Cabinet Vision Acquired by Planit Holdings

Cabinet Vision Acquired by Planit Holdings

Tuscaloosa, AL - Planit Holdings, the British-based computer software manufacturer which recently acquired Auto-Graph, has added to its holdings in the kitchen/bath design and cabinet manufacturing software category through the acquisition of Cabinet Vision.

The acquisition, whose terms were not disclosed, was completed in mid-December and makes Planit Holdings the largest software company in the world for kitchen and bath design and casegood manufacturing, according to Planit CEO Trevor Semadeni.

It also signals another step in an ongoing process of consolidation and alliance that has characterized the industry's computer software category in recent months. Only last month, in fact, Planit's prime competitors, Twenty-Twenty and CADKIT, announced the establishment of an alliance that links Twenty-Twenty's design and sales software for kitchen/bath dealers and home centers with CADKIT's pricing and cutlist software for custom and semi-custom cabinet manufacturers.

Cabinet Vision, headquartered in Tuscalooosa, AL and Carlsbad, CA, is a leading supplier of computer software aimed at the design and production of cabinetry, architectural millwork and related products. The company was founded in 1983 as Cornwell Automation.

Planit acquired the Lexington, KY-based Auto-Graph from Masco Corp. earlier in 1998. With its acquisitions of Cabinet Vision and Auto-Graph, Planit, which is headquarted just outside London, reaches some 35,000 customers in 30 countries, the company said. Planit, which is publicly traded on the London Stock Exchange, generated an estimated profit of $20 million in 1998, according to company officials.

"This union provides Planit's design software better access to European markets," Semadeni said. "As a team, we're now able to provide worldwide service and support from 'front-end' design products to 'shop-floor' manufacturing products that drive computer-controlled machinery."

According to Semadeni, Cabinet Vision will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of Planit Holdings.
Cabinet Vision founder Larry Cornwell and company CEO Roger Taylor will continue to run the Cabinet Vision on a day-to-day basis, reporting to Semadeni.