Dedicated kitchen manufacturers produce high-quality cabinets that offer both quality craftsmanship and functionality. These cabinets are available in many different styles and finishes, allowing homeowners to create the perfect kitchen for their home. While most cabinetry is manufactured from wood, some companies produce cabinetry from other materials as well. Those that specialize in modern kitchens, for example, produce cabinets from laminates and metals.

The cabinet industry is an important segment of the wood products industry. The Ohio-based Freedonia Group estimates that it will claim $16 billion in revenue by 2008. In addition to cabinetry, the industry also produces countertops and bathroom vanities.

Solid-wood cabinets are the most popular type of cabinet, accounting for more than half of total industry sales. Cabinets that are not solid wood or hewn from a single piece of lumber are typically plywood, multiple layers of solid wood bonded perpendicularly, or veneers, thin sheets of real wood glued to the face of another material such as particle board or multi-density fiberboard (MDF). These materials are suitable for cabinets where service life is expected to be relatively short or for those that will not see heavy use, such as in a vacation home.

The largest manufacturer of cabinetry in the United States is Taylor, Michigan-based Masco Corporation, which captured 21 percent of the cabinet industry in 2006. The company’s brands supply the home improvement retailer Home Depot with its line of do-it-yourself home remodeling supplies, including cabinetry and faucets. The same brands also supply the new home construction market.