Winchester, VA—American Woodmark Corporation (NASDAQ: AMWD) will invest $65 million building a new plant in Monterey, Mexico, and expanding operations in Hamlet, NC.
The move is intended to increase its stock kitchen and bath cabinet capacity for East Coast markets, and will result in hiring 500 new employees, and a total 500,000 sq. ft. of manufacturing space.
“By adding a fourth facility in Mexico and expanding the Hamlet location, we will strengthen our overall supply chain and allow for incremental capacity in both categories on the East Coast, which is one of the largest repair/remodel and new construction markets,” says CEO Scott Culbreth.
American Woodmark says the expansion yields additional capacity in both component manufacturing, which it has sourced from Mexico where it will now have four plants total, and cabinet assembly.
Rob Adams, Senior Vice President, Manufacturing and Technical Operations, says, “Finding strategic locations and having access to a skilled workforce are critical areas of focus that we continue to consider as we implement our strategy.”
American Woodmark, the third largest U.S. cabinet manufacturer with 10,000 employees, joined two of its even larger competitors—Cabinetworks and MasterBrand Cabinets—in a dispute with the Kitchen Cabinet Makers Association over cabinet import tariffs. The three largest U.S. cabinetry manufacturers jointly quit KCMA as a result.
