DeHart/Loti Corp.

Tooling Innovation and Engineering Give Loti an Edge

When Loti Corporation needed cutting tools to manufacture its patented countertop edge product, Gem-Loc, the company sought out the services of DeHart Tooling , Inc. “We asked them to design, engineer and manufacture the cutting tools we needed for producing Gem-Loc, a process that’s also patented,” said Basil Kelley, company president and owner.

“Our procedures are special. Typically, a cabinet shop uses the same type of cutting tools from shop to shop, but we make a unique product and our needs are different. DeHart did a tremendous job for us in designing for our specialized needs and producing a high quality product.”

Loti Corporation of Tualatin, OR, a suburb or Portland in the Pacific Northwest, manufactures the countertop edge product called Gem-Loc., a combination laminate and solid surface product and edging material designed to be applied by fabricators. The company uses the four major brands of high pressure laminate — Formica, Wilsonart, Pionite, and Nevamar — and solid surfaces including Corian, Gibraltar, Surell, and Fountainhead.

“Gem-Loc countertop edge is created with custom color combinations of more than 130 solid surface colors teamed with all the standard laminate colors, giving consumers the choice of more than 113,520 different combinations or more if they specify other products. The Gem-Loc countertop edge combines the practicality of laminate with the beauty and versatility of solid surfacing into a look that we think transforms an ordinary laminate countertop into something special for the kitchen or bath.”

Loti Corporation is a four-year-old company. Kelley had owned a countertop fabricating company for 21 years before developing the highly-successful Gem-Loc process. And DeHart has played a part in that success, Kelley added.

“When the (previous) countertop fabricating business grew, our means of handling growth was to hire more employees. With this company we wanted to see how far we could go with equipment and innovation, rather than ‘throwing bodies’ at our success. As we have grown, we have added fewer employees and spent more in tooling and equipment. We have come up with innovative ways to improve our production capacity. DeHart tooling has definitely played a part in our growth,” said Kelley.