How padded pews changed the family business
February 19, 2018
“We do a lot of things the old fashioned way.”
Those are the words of Pat Rugel, matriarch of the Rugel Church Furnishings family. For a company with a storied history of building the finest, highest quality church furnishings since 1929, you have to believe they’ve learned a thing or two about doing things right.
“We still do hand sanding,” she says, “because it makes for a better finish.”
While other companies use spray-on stain, Rugel employees painstakingly stain their wood products by hand.
“That was Keith’s way of having a better product,” Pat says.
In addition to hand-sanding and hand-staining, the late Keith Rugel would show prospective buyers other ways his company’s products are better.
Longer pews, for example, need added support to keep them strong and maintain their integrity.
“If you have a 12-foot pew, a lot of people put one support in the middle,” Pat says. “We put in two.”
Then there’s the pew end, the part most visible to anyone walking down the aisle of a church or a courthouse. Other companies nail on their pew ends. At Rugel, the ends are routed in.
“It makes for a stronger pew,” Pat said.
The old fashioned way. A tradition of excellence and quality that stretches back four generations.
