, a supplier of heavy-duty woodworking machinery to the office furniture industry, is adding a line of machines for the little guy.

Ironwood, Stiles' own brand of lower-cost planers, jointers, shapers and other wood-handling machines, is made in Taiwan to the specifications set by Grand Rapids engineers.

"This is not just designed for the guy working in the garage, or the three-man machine shop," said Stephen Waltman, vice president of marketing. "It might also find its way to large entrepreneurs who need a small model shop."

The 15 machines in the Ironwood product line range from $5,000 to $25,000.

Although the larger pieces of the cast iron-based machinery weigh about as much as a vintage Volkswagen Beetle, the Ironwood lineup is Stiles' entry into a highly-competitive sector -- the smaller woodcrafter.

Waltman said the company, known for its focus on technical training, will outshine the competition with its service to Ironwood owners. Buyers get a two-year 24/7 access to technical support.

On Tuesday, Waltman and Ironwood product manager Chris Dolbow showed a handful of wood-industry magazine writers through the complex at 3965 44th St. SE.

The company, started 45 years ago by Web Stiles, is privately held, now owned by President Peter Kleinschmidt and David Rothwell, executive vice president.

Next month, Stiles is launching a new website that eventually will allow its customers to buy equipment online. Later this summer, an online contest will seek wood shops that don't already use computer-numeric-control equipment, to vie for a one-year free use of Stiles' Weeke-Vantech CNC router, a machine that sells for about $65,000. The router is the company's first machine with the base and other supporting parts made in the U.S., and assembled here by Stiles employees. The "business end" of the router is imported from Germany.

But the big news is Ironwood, Dolbow said. It's the company's first "business-to-consumer" lineup.

"We're looking at shaking things up," he told the small group of journalists. "We're digging deeper into the market, to reach customers earlier in the process and bring them to the next stage. The elite-hobbyist and small-shop segment needs a more creative approach."

How big is that market? The U.S. has an estimated 200,000 small woodworking shops.

Stiles started expanding beyond its industrial-size machinery after the office furniture industry took a dip in 2001.

"We came out of that and said, 'We're not broad enough,' " Waltman said. At the big International Woodworking Fair two years ago, Stiles introduced its Shop Solutions line-up for solid wood.

"We went from zero market share to today, market leader in solid wood," Waltman said.

But this year, for the first time, Stiles is staying home from the big IWF event that for years met in Grand Rapids, but now meets in Atlanta. The event is Aug. 25-28.

"We're not going to go," Waltman told the group. Stiles was one of the founders of the IWF, and typically brought the biggest set-up.

Each machine the company hauls to the annual show costs Stiles at least $20,000, given transportation and depreciation as a used machine, he said. The company's display included about 80 machines, covered 42,000 square feet, and required about 200 people to pull it off.

"We want to pass on that savings to local shows, and products," Waltman said. This year, that includes a "best practices" jaunt between the Chicago NeoCon show and Montreal for technical workers in the office furniture industry; a September "tribute tour" to Germany for the anniversary of Homag, a machinery maker in Bavaria; a new laser technology center at the local showroom; and the investment in a more powerful website.

"We're not holding back," Waltman said.

E-mail Julia Bauer: jbauer@grpress.com and follow her on Twitter at twitter.com/jbauer5800

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