Short answer: a useful company profile answers four questions, and each answer can be checked. Which legal company stands behind the brand; where the cabinetry is made and whether you can see it; what projects it handles, and for whom; and its trading terms in writing. Below: what to look for in each part, how to check it, and Moyisi's own answers as a filled-in example.

What should the profile cover, and how do you check each part?

Which legal company stands behind the brand?

Trading under a brand that differs from the registered name is normal, but a brand is not a contract party. Ask for the registered company name in English, make sure your contract is with a registered company rather than a brand, and ask whether the company exports in its own name.

Moyisi's answer: the legal company is Foshan Moyisi Home Furnishing Co., Ltd., trading as Moyisi. We hold our own export licence and declare shipments in our own company name. OEM under your own brand is also available. Registration details and the full fact table are on our company facts page.

Where is the cabinetry made, and can you see it?

A photo of a large factory floor is a start, not proof that your job will be made there. Ask where the cabinetry is made, and ask to see that line when you visit. Look at the design team as well: they are the people who turn your plans into production drawings.

Then check the visit: is it offered and arranged with you, or left as a vague "any time"?

Moyisi's answer: cabinetry is produced in our own family-owned panel factory of over 10,000 m², with more than 20 professionally trained designers in house; the company was founded in 2008. Our showroom is at No. 132, Building B, Feipeng Lighting City, Lecong Town, Shunde District, Foshan, and we arrange the factory visit with you when you plan your trip.

What does real whole-house experience look like on paper?

"Rich experience" costs nothing to write. Start with who the factory usually sells to: one used to single kitchens works differently from one used to whole apartments with a room list. For whole-house work the evidence is in drawings: a room list, elevations for the kitchen, wardrobes and other rooms on the same job, and photos of those parts on the production line.

Ask for a project similar to yours in size and room count, and check that its drawings carry dimensions, materials and hardware at the detail your project will need.

Moyisi's answer: our clients are homeowners renovating a whole house from abroad, renovation contractors and joiners, builders and developers, and hotel and real-estate projects. With a quotation we can send shop drawings and production photos of comparable work in production.

Are the trading terms written down, or only promised?

Each term should be a number that reappears unchanged in the quotation and the contract, including when each lead time starts and when each payment falls due. A factory that will not put a figure in writing is telling you something. How an order moves from drawings to shipment is in our step-by-step ordering guide.

Moyisi's payment stages:

1. After we issue the quotation, a 10% deposit starts the 3D rendering stage.
2. When the 2D drawings and the electrical and plumbing layout drawings are completed, payment reaches 20% of the total.
3. Once all designs are confirmed and signed off, payment reaches 50% and production begins.
4. The remaining 50% is due before shipment.

With quotations from several factories in hand, our guide on how to compare cabinet quotes lines them up row by row.

Should you send drawings before you visit?

Usually, yes. Send plans, a room list and the finishes you want. How a factory reads your drawings tells you more than its brochure, and it gives the visit an agenda. We accept DWG, PDF and 3D drawings and convert them into our own production drawings; our note on what to send for a quote lists what helps.

Send your drawings, with the questions from this page, through our contact page, and we will answer each one in writing.