a plan I'd find in Popular Mechanics magazine and then everyone else in the class would follow suit. A childhood
freind's father, Bill Mancini, owned Bay State Cabinet Company in Milford (who did most of the mahogany wood
work and casework in the older Milford Banks). I used to love going to the shop to poke around and learn. I also
remember panelling (remember wood grained panelling?) the basement in my house when I was so young I don't
even remember how old I was. The bottom line is that woodworking and mechanical ability are in my blood.
After college I became a structural/mechanical engineer for Stone & Webster Engineering in Boston, MA. For
6-1/2 years I did design and seismic analysis of steel support structures for piping and large equipment in nuclear
power plants. I never really liked going to Boston or sitting at a desk every day. The last 1-1/2 years at that job
were extremely interesting though as I worked on site at the Millstone Unit 3 Nuclear Plant in Connecticut that Stone
& Webster was building. (Imagine that S&W had approx. 5,000 workers on that jobsite) When the job was finished,
nuclear plants weren't being built any more so I was one of literally thousands that got laid off as the job finished up,
since S&W couldn't absorb all those people back in the Boston office.
While I was working on the nuke site I was HEAVILY involved in constructing my house in Hopedale, MA. I had
the foundation, framing, and drywall done by others but I did EVERYTHING else. The kitchen cabinets and
vanities were the first full set of cabinets that I built from scratch. They still look great today at the start of 2008.
After the layoff I had time to work on the house a little while looking for work. I ended up consulting for Norton
Company of Worcester, MA at their High Performance Ceramics plant in Northboro, MA. I really liked that job
because I did many varied projects. Every day was different. After a year we had the plant all straightened out so
they ran out of projects for me. I looked around for work but couldn't find what I wanted (or enough money) so I
started doing carpentry, putting my tools in the trunk of the car! I quickly progressed to additions and major
remodels (and a new truck). I even did some commercial work locally including inside the Milford Daily News
building. Looking for something different than remodeling, I built a few custom kitchens from scratch but decided I
didn't want to suck dust and fumes all my life so I started looking around at pre-made cabinetry.
Omega, which only had the custom line at the time, was the first cabinet line I took on and I still carry it today.
They now have the Omega Dynasty semi-custom line which I honestly feel is one of the best cabinets for the money
out there. It's my favorite. It's what I would use if I replaced the ones I built in my house. I opened my first
showroom in 1988 and I haven't looked back. I'm in my third (and final) showroom in Milford, MA now. I haven't
invested a million dollars into it like some of the big places but I show a little bit of everything I sell. It does the trick.
I buy the cabinetry I sell directly from the factories and represent them for this area. My low overhead is what lets
me sell at pricing that will compete with anyone out there. I love the customers that shop a little before coming to
see me and thus are able to compare apples to apples, which is very hard to do with cabinetry. They're the ones
who have told me many times that for equal product, my prices are better, my service is better, and my knowledge
of the business is complete. I stay personally involved in every aspect of the business including measuring, design,
ordering, and installation. Soooo, I sell at competitive prices, have a good range of quality/price levels and actually
know what I'm doing. Just ask around. Call the business line and if you miss me, you can get my cell phone
number off the answering machine. How sweet is that? You can get the owner of the business any time you want !
Thank you and hope to meet you soon.
freind's father, Bill Mancini, owned Bay State Cabinet Company in Milford (who did most of the mahogany wood
work and casework in the older Milford Banks). I used to love going to the shop to poke around and learn. I also
remember panelling (remember wood grained panelling?) the basement in my house when I was so young I don't
even remember how old I was. The bottom line is that woodworking and mechanical ability are in my blood.
After college I became a structural/mechanical engineer for Stone & Webster Engineering in Boston, MA. For
6-1/2 years I did design and seismic analysis of steel support structures for piping and large equipment in nuclear
power plants. I never really liked going to Boston or sitting at a desk every day. The last 1-1/2 years at that job
were extremely interesting though as I worked on site at the Millstone Unit 3 Nuclear Plant in Connecticut that Stone
& Webster was building. (Imagine that S&W had approx. 5,000 workers on that jobsite) When the job was finished,
nuclear plants weren't being built any more so I was one of literally thousands that got laid off as the job finished up,
since S&W couldn't absorb all those people back in the Boston office.
While I was working on the nuke site I was HEAVILY involved in constructing my house in Hopedale, MA. I had
the foundation, framing, and drywall done by others but I did EVERYTHING else. The kitchen cabinets and
vanities were the first full set of cabinets that I built from scratch. They still look great today at the start of 2008.
After the layoff I had time to work on the house a little while looking for work. I ended up consulting for Norton
Company of Worcester, MA at their High Performance Ceramics plant in Northboro, MA. I really liked that job
because I did many varied projects. Every day was different. After a year we had the plant all straightened out so
they ran out of projects for me. I looked around for work but couldn't find what I wanted (or enough money) so I
started doing carpentry, putting my tools in the trunk of the car! I quickly progressed to additions and major
remodels (and a new truck). I even did some commercial work locally including inside the Milford Daily News
building. Looking for something different than remodeling, I built a few custom kitchens from scratch but decided I
didn't want to suck dust and fumes all my life so I started looking around at pre-made cabinetry.
Omega, which only had the custom line at the time, was the first cabinet line I took on and I still carry it today.
They now have the Omega Dynasty semi-custom line which I honestly feel is one of the best cabinets for the money
out there. It's my favorite. It's what I would use if I replaced the ones I built in my house. I opened my first
showroom in 1988 and I haven't looked back. I'm in my third (and final) showroom in Milford, MA now. I haven't
invested a million dollars into it like some of the big places but I show a little bit of everything I sell. It does the trick.
I buy the cabinetry I sell directly from the factories and represent them for this area. My low overhead is what lets
me sell at pricing that will compete with anyone out there. I love the customers that shop a little before coming to
see me and thus are able to compare apples to apples, which is very hard to do with cabinetry. They're the ones
who have told me many times that for equal product, my prices are better, my service is better, and my knowledge
of the business is complete. I stay personally involved in every aspect of the business including measuring, design,
ordering, and installation. Soooo, I sell at competitive prices, have a good range of quality/price levels and actually
know what I'm doing. Just ask around. Call the business line and if you miss me, you can get my cell phone
number off the answering machine. How sweet is that? You can get the owner of the business any time you want !
Thank you and hope to meet you soon.
Hi, my name is Mike Ragonese, the owner of Ragonese Kitchen And Bath.
What I'd like to do here is tell you a bit about the things in my life that led
up to my being in the cabinet business plus help illustrate to you that when
you hire me to do work for you, you can rest assured that you are hiring
someone who is truly proficient at what he does. Having done this for 20
years, just asking around would get you feedback about the work I do but,
for those of you who are interested, here's a bit of my life story.
I started working with my hands when I was quite young. I took both
wood and metal shop classes in Hopedale, MA from the 7th grade all the
way through the 12th grade. In wood shop I used to build something from
What I'd like to do here is tell you a bit about the things in my life that led
up to my being in the cabinet business plus help illustrate to you that when
you hire me to do work for you, you can rest assured that you are hiring
someone who is truly proficient at what he does. Having done this for 20
years, just asking around would get you feedback about the work I do but,
for those of you who are interested, here's a bit of my life story.
I started working with my hands when I was quite young. I took both
wood and metal shop classes in Hopedale, MA from the 7th grade all the
way through the 12th grade. In wood shop I used to build something from
| RAGONESE KITCHEN & BATH Milford, Massachusetts |
| PROUD TO BE KNOWN FOR QUALITY PRODUCTS, COMPETITIVE PRICING, AND PREMIUM QUALITY INSTALLATIONS SINCE 1988 |
| RKB HISTORY |
| WHAT WE DO |
| PRODUCTS WE SELL |
| CUSTOMER COMMENTS |
| HOW TO FIND US |
| PROMOTIONS |
| PHOTOS |
| HOME |
| A little background information. Who owns this business and what can he do for you? |
| CARE AND CLEANING |
| INSTALLATION |
| HOW TO MEASURE |
| NEEDED INFO. |
| WOOD SPECIES |