Local businessman George Schillinger has bought the assets of Spokane Valley custom woodwork manufacturer Architectural Woodwork & Design Inc. and has formed a new company, Millwood Manufacturing LLC, to do the same work.


Millwood Manufacturing so far has hired 23 people, 19 of whom had worked for Architectural Woodwork designing, handcrafting, engraving, and installing custom wooden doors, cabinetry, staircases, and molding. Its operating in the same space as the former company, at 10019 E. Knox in Spokane Valley, which Schillinger says he is leasing.


Until recently, Schillinger was senior vice president of Coeur dAlene-based Black Rock Development Inc. and president of Black Rock Construction Group. He took control of the assets of Architectural Woodwork, which filed for Chapter 7 liquidation in U.S. Bankruptcy Court here just days before the asset purchase, in December 2007, and the manufacturer has remained in operation throughout the transfer, he says.


Schillinger declines to disclose the details of the transaction, but in the bankruptcy filing Architectural Woodwork listed assets of about $540,000, debts of more than $600,000, and annual corporate gross income of $2 million for 2007, down from about $3.5 million in 2005.


Schillinger says Millwood Manufacturing has a substantial backlog of jobs and plans to pursue a bigger market share in the high-end custom woodwork market, both for commercial and residential projects.


He says an example of the type of work the company does is making and installing custom doors and trim in the high-visibility areas of hotels, such as lobbies, restaurants, and lounges.


The company has updated its own 14,000-square-foot facility, remodeling the 800-square-foot showroom, improving dust-control methods, adding equipment, and painting the manufacturing areas the same colors as the offices to create a pleasant work environment, Schillinger says.


I want my employees on the manufacturing floor to feel like they are working at home in their hobby shop, he says.


Though this is the first time Schillinger has owned his own business, he worked for developer Marshall Chesrown for 15 years, overseeing the business activities of a number of Black Rock entities. He says he always liked the work that Architectural Woodwork did for Black Rock, and saw a good opportunity to try out a new direction in his business life and to revive the custom manufacturer here.


Contact Jeanne Gustafson at (509) 344-1264 or via


e-mail at jeanneg@spokanejournal.com.