Ferguson Copeland breaks ground on Vietnam plant
By Powell Slaughter -- Furniture Today, April 18, 2004
MORGANTON, N.C. — Full-line importer Ferguson Copeland has broken ground on its first plant in Vietnam, a 100,000-square-foot facility in the Ho Chi Minh City area.
The plant will start off producing case goods, occasional furniture and accent items.
"We'll be doing wood product there at first, but we may be looking very quickly to do upholstery," said Darrell Ferguson, president and CEO. "The excitement for us is having an exclusive facility and keeping everything proprietary."
To build the factory, Ferguson Copeland partnered with Nguyen Quoc Khanh. a Vietnamese architect and retailer who also has two existing plants making contract furniture for high-end hotels.
Khanh is head of AA Corp., which in addition to handling design projects for offices, restaurants and hotels, operates four Nha Xinh (Pretty Home) home furnishings stores in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Danang. Nha Xinh plans to open two additional retail locations a year.
Ferguson designed the plant, which has its own lumber-drying facility, veneer splicer and finishing line. Production should begin in August, and the plant is expected to turn out eight to 10 containers a month. Ferguson Copeland currently ships 15 to 20 containers a month, mainly from plants in China and the Philippines.
The Vietnam site has ample acreage for another plant, and Ferguson hopes to build a second facility of the same size, although the timing hasn't been determined.
"We'll work toward this plant producing half our product," he said. "We'll continue to utilize China, with some sourcing in the Philippines, where we still have a dedicated finishing line. We're also looking at other product directions with Vietnam in mind."
Eventually, that could include Ferguson Copeland's own line of accessories.
"We'll bring more value to the market and an interesting new palette of materials, inlays and lacquers," Ferguson said.
He added that he likes the work ethic and demographics of the Vietnamese.
"They have excellent work habits and skills, and a young population that averages under 25 years of age, so there's a growing work force," he said.
At least one of the company's April introductions, a French-style bedroom, will be sourced out of the new plant in Vietnam.
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