How Much Downdraft Table Manufacturing Owners Make On $17M Sales

Track Throughput Weekly

Measure started units, finished units, on-time ship rate, rework rate, and backlog. Inputs needed are booked orders, labor hours, scrap, freight slots, and available test capacity. If bookings rise but shipped units do not, the owner is not earning the full benefit of the sales ramp.

Use standard jobs, fixed test gates, and freight booking before build completion. Keep custom work limited, because special parts and rework can slow flow and cut margin. One clean rule helps: do not promise a ship date unless welding, assembly, testing, packaging, and pickup are all scheduled.

• Track weekly finished units
• Watch first-pass yield
• Lock freight before ship date
• Limit rework and custom changes

Track Mix, Not Just Sales

Use a simple model: units sold × price by SKU. Track order mix by product, custom-change hours, warranty claims, and the margin gap between standard and custom jobs. One clean rule: if a custom order needs extra engineering or nonstandard parts, quote it as a separate costed job, not as a standard table.

• Track ASP by SKU monthly
• Quote engineering hours separately
• Bill special parts upfront
• Watch warranty reserve by model

If discounting starts to replace mix discipline, revenue can still grow while owner income falls. The fix is simple: push the highest-margin standard models, test price rises on repeat buyers, and measure whether custom work adds enough gross profit after engineering and warranty risk to justify the extra time.

Track Overhead per Table

Measure fixed overhead per shipped unit each month: total fixed overhead divided by tables shipped. The same fixed spend works out to about $162/table at 100 tables and $324/table at 50 tables. More volume spreads costs wider, so profit and owner draw improve when the shop stays full and idle weeks stay low.

• Track shipped tables monthly
• Track fixed costs by line
• Watch capacity and downtime
• Delay new fixed hires early

Track Reserve Need, Then Draw

Set a reserve target before taking distributions. Track inventory on hand, receivables, warranty claims, debt service, and replacement spending every month, then compare them to cash available after operations. If inventory is rising with the 55,000-unit filter-kit plan, cash needs will rise too.

Use a simple rule: pay the owner only after the reserve covers the next run of stock, expected collections lag, and near-term repair or replacement needs. If reserve coverage slips, hold distributions and keep cash in the business. That protects production, avoids surprise shortfalls, and keeps income real instead of just reported.

Tighten Build Flow

Track labor variance by model every week. Compare actual labor to the standard $120, $80, $100, $150, and $2 build targets, then split the miss into setup, run time, rework, and overtime. If one cell runs hot, fix the jig, the schedule, or the change-order process before you hire.

• Lock standard designs early.
• Use quality gates before pack-out.
• Reprice custom work fast.

Track COGS By Part And Rework

Track COGS by model and by part family, not just as one monthly total. The owner should watch purchased part price, freight-in, scrap rate, and rework hours on every build; those are the fastest margin leaks. Standard parts and buying discipline matter most when table mix shifts or custom work adds special parts and warranty risk.

Use the purchasing log, first-pass yield, and labor variance to spot drift early. If a table needs extra assembly touches or rework, gross profit shrinks before the sale price changes. A clean target is to hold materials, labor, and freight to plan so the gross profit pool stays near about $128M instead of getting eaten by waste.

• Compare actual COGS to plan weekly.
• Track scrap by part family.
• Measure rework hours per unit.
• Lock freight-in before release.
• Standardize parts across models.