Southern Motion grows
Larry Thomas -- Furniture Today, December 12, 2011
PONTOTOC, MISS. - Motion furniture producer Southern Motion, which opened its second factory here less than a year ago, is set to open another plant in nearby Baldwyn, Miss., early next year as it continues on its rapid growth track.
The company announced last week that its CEO, Guy Lipscomb, and business partners had purchased a 196,000-square-foot building in Baldwyn that once housed a golf equipment manufacturer. The facility is being renovated and should be ready to produce furniture by mid-February, said Lipscomb.
"This is a very exciting time for us," he said. "We're charging ahead."
The announcement came less than a year after the 15-year-old company opened a 180,000-square-foot plant in Pontotoc.
Lipscomb said that plant already is operating at capacity, so it was important to find additional production space quickly.
"There isn't one particular product that is selling well. It's everything from recliners to sofa-loveseat groups to sectionals," he said. "The motion furniture category has been a huge beneficiary of people's desire to buy bigger TVs."
Lipscomb said the company has promised state and local government officials it will hire 150 people at the Baldwyn plant over the next two to three years, but said it could eventually employ 400 people there if business remains strong.
Southern Motion currently has about 900 employees in Pontotoc, and approximately 115 more will begin work there in January, he said.
The Baldwyn project will cost about $3.5 million. That's on top of the $7 million spent on the newest Pontotoc plant, which was built from scratch.
The state-run Mississippi Development Authority, the Appalachian Regional Commission and Prentiss County are helping fund infrastructure improvements and building renovations, while the city of Baldwyn donated land that will be used for truck access.
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