American Woodmark is known as one of the world’s largest cabinet makers. Each day, 41,000 cabinets are created at its 18 manufacturing facilities. Despite the company’s current success, it comes from humble beginnings.
Originally founded in 1951 as “Formed Laminates,” Alvin Goldhush started the company in New York to build and sell his own cabinets. He was a dentist but left less than a decade later to focus on his thriving cabinet business.
In 1957, the company name changed to “Raygold” in an expansion that moved it to West Virginia. After several more acquisitions (and name changes), American Woodmark from Winchester, Virginia signed on with The Home Depot in 1980 as one of its first partner companies. This time, the name stuck.
American Woodmark has grown exponentially because of its unique, innovative cabinets. In fact, it was named one of The Home Depot’s 2019 Innovation Winners for its Sedgewood Bath Vanities that can easily swap to the left or right side. This simple feature painlessly accommodates plumbing and maximizes layout.
“Disruptive innovation is one of the tenants of our company vision,” says American Woodmark CEO M. Scott Culbreth.
But innovation isn’t the only thing American Woodmark does well. The company was also recently honored by global advocacy group Women on Boards in 2020 for having at least 20 percent female representation on its board of directors.
“Diversity at the board level is truly a strategic advantage for our company,” says Scott. “Their diverse experiences, backgrounds and skills all combine to create a very dynamic, high-functioning board that is well-equipped to provide strategic oversight and effectively represent our shareholders.”
