Leon Gingrich is a man who built his business on his word, his integrity and his passion for woodworking. It was a natural process for him to follow in the footsteps of his father, who owns a woodcraft business just outside of Mine Centre, approximately one-hour east of Fort Frances. But he decided to break away and try his hand at business for himself.
Gingrich recently moved the business, Gingrich Woodcrafts Inc. into a 10,400-square-foot warehouse approximately 10 minutes west of Fort Frances on Highway 11 and 71. It is perched on top of a hill that will house the manufacturing and the service section under one roof. His partner in business, Larry Steiner, was a contractor before starting up with Gingrich, so he was in charge of erecting the new facility.
“Right off the bat we doubled some of machinery, like we put in twice as many saws and some of machines that were only running at 30 per cent before can now go at 100 per cent if they have to,” Gingrich explains.
Dove-tailed drawer and table tops are the backbone of the business. He sells them to customers in Eastern Ontario, British Columbia and is interested in setting up accounts in United States.
Currently, he is looking to diversify his product line to include cabinet doors and finishing interior residential doors.
Gingrich would like to see his warehouse production at 100 per cent in five years. With 10 people working for him now the business is at approximately 50 per cent.
“Before we were always tight (when his business was in Mine Centre) and we could not get enough help for one thing because of where we were located and now that is changing.”
