Dirk Auferoth
Dirk Auferoth
President, Dirk Auferoth and Associates LLC
Company’s philosophy:”Providing highest quality at best value”
“I consider myself a businessman and not an artist. I understand that there are artistic elements to woodworking, but in my opinion art arises from an emotional origin. In addition, there is a certain stigma associated with being labeled as an artist that I do not feel represents myself, my company or our product because It is our goal to provide our clients with the highest quality product at the best value.”
– Dirk Auferoth
An insight into the company and its product
Dirk Auferoth & Associates produces custom high end interiors. They make everything in their shop in Holyoke and strive to use technology to make the highest quality product in the most efficient and precise way. And although many would consider cabinetmaking to be an art, their company plays more of an engineering role rather than a designing role. They work mostly with designers, architects, and contractors who work with clients to come up with an idea or concept. The designers also provide specifics on the material and color that most reflects the desire of the clients. It is then the job of Dirk’s company to make that a reality. Overall, it comes down to making the design work in a given space. But often times they have to make hard decisions about whether or not a design is realistic, functional, or too expensive. They then work with the designer to make the appropriate changes while still achieving the best end result for their clients.
Dirk’s company stands out from the rest because of the quality they deliver to their clients. This is not only their philosophy, but the way in which they were able to become successful. When Dirk started the business almost 20 years they only had one contact, but because of the quality of their products they just kept growing. In fact, they are so busy today that don’t have enough time to take on new clients. Because of the quality of their work and the manner in which they interact with their clients, they almost never lose clients. In conclusion, Dirk Auferoth & Associates is defined by quality and dependability at a reasonable price.
Their Customers
They serve a wide range of people. Some of their popular clients include Matt Damon who is an American actor who played the role of Dr.Mann in Interstellar, Ben Affleck, also an American actor , who will be playing Batman in Batman vs Superman in 2016. Other famous names include Kiefer Sutherland, Drew Barrymore, Glenn Close, Kevin Kline, and Guy Berryman (the bassist from Coldplay) as well as many more celebrities.
“I have met some of them, and it is one of the perks of doing business in New York.” says Dirk when we asked him how it felt to have been working with such big names.
About Dirk Auferoth
Dirk’s family has a strong tradition of woodworking. He grew up in Germany and spent a lot of his time as a child working in his family’s wood shop. After high school, he completed his apprenticeship in cabinetmaking and went to university to become a teacher for woodworkers. He came to America when he was 27 years old and after becoming familiar with the language, customs, and how to do business in America, started his own shop. As you can see from the names of his clients,he has taken his company to a great height!
“I truly enjoy what I do, and even if I was independently wealthy, I would still be working here.” Those words said by Dirk reflect alot about his personality and how humble he is! According to me, enjoying one’s profession is a great blessings to have.
Dirk’s Role In The Company
Dirk is the most valuable asset of his company. In addition to doing all of the paperwork and managerial duties, he plays a large role in overseeing the quality of the work produced.” One of the problems I face is finding good woodworkers and retaining them. The system in America is very different from that in Germany due to the lack of an apprenticeship system. Also, because trades are not as socially acceptable here in America, there are simply less good woodworkers to go around.”
“I prefer to hire young woodworkers especially those who come from the New England School of Architectural Woodworking in Easthampton run by Greg Larson because they have not developed bad habits, and I can train them to produce quality products that stand up to my high standards. “
Unfortunately, many of his workers go off and start their own business, but that’s just the American way. Other of Dirk’s duties involve fostering a friendly work environment. He wants his shop to be an enjoyable place to be because not only himself but also his employees have to spend so much time there. He also tries very hard to balance being good boss with being friends with his employees.
History of their company in a city like Holyoke
Dirk started his business in Brooklyn, but decided to move to Holyoke because it is a good place to do business. As his company got larger and needed more space to work on bigger projects, they relocated to a larger building and invested in its rehabilitation. Holyoke is very pro-business, and thus future of the city and the company are intertwined. Thus, because of the lower cost of doing business here, Dirk Auferoth & Associates can be competitive with the companies who do business New York. In addition, the office of economic development here in Holyoke has been very welcoming to Dirk and his company and have formed a mutually beneficial relationship for future success. Finally, the location of Holyoke is advantageous because of the travel time to New York as well as easy access to the markets in Boston as well as Cape Cod.
One of the goals of Dirk Auferoth & Associates is to stay up to date on the advancements in technology.
“Technology changes the way that our business runs because it has the potential to improve efficiency and precision.”
Incorporating new technology ultimately allows Dirk’s company to become more competitive in the marketplace because of improved quality and reduced price. Thus, they are constantly leaning how to use new machines as well as learning how to use old machines in new ways. For those at Dirk Auferoth & Associates, this new technology is an opportunity to become better at woodworking and is not seen as a burden.
The company constantly approaches perfection and keeps on getting efficient!
A few of many great works done by the company
- A property in Manhattan
- A property on Atlantic beach
- A property in New York City
- A property in Brooklyn
You may contact Dirk Auferoth and Associates LLC (Architectural interiors & Custom Cabinetry) at:
642 South Summer Street, Holyoke, MA 01040
p 413.5409663 ; c 917.783.8948 ; f 413.540.9555
You can reach Dirk at:
dirk@dirkauferoth.com
Created by:
Vedant Puri
&
Roderick Towner
Some information and pictures on this post have been used from other websites! The sources have been mentioned below:
- http://www.dirkauferoth.com/
- http://www.bausteinbuilding.com/why-holyoke.php
- http://photos.masslive.com/republican/2012/10/biz_build_auferoth_1jpg.html
- http://bayeventmarketing.com/connect-with-your-customers-with-help-from-bay-event-marketing/
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