Gat Creek is an American manufacturing success story. The furniture maker produces high-end contemporary furniture from its factory in the historic Morgan County town of Berkeley Springs using sustainably sourced Appalachian wood, most from West Virginia.
Not only has the company survived the near collapse of the domestic furniture industry, it has grown, carving a niche for itself in the face of fierce competition from China.
Owner and CEO Gat Caperton said the slog has not always been easy. “The move of furniture manufacturing to China was brutal, terrible and in some ways illegal,” he explained. “In 1996, 90 percent of the furniture people purchased for their homes was made in the United States. Today, that figure has gone from 90 percent to 10 percent domestic production.”
There were a few years where Gat Creek struggled as more and more companies moved their furniture manufacturing to the cheaper labor markets of Asia. “The only thing we knew to do was just show up and keep trying,” Caperton explained. “We really worked hard to create a niche in which we could survive and differentiate ourselves from Chinese products.”
That niche is quality.
Caperton said he is immensely proud of the work his 150-plus employees do day in and day out, work that underpins the success of his company. “It’s nice to have some wins coming out of small-town America. It builds confidence,” he said. “We have talented people here that are doing something world-class. While most of our business is domestic, we’ve exported to at least 100 counties.
“When you work and live in a small community, too often you get a little down on yourself thinking I’m not competitive worldwide, I’m just from a small town. So, it’s great to know that folks from Berkeley Springs, West Virginia, have built quality products that have gone to 100 countries.”
The quality has sustained Gat Creek and enabled it to grow, not only in terms of size but grow its focus on quality that extends beyond the craftsmanship of its products. Internal quality is increasing a priority for the company. Caperton said Gat Creek consistently ships quality furniture but that improving the efficiency and quality of its furniture building processes offers opportunity for improvement.
“We’ve always shipped beautiful products and have had very few of them ever come back with problems,” he explained. “But we noticed from our tracking of internal stats that it sometimes takes us two, maybe three tries to get it right before the furniture goes out the door. Every time you rework something it adds cost to your overall process. We also know that the earlier you identify a problem the easier it is to correct it.”
To assist the company with honing in on the internal quality, Gat Creek turned to the Marshall Advanced Manufacturing Center’s (MAMC) Apprenticeship Works. The National Advanced Manufacturing Apprenticeship Partnership assists companies across West Virginia and around the U.S. in developing the skilled talent they need to innovate and grow their businesses through U.S. Department of Labor-registered apprenticeships. Because the program is funded entirely by the DOL, there’s not cost to the employer for MAMC’s services.
Gat Creek’s first occupational apprenticeship through the program is a quality control technician. Timothy “T.J.” Carrico of Berkeley Springs was selected for the position from several internal candidates. “T.J. was an outstand applicant,” Caperton said. “We really felt he would be both a fast learner and a fast implementer of what we’re working toward.”
Carrico has worked at Gat Creek since April 2021, primarily as a furniture builder. He said quality has always been important to him. “Maybe I was slower at building furniture than some people but I didn’t want to send something out that wasn’t first quality, wasn’t spot on. Quality matters to me so much and I love being here. This apprenticeship was something that I really wanted.”
Carrico’s two-year apprenticeship will include on-the-job training and related online instruction following an industry vetted and DOL-approved framework. Like all Apprenticeship Works occupations, the apprenticeship can be customized to Gat Creek’s specific operation. Carrico will earn a DOL journeyman’s certificate upon completion.
Apprenticeship Works Technical Trainer David Lucas, recently spent a week in Berkeley Springs with Carrico and the Gat Creek team documenting the company’s work standards and creating a baseline for improvement. This included establishing a process for capturing generational knowledge that could be lost through retirement.
“We think this apprenticeship will have a real, real impact on our internal operations,” Caperton said. “There are no certificates for furniture manufacturing or furniture finishing operations but quality touches all of those things so we thought this apprenticeship would be an excellent starting place to learn about apprenticeship and apply apprenticeships. Plus, we love the idea of a national certificate apprenticeship.”
To learn more about Apprenticeship Works, visit www.mfg.marshall.edu/apprenticeships or call MAMC Director of Workforce Development Carol Howerton at 304-781-1680. For additional information about Gat Creek, visit www.gatcreek.com.
Nov. 26, 2024
