A modern luxury-style kitchen remodel by MTD Kitchen in a Valley Village home.

Gil Alkoby, CEO, Founder and Owner of MTD Kitchen.

Los Angeles-based MTD Kitchen has been customer-focused and cost-conscious from the very beginning. The company has built a reputation for being one of the top custom cabinetmakers for residential and multifamily units in the region. The value of its original fixed-price signature kitchen remodel special, which included kitchen cabinets, granite counters, a stainless steel sink and installation, appealed to multifamily builders while also fueling MTD Kitchen’s popularity with residential customers.

“Our goal originally was to help people raise the value of their home with a cost-conscious kitchen model,” Marketing Director Paris Nasseri says. Among Paris’ responsibilities include positioning the MTD Kitchen experience, identity and brand to the media as well as prospective clients and customers. “We got a lot of repeat business, which allowed us to hire additional employees and see more volume come in.”

The secret of the company’s success lies in leveraging a volume-based business as well as the talent and work ethic of a devoted staff that specializes in quality commercial and residential kitchens.

“We custom make all of our products,” Paris says. “We manufacture and install, while figuring out a way for our products to cost much less than the competition. We’re a volume-based business, and we have a lot of manpower. We also provide maintenance. We do everything from A to Z. We’re not a typical cabinet store. We’re very niche.”

Company Origins & Trajectory

MTD Kitchen is the realization of Owner and CEO Gil Alkoby, who founded the company in 2008, and whose vision and leadership have developed an engaged and passionate culture. Paris describes Gil as being very down to earth. His approachability and authenticity, she asserts, are valued, as are the values of trust and character that are instilled with pride in the product and the process. Gil strengthened the mission of the company by bringing in the best talent and setting significant goals to enhance and improve people’s lives.

Born and raised in Los Angeles, Gil focused on serving his community and providing value for families and residences in the region. Since the company opened, MTD Kitchen has helped hundreds of contractors complete thousands of homes, and they’ve also helped thousands of homeowners by installing their new kitchens.

Gil created a platform for creativity and company growth by building a woodworking manufacturing facility at company headquarters, giving MTD Kitchen the independence and flexibility to serve customers, adapt to their unique design specifications and create custom cabinets for less. Gil’s team uses state-of-the-art machinery and works with the finest raw materials to help homeowners realize their dream kitchen without having to settle for inferior quality or overpriced imports.

“One of our core values is producing an American-made solid product for a low cost,” Paris says. “We pride ourselves on being affordable and top quality. We realize that’s unique, but we stand by it. We take Yelp reviews personally and stand by our customer service. We started with homeowners, and now we’re helping multifamily residential builders fulfill their contracts by providing the best product and service from the start. We create full cabinets for multifamily units. We offer full service where we create the shop drawings, manufacture the cabinets and install all in-house.”

Team Focus and Culture

For a company that does 4,000 to 5,000 kitchens a year, Paris says that the company culture has remained upbeat and fun. MTD Kitchen is over 100 employees strong. Paris says that everyone in the company is team-oriented and focused on the goal of creating outstanding work. The team seeks out one another’s feedback to do the job efficiently, effectively and to consistently rise to the quality of work that is expected at MTD Kitchen.

“We have a lot of people who have been here for over 10 years,” Paris says. “We recruit from referrals, which is a process that is based on trust.”

That focus on excellence and hiring the right people is how the company consistently creates a product that exceeds the expectations of the customer. You see it in the showroom, Paris explains, where highly qualified 3D designers show the customer what is possible and how to achieve their goals within budget.

“Our designers, some from Europe, have interior design degrees, with more than 10 years of interior design experience,” Paris says. “Their service is included in our price. They use design software to create the plans for the kitchen and make sure the prices work for everyone. They have the ability to price the job for the customer, determine what kind of cabinetry and how many linear feet are involved. We go out to people’s homes and measure and install—it’s all part of the sales process.”

All the Buzz in Koreatown

MTD Kitchen works with construction partners, and with their partnerships, they have completed 12 large apartment buildings in Los Angeles. Gil works with contractors to review plans and determine the scope of work for the jobs.

A recent feature in MTD Kitchen’s portfolio is a seven-story, 220-unit mixed-use modern luxury residential apartment and retail building that is under construction in the central Los Angeles neighborhood of Koreatown at 3980 Wilshire Boulevard.

“This building is going to increase the value of the neighborhood,” Paris says. “The way it’s designed on the inside…it’s luxury. The top floor is a penthouse and the ceilings are approximately 20 feet high. It’s part of stepping up and revamping the neighborhood and is one of the major residential buildings in the area.”

MTD Kitchen went in knowing that this job would be a project to take pride in. With their large installation crew, the company was able to complete the job on time. They worked hard to finish, completing the project on time and within budget, yet still keeping the quality and luxury feel.

“Our construction team made sure the plans matched the measurements and surveyed the building,” Paris says. “No unit is the same. Each one is unique in terms of scope and scale. Some are bigger than others. We aligned the measurements with the plans and product in each unit. Our team went one floor at a time, doing all the cabinetry in each unit. There were a lot of pieces to the puzzle.”

MTD Kitchen’s multifamily portfolio is impressive. The company has been featured on “HGTV Design Star” and “House Hunters Renovation” for the work that it has done. Paris says they stand by their designs and quality, and the pride that they take in their performance and product is evident in their knowledge, confidence and willingness to deliver on the vision and dreams of their customers.