Village Squire, 1979-04, Page 18They
don't
eut
corners
But Fabians' unique machine
mechanizes furniture making
and increases quality
In the world of mass production in furniture, Joseph and J.H.
Fabian are fighting a guerilla war. At a time when major
manufacturers have been simplifying construction (some would
impolitely say cutting corners) and turning to plastics, the
Fabians claim you can't have your cake and eat it too. They say
;hat quality doesn't have to drop just because you want to
increase efficiency.
The Fabians operate out of an old chicken processing plant in
the south end of Clinton. It's not an attractive building either
inside or out, but from it eminates some very beautiful furniture,
furniture that is living proof that our modern mechanized society
can improve quality, not water it down.
The Fabian story revolves around a remarkable machine
designed and built by Joseph Fabian senior. The machine is a
large press weighing some 12 tons. It takes sheets of plywood
veneer, assembled in the plant and squeezes them into a
U-shaped piece of wood, using pressure and heat. It results in a
U-shaped unit that can be cut for use in drawers, or used whole
in cabinettes. The U-bend replaces the complicated and often
flimsy, dove -tailing or other woodworking necessary to join
separate pieces of wood to make corners in a drawer or cabinet.
In furniture made by Fabians, drawer sides and backs are one
continuous piece, sturdy and virtually unbreakable.
The U-bend process came about through a matter of necessity
for Joseph Fabian. During World War Two he was developing a
cabinet that used a vibrating top for treatment of rheumatism.
The problem was that with normal production methods, the
vibration not only treated the patients, it shook the wooden
cabinet to pieces.
So he came to the idea to bend the wood rather than join it.
16 Village Squire. April 1979
Mr. Fabian shows a finished drawer from one of the units in the
showroom. The drawer consists of only three pieces.
There was no equipment available to make such bends but he
managed to do it by hand, using blocks. It worked but the
problem was it took two hours to cure. He had orders for two or
three thousand cabinets but simply couldn't make them quickly
enough using the methods he had. He predicted at the time. his
son says, that someday he would have a machine that would turn
out the bends in three minutes time. The machine he later made
that now sits in the Fabian plant turns them out in less than three
minutes.
He talked about the machine for several years and then about
12 years ago, his son says, he decided he'd done enough talking
and he'd better do something about it. It took him two and a half
years to build the press and develop the hot -oil system that heats
the plywood in the press. He did all his own machining, all the
wiring. He builds nearly all the equipment that is in the plant
and has customed built equipment for others.
The family began business in Toronto then moved to Milton
where they operated a furniture plant until selling it in 1969 so he
could concentrate on developing his new furniture based on the
U-bend process.
From there on the story gets controversial. When the
industrial committtee of the town of Clinton lured the company to
the former Canada Packers plant by the railway yards in Clinton
in the late 1960's, it was heralded as a major step forward for the
town. Local officials felt they had a real growth industry. Those
knowledgeable in the furniture business felt that the Fabian
process of building solid furniture could revolutionise the
industry. They saw nothing but great things ahead.
It hasn't worked out that way. It wasn't long before there was
a bitter dispute between the Fabian family and the town council