Who uses a Gerstner cabinet? A to Z
Aerospace engineers
Aircraft mechanics
Bicycle repair
Bookkeeper
CNC programmer
Clockmaker
Dentist
Gun stock carver
Investment analyst
Jeweler
Machinist
Masonry
Postal worker
Programmer
Registered nurse
Telecom technician
Tool & Die maker
Truck driver
Woodcarver
Source: Gerstner Owners Club
Two new product lines from Gerstner & Sons Inc., the Dayton-based maker of wood cases and chests, are propelling the company into an improving economy.
Gerstner, which grew and thrived with the region’s metal machining industry by supplying cabinets renowned with their ability to protect tools from rust, is now in its fourth generation of family ownership. Founded in 1906, Gerstner is still located in a three-story production facility at 20 Gerstner Way alongside the Great Miami River that was built after the 1913 Great Flood.
The company is producing a new line of special tool/accessory cases for firearm owners that accommodate both long guns and hand guns, along with cleaning supplies and ammo. A mount that’s part of the Shooters Chest holds a firearm in place during maintenance. There are also pistol and rifle carrying cases. The cases have been picked up by national outdoor goods catalogs.
The other new product is a pre-cut version of a Gerstner chest that a purchaser can assemble and finish on their own time. Both new items have had strong sales that are are growing, Scott Campbell, great grandson of founder Harry Gerstner, said.
It’s not the first time the company has broadened the product line. There are jewelry cases, a clock with a secret compartment, and special cases for storing and displaying collectibles.
As one example of how steeped in Dayton tradition the company is, Orville Wright owned one model that’s still made in prominently-grained quartersawn white oak or American cherry.
The chests are so highly regarded by some that the founder of one company, Oberg Industries in Freeport, Pa., inserted in company bylaws a requirement that machinists work from a Gerstner chest.
A dozen full-time employees build the lockable, multi-drawer, felt-lined chests that seem to find new markets and uses regardless of how industries morph or evolve, Campbell said.
So time-honored and traditional are the company’s techniques and processes, Campbell said that if a time machine transported an employee from the 1930s to the Gerstner factory of today, that worker would have no difficulty immediately getting to work making a wooden chest.
Still, some things have changed in 20 years. It used to be that 80 percent of customers were machinists. The breakdown now is about 50 percent machinists and 50 percent hobbyists who use the cases to hold everything from fishing gear or specialty tools of all kinds to prized collections of everything under the sun, from expensive wrist watches to at least one large collection of Cracker Jack prizes.
The “100% American Made” Gerstner tool chests are not inexpensive, running from $350 all the way into several thousands for the tall many-tiered cabinets on wheels that can roll about on a shop floor. About a decade ago, the company began a division in China, calling it Gerstner International, to manufacture a lower-priced but high-quality line.
It has proved a successful move to fight off the cheap imported knockoffs, Campbell said.
Dave Grulke, executive director of the Cabinet Makers Association based in Milwaukee, Wis., said high quality remains the domestic industry’s edge in an era of global competition.
“Depending on the quality level, everyone can find a niche,” he said. “Many of the fine cabinet shops and fine woodworkers are working on projects where people appreciate quality, not so much cost. If you buy cheap, you end up buying twice.”
Although the privately held company doesn’t disclose sales figures, Campbell said the USA and International Division have sales totals that are about equal to each other.
Loyalties to Gerstner are pretty fierce. Campbell fields email inquiries from connoisseurs who buy antique cases on eBay and refurbish them. A Gerstner Owners Club has 500 members and an annual meeting here that includes a factory tour.
The Dayton facility annually produces dozens of custom jobs, too, from precisely made, hand-finished oak commemorative knife cases to cigar humidors that are incorporated into high-end wine refrigerators.
The tradition shows no sign of diminishing. Campbell’s 15-year-old son Ian started working at the company this summer.
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