Home Source plans plant, warehouse in Florida

Thomas Russell -- Furniture Today, July 30, 2012

MARIANNA, Fla. - Home textiles resource Home Source International plans to build a 300,000-squarefoot plant and warehouse here to produce goods for its line as well as for furniture and lighting resource Shiner International, which it acquired this spring.
     Home Source International said the project is made possible in part due to an estimated $4 million worth of state and local government incentives. In return, the company will employ 300 workers within five years and will make various capital investments in the facility.
     Company President and CEO Keith Sorgeloos declined to disclose the value of the investment, saying details are still being worked out. The facility, which will begin shipping in the fourth quarter, will produce goods for both companies.
     About 75,000 square feet will be used to make cut and-sew home textiles, and another 75,000 square feet will produce furniture and lighting for Shiner, whose line includes contemporary indoor and outdoor bedroom, dining room and seating made largely with sustainable materials.
     The balance of the facility will be for warehouse and distribution, with some space set aside for offices.
     Home Source will continue to source overseas, but expects to produce the majority of its textile products in Florida in the next three to five years, Sorgeloos said.
     Shiner now produces its line in a 25,000-square-footplant in Atlanta and will shift that work to the Florida plant in the coming months, he said.
     Having a domestic facility gives Home Source the opportunity to do more business with major retail accounts that are relying on more domestic resources for just-in-time service, Sorgeloos said.
     He said the Florida facility will have the flexibility to do small runs with quick turnarounds that offer retailers a chance to test products in various markets before placing a large order.
     The side-by-side manufacturing and warehousing components also will allow it to ship goods to market more quickly than overseas source factories.
     "This opportunity really gives us the wherewithal to be a player today with retailers in a different way," he said.
     "We are proud to once again bring ‘Crafted with Pride in the USA' back to these industries, as well as the people who once earned their living manufacturing home textiles and furnishings," he added.
     Florida Gov. Rick Scott said the announcement was good news for the state, adding that it "shows that Florida possesses the talent, resources and business climate to encourage companies to expand and create jobs in our state."