Good to see more U.S. production
Ray Allegrezza -- Furniture Today, February 13, 2012
Ray Allegrezza
Years before the onslaught from foreign automakers, Henry Ford allegedly said this about his then fledgling Model T: "People can have the Model T in any color - so long as it's black."
Today, based on the ongoing interest in domestically made furniture, consumers (at least figuratively) seem to prefer their furniture in almost any combination of colors - as long as they are red, white and blue.
The most recent evidence of this escalating desire for domestic furniture was seen at this past Las Vegas Market, which featured a Made in U.S.A. pavilion that showcased American-made furniture and home décor from about 40 American producers.
The Vegas pavilion took a cue from the High Point Market, which recently added a Made in America pavilion that featured domestically made goods in a 16,000-square-foot footprint.
High Point's effort came soon after the All-American Furniture Expo, which was held last summer in Lancaster, Pa.
And just a week or so before the Las Vegas Market, we made a trip to Galax, Va., to talk with executives at Vaughan-Bassett, who gave us the exclusive scoop regarding their $8 million expansion in Galax set to boost its manufacturing capacity by about 50% and add about 115 furniture manufacturing jobs here.
When we spoke with Doug and Wyatt Bassett, they told us that the decision to purchase a mothballed 350,000-square-foot plant from Webb Furniture Enterprises was heavily influenced by a growing demand for U.S.-made furniture.
Meanwhile, down the pike in Stanleytown, Va., Stanley Furniture, which invested $4.2 million last year on new machinery and equipment, said that it will invest an additional $4 million this year to enhance its Robbinsville, N.C., manufacturing facility.
And let's not forget that industry veteran Bruce Cochrane, who launched Lincolnton Furniture in Lincolnton, N.C., last year and helped raise the profile of domestically made home furnishings when he was invited to attend the State of the Union address as the guest of President Obama.
While I can't say with total certainty how much of this groundswell is in support of U.S. jobs - or a hedge against potential supply chain issues from Asia - I can say this: It's good to see some furniture making coming home.
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Good to see more U.S. production
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