Stolbek didn't start as a robotics company. We started as a woodworking company - a real shop with real employees, real deadlines, and real frustration with sanding.
We couldn't find a sanding system that actually worked the way a cabinet shop needs it to - one that sands faces, edges, AND breaks corners without requiring a computer science degree to operate. So we built one ourselves.
Every decision we make comes back to the shop floor. We believe in lean manufacturing, continuous improvement, and deep respect for the craft of woodworking.
Sanding is the most labor-intensive, least desirable job in any wood shop. It's physically demanding, produces inconsistent results, and it's the first position that goes unfilled when labor gets tight. We built Stolbek to solve that - not with a generic industrial robot bolted to a table, but with a purpose-built system designed by people who understand what a cabinet shop actually needs.
Most competitors in this space are robotics companies trying to learn woodworking. Stolbek is the opposite - we're woodworkers who learned robotics. That difference shows in every detail of our machines.
Our systems sand faces, edges, and break corners - all in one automated cycle. No manual touch-up required. No barcodes. No programming. Just load the part, swipe to start, and let the robot do what it was built to do. That's not a marketing claim - it's the daily reality for shops running Stolbek systems across North America.
Stolbek is headquartered in St. Thomas, Ontario, Canada. Every system is designed, engineered, and assembled right here - not imported and rebadged.
We serve cabinet shops, furniture manufacturers, millwork producers, and door companies across Canada, the United States, Ireland, the UK, and Australia. Our growing dealer network ensures local support wherever you are.
Brad Cairns is a lifelong woodworker, lean manufacturing advocate, and the founder of Stolbek. After decades running a cabinet shop and facing the same labor and quality challenges every shop owner knows, Brad set out to build a sanding solution that actually works.
He hosts The Shop Floor podcast, speaks at industry events across North America, and is a recognized voice in the woodworking manufacturing community. Brad's philosophy is simple: build machines that solve real problems, make them easy to use, and back them with real support.
Stolbek isn't a venture-funded startup chasing buzzwords. It's a practical, shop-tested solution built by someone who sanded doors himself and decided there had to be a better way.