Keeping Cabinet Refacing in the Family

by Kirk Bangstad
Face Your Kitchen Columnist

Dave Haglund founded Kitchen Tune-up, which is a national kitchen renovation business specializing in kitchen cabinet refacing that has over 320 franchises across the country. He is planning to hand over the reigns of his company to his daugher, who is currently the vice president of marketing and sales.

Kitchen Cabinet Refacing is Big Business

The Aberdeen News recently released an article about a family business success story. Dave Haglund and his family reside in Aberdeen, South Dakota. Haglund created Kitchen Tune-up in 1975 because he saw a demand for kitchen renovation services like cabinet refacing. By 1988, as the idea of kitchen cabinet refacing grew in popularity, Haglund decided to sell franchises of his company and sold 16 within the year. Throughout this period of expansion, Haglund's entire family became involved in the operation. When the time came for Haglund to start thinking about retirement, he decided to let his daughter, Heidi Morrissey, who was already a big part of the company's operations, take over as president.

Because the cabinet refacing business is growing so rapidly, the family is still deciding whether it can manage the national franchise business on its own. Morrissey is slowly taking on more responsibilities as her father visits franchises to make sure business is running smoothly.

Cabinet Refacing Rides Wave of Home Improvement Movement

The success of companies such as Kitchen Tune-up shows that the U.S. has embraced home improvement as a priority investment. People are remodeling their kitchens and bathrooms to enhance comfort and increase home resale values. Kitchen cabinet refacing has been a big part of the home improvement movement because it is much cheaper than buying new kitchen cabinets.

If you want to tap into the home improvement movement, consider investing in your own kitchen cabinet refacing project.



About the Author
Kirk Bangstad is an artist manager and singer working in Chicago, IL. His previous experience includes consulting for technology companies in the Silicon Valley and serving as a field director and publicist for a statewide political campaign. Kirk holds a B.A. in government from Harvard University.