates a 30,000-square-foot factory and has 117 employees, including 17 designers and 17 install crews. A new 5,000-square-foot showroom was featured in the April issue of CLOSETS.

Developing a Showroom that Sells

Speaker: Diana Augspurqer, Owner, Creative Storage Systems, Buffalo, NY Diana Augspurger says growing up in a family of interior designers that also ran a retail furniture store helped her "gain great insight into lighting, color and the effect of more intangibles, such as acoustics and designing for personality." She started Creative Storage Systems in 1984.

Working with Builders

Speaker: Jeff Klein, Owner, The Closet Specialist, Bluffton, SC

The Klein family is a pioneer of the custom closet industry, having built closet systems for more than 57 years. Jeff's father, Jerry, a New York cabinetmaker, started building closets in 1967, long before closets became an industry. Established in 1984, The Closet Specialist now has 14 employees and annual sales of $1.2 million.

Marketing for Growth

Speaker: Jennifer O. Williams, President, St. Louis Closet Co., St. Louis, MO

Jennifer Williams started her business in 1991 and has grown it into one of the largest independently owned closet companies in the United States. Williams and her company have been recognized on several occasions in Wood & Wood Products' WOOD 100 Report of fast-growing companies.

Make Room for New Business in the Garage

Speaker: Skip Barrett, Co-Founder and Director of Franchise Operations, GarageTek, Syosset, NY

While working for a leading manufacturer of store fixtures and visual merchandising equipment in the mid-1990s, GarageTek Co-Founders Mark Schuman, president, and Barrett began exploring alternative uses for the company's versatile TekPanel product. Today, the company operates in 67 markets and 54 states.

Targeting the High-End Closets Market

Speakers: Nancy Oliver Vallely & Steve Thurlow, Co-Owners, Closet Boutique Inc., Coral Springs, FL

Nancy Oliver Vallely's expertise in taking a standard closet and moving it to a high-end design and her partner Steve Thurlow's association with Amish artisans was intrinsic to the foundation of Closet Boutique. Vallely honed her closet design skills running Closets by Nancy for 18 years. Thurlow invested the same number of years as a high-end kitchen cabinet designer.

Hiring, Training & Retaining Quality Employees

Speaker: David Linda, President, SpaceMan Home & Office, Houston, TX

David Linda holds a BS degree in Industrial Engineering from Northwestern University and an MBA from Northwestern's prestigious Kellogg Graduate School of Management. Prior to founding SpaceMan in 1998, Linda served two years as a management consultant with Deloitte Consulting.

Looking Forward: Trends That Are Shaping the Closet Industry

Speaker: Mike Carson, CEO, Closet Works, Elmhurst, IL

Mike Carson founded Closet Works in 1987 and has grown the business into a $7-million-a-year enterprise. Carson is also president of the National Closet Group, which he founded in 1999, and writes the "In the Front Office" column for CLOSETS magazine.

KEYNOTE SPEECH 

8:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. Thursday, March 17 Dallas Renaissance Hotel

Thomas Moser, founder and president of Thos. Moser Cabinetmakers will present the keynote address, "What the Future Holds for Custom Woodworkers."

The name Thomas Moser is synonymous with high-end, beautifully designed solid wood furniture. The nationally renowned furnituremaker established Thos. Moser Cabinetmakers as a one-man shop in 1972. Today, the company employs 160 people at its factory in Auburn, ME, and has the showrooms strategically located across the United States.

Moser's passion for woodworking is evident in his colorful presentations. He has a doctorate in speech communications and talks interestingly and insightfully about the challenges and opportunities faced by woodworking professionals.

NEED MORE INFO?

For exhibition and attendee registration information, including discount advance registration, contact Hall-Erickson Inc. at [phone] or [phone]; e-mail texascwb@ heiexpo.eom. Additional up-to-date details about the show, a list of exhibitors and hotel reservations are available at www. texaswoodworkingshow.com