12 MONTH CERTIFICATE 3.500% 'RAPET 3.550 % A.PY/ 24 MONTH CERTIFICATE 4.000 0/0 INITEURIE ST 4.060% APITI* 60 MONTH CERTIFICATE 5.000% RATE 5.090% First Rate Rates. These are fixed rate certificates of deposit that are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). A minimum opening deposit and balance of $500.00 is required to obtain the stated A.P.Y. Call 338-7700 352-7700 MEREST FIRST SECURITY A.P.Y./ * SAVINCIS BANk "First in Service - Main Office 2600 Telegraph Rd. Bloomfield Hills. MI 48302 * Annual percentage yield when compounded quarterly. Rate is accurate as of 2/11/94. Penalty for early withdrawal from certificate accounts may he assessed. . STOCKS TAX-FREE BONDS MUTUAL FUNDS F P First of Michigan Corporation FoM INVESTMENTS Members New York Stock Exchange, Inc U Herman Schwartz T Senior Vice President - Investments Branch Manager Travelers Tower / Suite 1020 26555 Eveigreen Road / Southfield, Mich. 48076 (313) 358-3290 U S T Toll Free 1 S TAX DEFERRED ANNUITIES - CC) - LENDER WE SHIP FURNITURE y T1 ip II E X EQUAL HOUSING N A C A L; P A N N 2523 W. Maple (at Cranbrook) Bloomfield Hills 433-3070 6453 Farmington Road W. Bloomfield 855-5822 N G 800 826 2039 - IRA s - MONEY MANAGEMENT LLJ C/) THE DETRO H- 36 Pia- noworks • PIANO CONSULTATION • SALES • SERVICE • CONCERT RENTALS INTRODUCING THE AMERICAN MADE PIANOS Mason & Hamlin Sofuner 541-6334 23225 WOODWARD • FERNDALE Find It All In The Jewish News Classifieds Call 354-5959 FURNISHINGS page 34 blessing and a curse. Many small, entrepreneurial busi- nesses can be crushed under the weight of too-rapid growth. Three years after starting, they found themselves in a big fi- nancial hole. Experts sug- gested to Mr. Sallan and Mr. Dresner to get out of the busi- ness. "They told us, 'Close the doors, declare personal bank- ruptcy.' It just got uglier and uglier," says Mr. Dresner. "Andy and I came into the of- fice and we sat down and we said, 'Look, we could close our doors and that would be cop- ping out. That would be the easy way to do it. Is this what we want to do?' "That wasn't us," adds Mr. Sallan. "Our name, our in- tegrity and our reputation were too important." Instead, they stopped draw- ing salaries, made payment arrangements with their cred- itors, tightened their belts and struggled until they saw day- light. That almost disastrous growth made the two men re- evaluate how their company was run. And they made some crucial changes, implementing a set management style and tougher cost controls. Mr. Sallan has some strong opinions about what sets his company apart from other fur- niture and cabinet makers. He says Futuristic takes a rather unconventional team approach to marketing its product. In- stead of having sales and de- sign operate separately, each sales person has a technical support person. They're a team, and they work in con- junction on every project — from the very first customer contact to the finished furni- ture. Futuristic has a fully inte- grated CAD/CAM system. CAD/CAM stands for comput- er aided design/computer aid- ed manufacturing. Instead of handing off blueprints to work- ers, the design travels the in- formation highway to the computerized saws and other machinery at the Royal Oak factory. As far has he knows, Bloomfield Hills architect David Lubin says Futuristic is one of only a handful of cabi- net makers to be completely "on-line." Futuristic uses computers from the onset. A customer can see the design in 3-D on a com- puter screen, view the draw- ings from several perspectives and even get an idea of what the finished product will look like. Mr. Sallan says his compa- ny targets the upscale con- struction, custom and retail markets. And in that arena, the quality of the product can't be compromised. The comput- ers play an integral role in reg- ulating quality control and reducing waste. For non-custom jobs, the di- mensions of each section of a cabinet is fed into the comput- erized equipment, cut accord- ingly and labeled in detail. As the product moves along in the manufacturing process, it must pass seven different inspec- tions. Mr. Sallan says most cabi- net companies aren't willing to sink that kind of money into a fully integrated system. He says it was well worth the. ini- tial $100,000 investment. As company president, Mr. Sallan oversees the daily op- erations of the business. Mr. Dresner is vice president and he handles field operations, which include installation of the finished product. That commitment to quali- ty and personal touch are re- flected in customer satisfaction. "They have talented staff de- signers and cabinet makers," says architect David Lubin, of A customer can see the design in 3-D on the screen. Lubin/Tringali Associates in Bloomfield Hills. "(Futuristic) did some furniture for our new office space. We're very hap- py with that, satisfied with the quality of the product." "They're equipped with the latest and greatest in products, equipment and brains," says Farmington Hills interior de- signer Beverly Stewart. "I re- ally feel Futuristic is committed to design. Togeth- er with the designer, they ex- plore all the avenues for the atmosphere you're working in. That enables them and the de- signer to better serve the client. Their follow up and follow through as far as customer re- lations, they're terrific about it. They're really one of the bet- ter cabinet companies I have ever worked with. I'm very confident when I leave a job with them." Most importantly, says Ms. Stewart, as Futuristic grows, it is still listening to its cus- tomers and using that infor- mation to make its operation more responsive and efficient. "I think they're growing in the right direction. They're doing all the right things." Last year was one of posi- tioning for the company, mak- ing the transition from an entrepreneurial venture to a small business. The company pushed more heavily into the retail and residential home fur-