Local Roots, Regional Reach
Display Manufacturing, LLC creates commercial casework and fixtures throughout Western Washington
“We are best at problem-solving,” says Dave Sharp, Vice President of Display Manufacturing, LLC in Marysville, Washington. “We like figuring out how to make a product that stands out, is high quality and stands the test of time.”
This is not surprising, considering that Dave’s uncle, Bob Miller, started the company in the early 1960s by solving a problem.
“Dave’s grandfather owned a magazine distribution company and Dave’s Uncle Bob worked for him,” says Tina Sharp, President (and Dave’s wife). “They’d go into grocery stores to deliver the magazines. When Bob saw a need for attractive, functional magazine racks, he began making them in his garage and selling them to their customers.”
“My dad, Carl Sharp, worked with my uncle and took over the firm in the 1980s,” Dave says. “Tina and I came on board in the early 1990s. I started as a helper to the shop manager when it was only a two-man shop. It then grew into a three-man shop. When the shop manager left, I had to jump in. It was sink or swim. I chose to swim.”
In 2001, Dave and Tina took over Display Manufacturing so that Carl could retire. Dave and Tina converted their family-owned, sole-proprietor business into a limited liability company. “We’ve kept growing since then,” Dave says. The company now has 13 full-time employees and serves clients throughout Western Washington, including the greater Seattle area.
From Displays to Cabinet Casework
“When we were focused on the display part of the industry, our primary projects were magazine and book racks,” Tina says. “Again, we saw what customers needed and began problem-solving and building anything our retail clients needed—endcaps, pegboards and wine displays along with the magazine and book racks. As grocery stores began adding new departments, such as sushi bars, cafés, customer service desks and corporate offices, we took it a step further and started building these areas as well. This led to us making custom commercial cabinets and store fixtures.”
“Because of our expertise in store fixturing, we received a customer referral that led to the first projects completed by Display Manufacturing for one of our major, long-term clients: Bartell Drugs,” Dave says. “We started in the pharmacy department working directly with the company’s procurement head—then their design group. We currently are building Bartell Drugs’ checkstands, fixtures and casework for the photo department, fountain and pharmacy and displays for the makeup and candy areas,” Dave says. “Every inch counts in a store, so we are always working with their design team to improve efficiency while considering the customer experience. For example, privacy is important to Bartell Drugs when customers are discussing a prescription with their pharmacist. We’ve provided this (and without taking up a lot of room) by building partition walls with counter-to-ceiling glass for privacy and an entry/exit gate for pharmacy staff between these walls. Bartell [Drugs] has 67 locations and over the past 18 years we’ve worked hand in hand with their design group on all their custom in-house cabinetry.”
Personalized Service
Tina and Dave say all the work Display Manufacturing does today is personalized to address the distinct challenges each project presents. The range of these challenges is broad. The company now engineers, fabricates and installs commercial cabinets and casework, store fixtures, storage units, retail stores, banks, law offices, medical and dental clinics, salons, schools and corporate facilities.
Tina says, “We work closely with our customers and their architects to make sure that each project can be built and installed efficiently and with quality craftmanship.” For example, when the owners of an orthodontic clinic in the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle wanted a sculptural, concrete-clad, spiral-shaped reception desk, Dave and the Display Manufacturing team designed, constructed and installed the structure for this unique architectural feature.
“We built a mock-up in our shop to work out the complicated geometry first,” Dave says. “We added the electrical power chases to the final framework and skinned it with 1/4-inch plywood so the concrete could adhere to it.” Display Manufacturing also installed the laminated countertop it had produced as the finishing touch.
Small Details, Big Impact
While Dave says most of Display Manufacturing’s projects don’t require full-scale mock-ups, every design requires meticulous attention to detail—especially when a small improvement can affect the appearance and functionality of spaces throughout a facility or even multiple buildings.
For example, the owners of the Unity Care Northwest medical facility in Ferndale, Washington, didn’t want printers to be visible in their exam rooms. “They wanted prints to come out a slot in the front of the cabinet where a printer was stored,” Dave says. “The original design would not accommodate this. We came up with a solution to their problem, then had it approved with the architect to create a flip-down front that not only looked good, but also made it easy to service the printer. There were 16 exam rooms, so this design improvement affected all of them.” Display Manufacturing also built and installed reception desks and counters and cabinets for nurses’ stations, doctors’ and dentists’ offices, a pharmacy, a lab and sterilization area, a multipurpose meeting space and an employee breakroom.
“We developed and refined a process that allowed us to work in stages to accomplish all the tasks for this large project while managing other jobs that were in progress,” Tina says. “We are still using this multiproject tracking system.”
In fact, she says, this investment in technology is good to have in place for multifaceted projects like the one Display Manufacturing is doing for an international technology company in the South Lake Union area in Seattle. Display Manufacturing’s scope includes engineering, producing and installing casework and counters in breakout and lunchrooms as well as employee activity lounges on four floors in each of three buildings on this company’s corporate campus.
Dave says, “Many aspects of this project make it fun, such as collaborating with the project managers and superintendent to work out the details to make it a success. I enjoy the relationships and working with the team.”
Changing with The Times
Over the years, significant changes in market conditions have prompted Tina and Dave to continuously innovate, strategically recruit and cross train staff, and invest in their own professional development. For example, when the retail industry shifted and the large chains could get national bids, one of the general contractors they worked for helped them shift to doing medical and dental projects.
“Now we do a lot of clinics and tenant improvements for doctors and dentists,” Tina says.
“We also make parts for medical incubators. During the economic downturn we were able to hire skilled craftsmen who brought experience, knowledge and a team spirit that makes us who we are today.”
High Motivation Matters
“When we are looking for potential builders for our team, we are not concerned about skill necessarily,” Dave says. “Of course, we want as much skill as we can get. However, we can teach skill; we can’t teach motivation. We look for motivated team members and train them so that their skills and experience will grow.”
Tina and Dave also recognize and appreciate what each employee contributes to the company’s culture.
“Our lead builder can look at a design and see the areas that need to be addressed so that when we are building it, we can do this without wasting time and materials,” Dave says. “Our shop manager is really good at looking at the jobs we have and lining them up so that we get the projects out on time. An employee who has been with us more than 15 years runs our CNC machines and works closely with our designer to make the precise cuts and create the best assembly sequence for the cabinets we produce.”
Keeping Things Fresh and Innovative
To continue to grow as small-business owners, Tina says she and Dave learn from their employees, family members who own/owned businesses (including the founding fathers of Display Manufacturing) and from others in their community and professional networks.
“Dave and I believe in keeping things fresh and innovative,” she elaborates. “We’ve hired consultants. We’ve taken classes as part of the Small Business Accelerator Signature Program and participated in the CEO Roundtable at Everett Community College.”
While she and Dave are always looking for ways to improve, Tina says they also like to keep a few things consistent. “We make sure our team feels appreciated by having monthly lunches, we order pizza to celebrate birthdays and we have an annual Christmas party. We take time to stop and reflect on where we came from, so we don’t miss how impressive the climb has been. Above all, we’re a team, we show up for each other and have each other’s backs,” she says. The firm also donates materials to Habitat for Humanity and contributes to the Little League and food bank in Marysville. It will add Toys for Tots to this list at Christmastime in 2020.
More than half a century after Display Manufacturing was founded, its owners remain true to its roots. “We are inspired by the entrepreneurial spirit, dreams, drive, wisdom and contributions of our Founders, Bob Miller and Carl Sharp,” Tina says. “We continue their legacy with pride.”