Mohawk pushing touchup lines to Chinese factories
By Jeff Linville -- Furniture Today, January 18, 2004
HICKORY, N.C. — RPM's Wood Finishes division is getting a boost from a new initiative for its touchup line in China.
Retailers are familiar with the division's Mohawk Finishing Products, which allow dealers to repair scratches and nicks on furniture once it has reached the store, and allow delivery personnel to make cosmetic corrections at the consumer's home.
Many factories — in the United States, although not in Asia — also use such products to touch up goods before they're shipped to retailers, and that's where the RPM China initiative comes in. Last summer, Mohawk executive Patrick Devine moved to China to establish an Asian sales office and distribution center.
Devine, now director of Asian markets, has a three-person sales team and is likely to double his staff this year, said Ronnie Holman, president of RPM Wood Finishes. Holman said there's a huge potential in Asia once factories see the benefit of using touchup supplies.
Mohawk already has established business with Art Heritage, an Asian manufacturer that makes products for Furniture Brands International. In October, the plant became the first in China with a dedicated touchup and repair station, Holman said. A second manufacturer soon will add a touchup line using Mohawk products.
Such lines can lead to better quality in Asian case goods, according to Holman.
"Right now all that's selling these imports is the price," he said.
In 2002, Devine and Mohawk President Steve Cash toured some Chinese facilities and found that many weren't correcting any mistakes. If the problem was small, the product went into a box. If the problem was severe, the furniture either was washed and sent back through the entire refinishing process or it was destroyed and replaced.
Labor is so cheap overseas that companies weren't too concerned with how much time could be wasted in refinishing or rebuilding, Holman said. Part of Devine's job is explaining the benefits that can result with a touchup station.
"Damaged furniture just will not sell at the full market price," said Cash. "However, damaged items can be repaired so that the repair cannot be recognized, even by experts."
Holman believes Chinese factories will see the benefits quickly, especially if U.S. importers show preference to product that is corrected before shipment.
In five years, the Asian business could become a quarter of Mohawk's sales and possibly more, he said.
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