Building for the future with Wisenbaker

When Wisenbaker Builder Services was building a new cabinet manufacturing plant in Houston, an efficient solution for dust collection was high on their wishlist. They found their way to Dutch dust extraction specialist Modesta thanks to a long-standing partnership with Centech’s Jeff Hamilton. The result? A clean and safe factory floor and a collaboration built on trust between three family businesses.

Wisenbaker Builder Services is a major supplier and installer of cabinets, countertops, flooring, and window treatments, serving professional home builders in the state of Texas. They operate from several locations all over the state and rely on an international network of suppliers. The company started out as a typical family business, founded by John Wisenbaker Sr. in 1970, and has retained that character throughout the years – even if the Wisenbaker company now consists of around 1300 people.

Wisenbaker initially started out as a carpet business, but has grown extensively since its foundation, adding many other products to its portfolio: from vinyl and wood flooring to tiles and countertops. In more recent years, they’ve opened several new premises, including two new plants: one for cabinet components and, most recently, one for cabinet manufacturing.

Relationship of trust
With their ever-growing ambitions, Wisenbaker often relies on machine builders and mechanics to help install their equipment and – more importantly – to keep the business running. That’s how over 15 years ago, they started working with Jeff Hamilton from Centech. “We’ve helped Wisenbaker install their machines and have provided support whenever they needed. We’ve built up a relationship of trust over the years: they know they can count on us and that we’ll be on-site as quickly as we can and don’t leave before we’ve fixed the problem,” tells Jeff Hamilton.

If anyone knows about the different dust extraction solutions that are out there and their pros and cons, it’s Jeff Hamilton. The Centech founder started out supplying and installing all kinds of equipment 15 years ago, initially focusing mostly on woodworking machines, but gradually moving towards dust collection, waste handling, and compressed air. Operating from his premises in Garrison, Texas, he now runs a highly specialized business with several service trucks and many types of equipment, working alongside his son Chandler Hamilton for the past decade.

First impressions
“The first time I installed Modesta equipment and saw it running, I was immediately impressed,” Jeff recalls. “I first noticed the quality of the equipment: their products are very robust and made with precision, allowing easy installation but also ensuring the equipment can run smoothly for years.” On top of that, the possibility for remote access makes it easier to help clients out whenever they’re experiencing any problems. Lastly, having seen many quotes by different suppliers over the years, Jeff noticed Modesta’s propositions always included all electrical components, control elements, and sensors. “That’s not a standard practice in the business: many dust collectors will come with no electrical work, so the client needs to get a separate quote from an electrician, adding a considerable sum to the total cost.” All in all, he felt Modesta had a unique proposition. When the time came to recommend the best dust collection solution to his long-time client Wisenbaker, he knew who to call.

Three generations of know-how
Modesta Filters is a dust extraction specialist from the Netherlands. Now led by brother and sister Wyboud and Marianne Kloppenburg - the grandchildren of the company’s founder, who started Modesta in 1949 - the family business serves the agro, wood, and recycling industries. Realizing turn-key projects all over the globe, they design, develop, and produce everything in-house from their head office in the Netherlands. Thanks to an increasing amount of projects in the United States, they have recently opened Modesta LLC in Texas - only a two-hour drive away from where Wisenbaker is located, which made the collaboration even easier.

Blake Perry, Maintenance Manager at Wisenbaker, had quite the challenge on his hands at the time: he was building a brand-new production plant for cabinet manufacturing in Houston. “For the new plant, I wanted to make sure we had a good solution for dust collection. I considered multiple vendors for the job,” he recalls. Timing was of the essence for this project: when building new premises, it’s important to get the woodworking machines and dust collection equipment in at the right time and in the right order. Jeff and Modesta helped Wisenbaker coordinate this critical phase of the project. For Perry, this was an important reason to opt for Modesta. “They were able to help us run equipment on smaller, temporary collectors from the previous location while we moved to the new premises.”

Happy employees
Employee satisfaction and a pleasant working environment are important values at Wisenbaker: they were awarded a Great Place to Work Certification, with 83% of employees stating Wisenbaker is a “great place to work”. With their own foundation, the WBS Employee Foundation, they help team members who find themselves in unexpected crises, such as car accidents, medical emergencies, or funeral expenses. Their yearly fundraiser, a golf tournament, has become a much-anticipated occasion in which all three family businesses – Wisenbaker, Centech, and Modesta – get together and catch up.

Creating a pleasant working environment also means making sure the factory floor is a clean and safe place for everyone. Woodworking factories can be especially loud and dusty, making proper dust extraction a priority, not just to reduce fire hazards and make sure machines work properly, but also for the health and safety of employees. And the new Modesta equipment does the job, says Perry. “It has helped us keep the majority of the areas clean and also keeps the clean-up time down,” he states.

Excellent service
Apart from a visibly clean factory floor, the Modesta equipment has been reliable, Blake says. “Apart from some minor adjustments that were fixed when we just started using the new installation, everything works as intended. The efficiency in start-up, running, and clean out has been pretty good.” All in all, he’s been very pleased with both Modesta’s and Centech’s efforts. “Centech has worked very well on our schedule and getting expedited items as needed. Modesta has great communication and has paired up with a good team to have excellent service,” he concludes. And with Wisenbaker constantly growing and expanding, it looks like a future collaboration is in the cards for the three family businesses.