Beyond expectations.
Before we decide something is worthy enough to be considered KraftMaid quality, we put it to the test against some extreme scenarios and against extraordinary circumstances. Check out a few of the more outlandish things we’ve done to demonstrate quality and to prove – beyond a doubt – that your cabinets will perform in real life.
Quality Point 28
Heavy-duty construction.
There’s a lot riding on the strength of our cabinets. So we loaded an entire suite of kitchen appliances (and then some) onto one of them to prove they can handle it.
Learn More About Our Craftsmanship.
Quality Point 79
Rock-solid, solid-wood components.
Want concrete proof that our cabinets are well made? We filled one with heavy, wet cement to demonstrate how well solid-wood hang rails and thicker back panels grip the wall.
See what else comes standard.
Quality Point 82
Shipped to survive a stampede.
With potholes and rough roads, delivery can be a wild ride. But you can count on highly engineered protective packaging to help keep things safe. Even from a mechanical bull.
Find out what else we test.
Quality Point 20
Meatball-proof finishes.
You never know what might splatter on your cabinets. Or hit them at 60 miles an hour from a food-launching air cannon. No worries either way. With DuraKraft™ Plus, just wipe them clean.
Learn more about our finishes.
Quality Point 83
Radical drawers. Totally.
Drawers do a lot of heavy lifting in the kitchen. Ours step up to the challenge, again and again, with deep, solid-wood sides, a thick bottom panel and dovetail joints on all four corners.
Check out more features.
Quality Point 40
Your cabinet won’t be hosed.
A leak under the sink doesn’t have to be an emergency when you have a CoreGuard® sink base. It’s designed to resist damage and staining from drips, spills and even a dousing from a firehose.
Discover more innovations.78 was just the start.
We put a lot into our quality and craftsmanship. One day, we decided to count just how much. We listed 78 unique quality points that go into every cabinet we make. But almost as soon as we finished counting, we added more. And the list will keep growing. Because we’ll continue to scrutinize every detail and invest in every opportunity to build stronger, more durable, more beautiful cabinets. Check out what we’re up to – as of today.
Premium Hardwoods and Raw Materials
- We require our Alder, Cherry, Hickory, Maple, and Oak hardwood suppliers to deliver wood that meets a comprehensive list of specifications tailored to each species.
- Incoming material is continually sampled and inspected to confirm it meets our standards for quality.
- Computerized imaging equipment inspects incoming lumber and eliminates defects before hardwoods enter the manufacturing process.
- Custom-built lumber-drying kilns, designed in partnership with wood scientists, optimize lumber moisture levels for stability during and after manufacturing.
- EverCore® doors and drawers are made of a strong, stable, and supersmooth engineered wood, designed specifically for painted finishes, that minimizes shrinking or swelling with changes in temperature and humidity.
DuraKraft™ Plus Finishing System
- We pull samples from each paint production run and check them with a digital spectrophotometer to ensure color accuracy.
- Stain finishes from every production run are evaluated against a color standard under a variety of lighting conditions.
- All incoming finish formulas are measured for color accuracy before being applied.
- A 14-step finishing process ensures consistent beauty and lasting durability.
- State-of-the-art sanding equipment utilizes multiple grit sequencing to progressively remove mill marks and other imperfections without creating swirl patterns that could show up in the final finish.
- To complete the surface preparation process, skilled crafts people sand all critical surfaces to achieve ultrasmooth results.
- Dust extraction ensures components are as free of dust, dirt and particulates as possible before entering the finishing line.
- Two coats of catalyzed enamel paint provide full coverage and rich color.
- Before paint application, an ultraviolet-cured seam sealant is applied to door and drawer joints to reduce the appearance of fine fissure lines in the final finish.
- We apply and hand-wipe up to eight coats of stains and toners to achieve proper depth and character in our stained finishes.
- Before earning a spot on the finishing line, our spray finishers learn proper application techniques by training on virtual simulators – the same technology used in the aerospace and automotive industries.
- Skilled artisans hand-apply our Weathered and Aged specialty finishes using tools they customize to fit their techniques.
- We apply a clear, two-layer topcoat to protect and beautify the finish and improve overall cleanability.
- Oven-curing produces a harder, more stable coating on doors, drawers and door frames.
- The DuraKraft™ Plus finish is tested to resist staining from 48 different substances, including common household cleaners, acidic foods and even permanent markers.
- Paints and stains are proven to be fade-resistant after 350 hours of exposure to intense UV light – an aspect most cabinet manufacturers don’t bother to test.
- We subject finished cabinets to 120°F heat at 70% relative humidity for 24 hours so cabinets can withstand the potential of sweltering shipping conditions.
Whisper Touch® Hinge With SureMount™ Installation System
- Whisper Touch® hinges are tested to 200,000 open-close cycles – 8x more than the cabinetry industry’s testing standard. (Based on Blum testing and ICC certification criteria.)
- During manufacturing, hinges are measured by computerized tomography (CT) scan to ensure precise tolerances.
- To prevent noise and potential damage from slamming, soft-close operation is integrated into the hinge design.
- Hinges feature built-in cams with three-dimensional adjustability – height, depth, side-to-side – to dial in perfect door alignment with greater ease.
- The SureMount™ Installation System offers clip-on, clip-off door removal during installation. No tools are needed.
Cabinet Box Construction
- Our sturdy base cabinet boxes are tested to support 2,500 pounds without cracking, separating or collapsing.
- Base cabinets feature full-depth I-beam construction to keep cabinet boxes stable and square throughout shipping and installation.
- All-plywood construction utilizes sturdy, 1/2” plywood end panels.
- Interior shelves with 3/4” thickness can support 15 pounds per square foot for seven days without perceptible sagging.
- Full-depth interior shelves increase usable base cabinet storage by 25% compared to the half-depth shelves offered by many other cabinet manufacturers.
- Satin chrome metal shelf rests (wall) and positive locking shelf clips (base, tall and vanity) offer sturdiness.
- Industrial-grade hardened steel fasteners securely bond cabinet box components.
- The plywood, MDF and particle board we use in our cabinet box panels must demonstrate the ability to hold screws up to 190 pounds of pulling force.
- Dado and rabbet joinery connects side, top, and bottom panels of cabinet boxes, affirming alignment and increasing gluing surface.
- IMPROVED Wall cabinets boast a static load rating of more than 1,300 pounds.
- Solid wood hang rail construction on wall cabinets simplifies mounting and shimming during installation.
- A fully enclosed toe kick area adds strength to the base cabinet floor.
- Behind the wood doors and face frame, CoreGuard® Sink Bases are made entirely of a durable engineered polymer material that guards against leaks.
- CoreGuard® Sink Bases feature a molded bottom with ribbed channels that are slanted 1 degree forward to direct spills to the front of the cabinet so leaks can be detected sooner.
Furniture-Grade Cabinet Door and Face Frame Construction
- Five-piece door and drawer styles feature cope and stick, mitered, or French mitered corner joinery for strength.
- Foam cushions secure center panels on five-piece door and drawer fronts to minimize rattles and limit movement.
- To ensure squareness, we use pneumatic clamping equipment to align doors and cabinet face frames during assembly.
- Cabinet face frames feature 3/4”-thick solid hardwoods.
- Eased edges on cabinet face frames hold finishes and resist splintering better than sharp corners.
- Clear Permaset bumpers on the back of all doors and drawers absorb accidental slams and protect cabinet face frames from contact.
- Permaset bumpers anchor in place using a press-in stem so they won’t sag or fall off like bumpers applied with adhesive backs.
Engineered Drawers
- Durable drawer boxes are constructed of 3/4”-thick solid wood.
- Notably strong dovetail joinery interlocks all four sides of our drawer boxes.
- Deep, 4”-high sides can accommodate taller items and minimize the hassle of things tipping over or spilling out of the drawer box.
- Full-depth drawer glides extend past the cabinet face frame, offering full access to the entire drawer.
- Undermounted drawer glides maximize the width of each drawer box – and its storage capacity.
- Whisper Touch® drawer glides are rated to hold up to 90 pounds while still opening and closing effortlessly.
- Whisper Touch® drawer glides are tested to 100,000 open-close cycles – 4x more than the cabinetry industry’s testing standard. (Based on Blum testing and ICC certification criteria.)
- Integrated soft-close operation is a standard feature on all drawer glides to prevent noise and potential damage from slamming.
- Roll-out trays share the same dovetail construction and soft-close features as our drawers.
State-of-the-Art Manufacturing
- Our $14M, state-of-the-art Cefla paint finishing line features precision, robotic spray application.
- Automation minimizes the number of times cabinet doors are touched during the paint process to reduce the potential for damage.
- Our panel processing line uses double sequences of sanders, roll coaters, and UV curing ovens to apply paints and stains to veneered cabinet sides.
- For consistency and completeness, we use a Kitchen at a Time (KAAT) process that focuses on assembling each order fully and in sequence.
- A $7M investment created dedicated component machining stations in our processing line to improve the consistency and quality of our end panels.
- Patented air purifying systems annually capture more than 1,000 pounds of airborne dust and particulates and prevent it from being introduced into our products and finishes.
Smart Shipping
- IMPROVED To create a defensive crumple zone within our heavy-duty shipping cartons, we insert eight EPS foam corner protectors – now made 2.5x thicker for added cushioning.
- We drop-test packaged cabinetry to ensure the durability and effectiveness of our shipping cartons and packing materials.
- Wall cabinet shelving is packed outside of and underneath the cabinet to prevent damage during transport.
- Finished cabinets go directly from the production line and final inspection station into a waiting truck to minimize the potential damage from additional handling.
- ABC classification procedures ensure correct loading and prevent unnecessary damage.
Testing and Inspection
- KraftMaid® cabinets are subject to more than 2,000 critical control points during the assembly process.
- KraftMaid® finishes are subject to more than 1,500 critical control points.
- Inspectors undergo the Farnsworth Munsell 100 Hue Test to gauge their ability to discern nuances in color.
- A full-time quality control engineer operates a 2,500-square-foot product testing lab in our Middlefield, Ohio, plant.
- A third-party lab conducts accelerated corrosion testing (16 hours of salt spray and 96 hours of humidity) on decorative hardware to ensure coating integrity.
Confidence
- A Lifetime Limited Warranty means you can love your cabinets for as long as you own them.
- We partner with Blum, the world’s leading hardware manufacturer, to exclusively feature their hinges and drawer runners on all KraftMaid® cabinets.
- KraftMaid® cabinets meet or exceed the extensive ANSI A161.1 Performance and Construction Standards.
- Every assembly plant undergoes annual, in-person inspections, conducted by a third party, to certify equipment is properly calibrated and maintained.
- The ICC-ES Safe and Sustainable Cabinetry (SASC) certification confirms our cabinets meet state and federal requirements for formaldehyde emissions and that our operation meets additional standards designed to protect the environment.
Our Latest Enhancements
- NEW Wall cabinets have a 3/8” captured back panel for strong and rigid construction.
- NEW Base cabinets feature solid wood hang rail construction for rigidity in transit and installation.
- NEW Everywhere a KraftMaid® base and wall cabinet is mounted to a wall, you’ll find solid wood rails that enable secure connections for more sturdy installations.
- NEW Updated corner protectors are specially engineered to reduce the load on cabinet edges and corners during shipping for improved impact resistance.
- NEW Upgraded captured plywood drawer bottoms increase the load capacity of our drawer floors by 30%.