Hooker closing last U.S. wood plant
By Heath E. Combs -- Furniture Today, February 5, 2007
Martinsville, Va. — Hooker Furniture said last week it will close its last remaining domestic wood furniture plant, located next to the company's headquarters here, by the end of March.
With some 280 employees, the 760,000-square-foot plant employs about 27% of the company's work force and produces bedroom and home entertainment furniture.
Warehouse operations will continue in Martinsville for the foreseeable future, the company said.
Hooker also has two upholstery assembly plants and two upholstery supply plants in North Carolina, operated by its Bradington-Young subsidiary, and warehouses in Virginia, North Carolina and China.
In a statement, Hooker cited shrinking sales of its domestic wood furniture and increased demand for its imported wood and metal furniture.
The company said it expects to reduce fixed operating expenses by $2.8 million to $3.5 million annually by closing the facility.
In connection with the move, Hooker expects to record restructuring and asset impairment charges of $7 million to $7.8 million before taxes.
Hooker is following in the footsteps of another longtime Southeast U.S. manufacturer, Broyhill, which announced in December it was closing its last remaining domestic wood furniture plant.
"It is sad to see Hooker's (domestic) wood furniture manufacturing era come to an end and to close the factory that has been the workplace for so many fine employees since our beginnings in 1924," said Paul Toms Jr., the company's chairman, CEO and president.
"It has never been our desire or intention to exit domestic wood furniture manufacturing," he said. "We have reacted to the demands of our retail customers and the consumer for high-value imported products, and to the changing business model in our industry."
Toms added that management believes "it is in the best long-term interest of our shareholders, customers and remaining employees" to focus on imports.
"Our transition to a marketing, logistics and global sourcing business model for wood and metal furniture is now complete," he said.
Toms praised the Martinsville plant's employees, saying, "It is through no fault of theirs that we have had to exit domestic wood furniture manufacturing."
Hooker said it will offer severance packages, and that employees will be eligible for federal job placement counseling under programs to assist workers affected by trade-related job losses.
