A History of Excellence
1920s
As an industrious young man in the 1920s, Donald Oliver Smith was deeply involved in his family’s endeavors, working as a farmer, lumberman, and even building outhouses for the local community. In 1924, Donald studied at Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston, Massachusetts. After exploring several employment opportunities, he eventually found success as a salesman in the lumber industry.
1940s
During this time, Donald made many connections in the industry throughout New England. One of which was the purchase of an established business, called F.S. Cheney Lumber Co. After this acquisition, Donald was able to expand upon the business becoming a huge success throughout New England.
1951
In 1951, Donald expanded F.S. Cheney Lumber Co. into South Florida, establishing a distribution center in Hollywood, FL.
1957
With his oldest son and daughter working for F.S. Cheney, Donald launched Seaboard Lumber to serve the Eastern Seaboard, including the Bahamas. It was during this time his youngest son, David, joined the business.
1968 – 1969
With David’s extensive knowledge and commitment to strengthening the family business, he helped drive significant growth and financial stability. This led to another construction of a new distribution center in Hollywood, FL, followed by expansion into Central Florida. As demand continued to grow, a second facility was added in Orlando just one year after the first.
1970s
In the industry, doors have been around as long as houses were invented, but a prehung door was something new. In the late 1950’s the prehung door was engineered to make installation a much easier process than a slab door. A prehung door included it’s jamb, hinges and even boring for hardware.
Recognizing a gap in the market, David invested in machinery to manufacture and distribute pre-hung doors, revolutionizing the Central Florida door industry.
1977
After several years working with the family, David decided that he had to branch off into his own and Trim-Pak was born. In 1977, David and Trim-Pak started servicing not only prehung interior and exterior doors including mouldings and millwork, but decided to bring windows, stair parts and nationally recognized face-frame cabinetry.
1982
David, being a visionary, saw the disconnect between homeowner and builder pertaining the lack of knowledge of product offerings in the cabinet industry. David decided to create a builder’s selection center in Altamonte Springs, FL inside the Interior Décor Center. Here is where Creative Kitchen Designs was born in 1982. As a distributer of these nationally recognized cabinet manufacturers, it allowed David to become one of the largest distributors in the nation, distributing the entire Eastern Seaboard of the United States.
1989
A state-of-the-art distribution center was built in Melbourne, FL, with an additional location in Deland, FL.
Also, at this time Ventura Cabinetry was born. Ventura Cabinetry is the first true 32mm European Frameless Cabinet Line ever introduced into the Southeastern United States. With his own line of cabinetry, David was able to tackle many issues that arises as being a distributor of nationally recognize cabinet manufacturers, giving our retail customers and dealer networks an opportunity to succeed in many ways. Since having connections throughout the Eastern seaboard, Ventura was able to distribute our line of cabinetry all the way to Virginia while maintaining quality products and services.
1996 – 1997
David saw another need in the building industry and proceeded to expand the cabinetry line by offering closet systems. Closet systems are a smart and efficient way to organize your space by maximizing storage and improving accessibility. With customizable options like shelves, drawers, hanging rods, and compartments, closet systems can be tailored to fit your lifestyle and space. The result is a more organized, functional, and visually appealing area that saves time and reduces stress when finding what you need.
2000s
Ventura Cabinetry evolves from a semi-custom cabinet line into a fully custom cabinet line. Adding hundreds of door profiles, wood specie, finishing options, distressing levels and accent appliques, moulding and accessories. This evolution allows Ventura to become a top brand for high end custom homes and retail customers alike. In all of their locations and dealer network, retail customers are able to purchase quality materials with professional installations at a fraction of the costs as reseller-cabinet shops.
2010s
During the recession between 2008-2014 Trim-Pak, Creative Kitchen Designs and Ventura had to navigate new opportunities and was able to expand into the multi-family, small commercial and large commercial aspects of the industry.
The passing of David Smith in 2015 was devastating to both the Smith family, their employees and industry professionals alike. Collectively the family and employees continued on to strive for success and to continue to bring to our customers the quality and craftmanship that they have always been accustom too.
2019
All business entities were brought together under Seaboard Holdings, LLC, creating a unified structure that reflects a strong, family-centered vision. This strategic move not only streamlined operations but also laid a solid foundation for long-term stability and growth, ensuring the legacy and values of the family business continue for future generations.
2020 – Present
Recent investments in employees, machinery and distribution centers continue to fuel growth, Seaboard expanded from 3 to 11 counties in a short amount of time. Just alone new purchases of machinery in both the door/trim operation and cabinet/closet operation, Seaboard has and will continue to grow its outreach even further for the next generation. New distribution centers and extended showrooms are coming soon.
Our Core Values
Seaboard Holding’s core values are God, Family, and Country. We pride ourselves on customer service, quality craftsmanship, our combination of dedicated legacy and new employees – Our Family!