As they say, when one door closes another one opens. In the summer of 2011 the shop at 40 Maple St. in Dover NH closed it’s doors. This left Josh Cilley (at the time an employee of the closing business) with only a couple options, either go find a job someplace new or try to start something new in the same spot. Being a native to the seacoast NH area and wanting to stay put, Josh decided to put his business degree to use and called on friend and colleague Steve Richter to help him start a new venture. The two had worked for the same shop in the past and knew that the combination of their knowledge and work ethic had to be a recipe for success. They both had plenty of cabinet making and woodworking experience but also couldn’t ignore the trends in the building industry. The “low maintenance” push was in full swing and people wanted high performance products for the outside of their homes. It was not an easy decision or transition away from woodworking into “plasticworking” but one that has helped grow the business substantially over the years. That choice also led to another development where major brands have reached out and asked for feedback on the properties of their products. Because of their focus in one area Whitewood Millwork has become the authorities for custom PVC millwork and in a lot of ways is now your test kitchen for all things exterior millwork.
As with any small business there have been normal growing pains, couple that with the unknowns of new materials and the years have proven to be exciting and very challenging. Steve and Josh’s recipe for success has worked, but they are fortunate and grateful for everyone that has and continues to support and help them as they keep moving forward.
Today you’ll find Steve managing projects on and off the shop floor. He is continually perfecting the Whitewood processes. Surrounded by a crew of other talented people he is the driving force for your projects getting done exactly the way they should and in the timeliest manner possible.
Josh is following his love of relationship building and spending most of his time working with clients and vendors to create the best business experience he can. If he’s not doing that you’ll likely find him in a seminar, at a trade show, or in an exhibit hall trying keep up on any new trends.
We love sharing our passion and knowledge with anyone that wants to listen, so if you’d like to set up a visit to our shop or have us bring samples to your place of business we’d be happy to. We sincerely hope that you enjoy doing business with us as much as we enjoy coming to work and providing our services and making our products.