Ashley expands Miss. plant
By Gary Evans -- Furniture Today, June 24, 2002
ECRU, Miss. — Ashley Furniture has begun its 11th expansion in Mississippi with groundbreaking ceremonies for a 305,000-square-foot distribution center here last week.
The expansion by will bring Ashley's total square footage in Ecru to 1.3 million square feet.
The distribution center, scheduled to open by year's end, will have a clearance of 43 feet and will be fully racked. It will handle bedroom and dining room furniture in addition to the mix of upholstery products the company ships in Mississippi.
The expansion also will enable Ashley to convert 100,000 square feet of existing warehouse space to production, according to Ron Wanek, Ashley chairman.
The Ecru facility makes a variety of seating products, including some motion and recliners. The company also has a 500,000-square-foot facility at Ripley, Miss., dedicated to motion and recliners.
U.S. Sen. Trent Lott and Rep. Roger Wicker were among those taking part in the ceremonies. Lott told the audience, "Ashley is what we need in Mississippi, an American company that provides 2,000 jobs with less government money involved than the Nissan plant."
The new center will share a site with a 25,000-square foot transportation facility, which will be completed in two to three months. It will maintain the company's fleet of more than 200 tractors and 500 trailers based in Mississippi, said Wanek.
Lott, the former Senate majority leader, spent several hours with the Ashley crew. Wanek used part of that time to do a little congressional lobbying, including a presentation on how some proposed new government rules on upholstered furniture flammability could raise the price of a sofa significantly.
| Ashley Chairman Ron Wanek, left, shows Sen. Trent Lott and Rep. Roger Wicker around the company's Ecru, Miss., plant. The lawmakers also took part in a groundbreaking ceremony for the Ecru expansion. |
