Building Back Up: How this Seattle-Area Construction and Manufacturing Firm Moved Above and Beyond the Red

THE CHALLENGE

Something just wasn’t adding up at Kent-based Frontier Door & Cabinet. Though the numbers appeared to be in the black, the 21-year-old door, cabinet, and hardware company was facing the only unprofitable year in its history amid the economic downturn of the late 2000s and early 2010s. Because the company’s accounting team was operating on a percentage of completion basis—and doing so incorrectly—they had actually been dramatically over-stating Frontier Door’s income. On top of that, the company’s lender had begun pulling back on available funds. “It was necessary to bring in an expert team,” says Frontier Door CEO and founder, Gene Kettler.

THE TURNING POINT

Kettler found the experts he was looking for in Seattle’s Turning Point Consulting. “They have some bright people there who are able to dig into specific systems and get the information we needed out,” he says. “The other consultants were less hands on. I felt that we needed a more hands-on approach.”

Turning Point swept in, presenting Kettler and his team with a clear turn-around plan and 16-week cash collateral budget. By the end of the next fiscal year, Turning Point had revamped Frontier Door’s accounting department, restored the company’s relationships with its lenders, and ultimately brought it back to the decades of profitability it had grown accustomed to by stepping in as an effective CFO.

THE LASTING RESULTS

Today, Frontier Door has established itself as a leader in Seattle’s construction community. The company’s business has more than doubled in the last five years as it has shifted its culture to prioritize execution and performance. With the help of Turning Point, Frontier Door acquired a local building supply company a mere 24 months after facing what Kettler describes as financial “chaos.” They followed that up with a second acquisition in 2016, this time of a hardware manufacturer. “[The acquisitions] have led to good, solid growth,” Kettler says. “They have broadened our scope of work and protect us from other variables in the economy.” By harnessing financial data, sourcing strategic deals, and transforming culture, Turning Point was able to set Frontier Door up for another 20-plus years of success.