ENTERPRISE - A long-established and successful business in Enterprise has a new owner.

Mark MacDonald is the new owner of Sunrise Cabinets and Millwork Ltd., a long-established and successful business in Enterprise. - Paul Bickford/NNSL photo

Mark MacDonald became the owner/manager of Sunrise Cabinets & Millwork Ltd. about a month ago.

"The opportunity presented itself and, when I got a look at the company and what they do here, it was right up my alley," he said.

MacDonald, 36, had worked at the business for about eight months before assuming ownership.

"Very quickly it turned into wanting to buy the place," he said.

MacDonald, who is originally from Hamilton, Ont., moved to the North about a year and a half ago to work for himself as a carpenter and renovator, before being hired by Sunrise Cabinets & Millwork.

"There are a lot of opportunities in this business to expand and to do so many different things," he said.

The bread and butter of the business is making kitchen cabinets, he said, adding he also makes window casings, trims and baseboards. However, he is now considering other products.

"We just made a coat rack," he said. "We're just getting into different things. We just finished a bar. We've actually been fooling around with doing some furniture, just dressers and whatnot."

The furniture may also include things such as organizers for closets, beds and desks.

MacDonald is also planning to add a showroom to the business.

"A lot of Hay River customers are coming in now," he said. "That's why we want to put a showroom in, because we want to start getting people in. We want to be a little bit more in touch with people. I like that sort of thing. I'm into talking with people."

The goal is to have the showroom ready by sometime in the middle of next year.

Along with MacDonald, the business employs two other full-time employees and one part-time worker.

While Daryl Dobbs, the company's former owner, has retired from the business he founded about 20 years ago, he still comes around to help out and offer advice.

"I don't think Daryl will ever retire. Daryl is still here," MacDonald said. "He knows a lot about business. He's been doing it for 20 years."

From Enterprise, Sunrise Cabinets & Millwork ships its products all over the NWT and even into parts of Nunavut.

"We go a long ways," MacDonald said, adding Enterprise is a good, central location for the business.

Personally, he also enjoys the community and lives there with his wife, who is originally from Hay River, and their infant daughter.

"To me, it's a little diamond in the rough," he said of Enterprise, adding it's a great place to work and to live.

MacDonald said he likes making people happy by providing a good product.

"It's like building something nice and you see the finished product. If somebody is happy at the end... we're happy."

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