MAC Design and Build

Growing custom cabinetry, woodworks, and remodeling business with DraftSight Professional

Challenge

Accelerate the development of custom cabinetry, furniture, doors, and built-ins to support a home and business furnishing and remodeling service while simultaneously eliminating errors and reducing costs.

Summary

Replace AutoCAD 2D software with DraftSight Professional 2D design software

Results

Cut design time by 50 percent with Professional version
Reduced 2D design application costs by 83 percent
Eliminated errors related to fit
Supported 100 percent custom cabinetry, woodworking furnishing, remodeling business

Introduction

MAC Design and Build creates custom cabinetry, furniture, doors, and built-ins to support its home and business furnishing and remodeling company. A family-owned, fully licensed and insured contracting business, the firm prides itself on delivering interior design, furnishing, and remodeling services that are limited only by the imagination and the client’s budget. By designing and creating unique pieces for customer spaces, MAC Design and Build provides greater flexibility and creativity than conventional interior design and remodeling companies that rely on standard, prefabricated cabinets, furniture, doors, and woodworks.

With an emphasis on custom woodworking design—sliding barn doors have become increasingly popular—MAC Design and Build can create anything from custom doors, cabinets, and furniture to commercial projects of all shapes and sizes. The company tackles unique and challenging projects every day, and clients who struggle to capture their design vision using standard, prefabricated furnishings can work with MAC Design and Build to transform their dreams into reality.

While Mike and Amanda Casterlin (their initials form MAC) run the day-to-day business and projects for the company, Amanda’s father, David Cusick Jr., who works as a manufacturing engineer for a defense contractor in his day job, serves as MAC’s senior draftsman nights and weekends. While Cusick uses AutoCAD® 2D design software in his work for the defense contractor and MAC used AutoCAD when the company first started operations, MAC needed a more cost-effective 2D solution for designing the cabinets and woodworks that are at the core of the firm’s business. “When Mike and Amanda launched MAC Design and Build two years ago, we were looking at annual licensing costs of roughly $1,200 [US] for two seats of AutoCAD: one seat for me and Mike’s existing seat, which he used to interact with clients and production staff,” Cusick explains. “The price of AutoCAD was too high, so I did some research on more affordable 2D solutions, which led me to DraftSight®.”

After using the free version of DraftSight software for the first six months, MAC Design and Build chose to upgrade to DraftSight Professional software to take advantage of a host of extra time-saving shortcuts. MAC Design and Build chose DraftSight Professional 2D design software because it’s easy to learn and use, especially for those with AutoCAD experience, and provides all of the capabilities of AutoCAD at a fraction of the price. At roughly $200 for two annual licenses of DraftSight versus $1,200 for two seats of AutoCAD, the decision to implement DraftSight Professional software instead of AutoCAD reduced the company’s annual 2D design application costs by 83 percent.

Adding new furnishings and features—such as barn doors, kitchen islands, and built-ins—requires customization, and customization requires drawings. DraftSight Professional is driving a substantial volume of business for us at a much lower cost than anticipated.”

Amanda Casterlin, Co-owner

Faster, Error-Free Design

MAC Design and Build were able to immediately start using DraftSight Professional software without any formal training because of its intuitiveness and similarity to AutoCAD. Using DraftSight Professional software, MAC has created errorfree, dimensionally correct, to-scale drawings of its custom woodworks more quickly and cost-effectively, cutting drawing time in half since implementing the software. “It used to take roughly six hours to create a set of drawings using the free version of DraftSight,” Cusick recounts. “With the additional automated features in DraftSight Professional, I’ve been able to cut design time down to roughly three hours or 50 percent, which enables us to do more projects more efficiently and grow the business.”

Drawings for Customer interactions and Production

Drawings created with DraftSight Professional are mandatory for MAC Design and Build’s business: not only for showing how cabinets, built-ins, and other woodworks will look and fit in the client’s space, but also to support production. “Because our business is 100 percent custom builds, we have no room to re-order something that doesn’t fit,” Amanda Casterlin notes.

“Although we have more flexibility than a contractor who can only provide cabinet sizes in three-inch increments because we can do any size, our cabinets and woodworks have to fit and be free of errors,” Casterlin stresses. “We need drawings to show the client a representation of how a piece will look for approval, but we also need drawings to tack up on the wall so the production staff can build error-free, dimensionally correct woodworks to scale. DraftSight Professional allows us to cost-effectively meet both requirements.”

Supporting Year-Over year Growth

With DraftSight Professional serving as the company’s design backbone, MAC Design and Build has realized year-over-year growth of 14 percent, bringing in $350,000 in revenue in its first year of operation and $400,000 in the second year. “Because 95 percent of our jobs required a drawing, the effectiveness and affordability of DraftSight Professional is helping us grow our business,” Casterlin stresses.

“There are a bunch of older houses in Florida, where we are located and do business,” Casterlin adds. “Adding new furnishings and features—such as barn doors, kitchen islands, and built-ins—requires customization, and customization requires drawings. DraftSight Professional is driving a substantial volume of business for us at a much lower cost than anticipated.”