AHFA sets Manufacturing Summit for March 27 in Mississippi

Furniture Today Staff -- Furniture Today, February 12, 2013

HIGH POINT — The American Home Furnishing Alliance has announced an agenda for its next manufacturing summit that deals with regulatory matters and other issues.

The Manufacturing Summit will be held March 27 at the Franklin Furniture Institute at the Starkville, Miss., campus of Mississippi State University.

The AHFA has invited Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant to provide opening remarks on the state of manufacturing in Mississippi.

Bill Perdue, AHFA vice president of regulatory affairs, will discuss details of the revised California flammability standard TB117. He also will discuss how the industry is responding to recent California Proposition 65 notices that have targeted various upholstery items with the flame retardant chemical TDCPP, which California says is a carcinogen.

Also on the agenda is a panel discussion called "Obamacare: Implementation and Concerns," moderated by Jay Moon, president of the Mississippi Manufacturers Assn. Panelists include Mike Chaney, Mississippi's commissioner of insurance; Rusty Berryhill, president of Kevin Charles Furniture; Jim Taylor, corporate vice president of benefits and compensation for Huntington Ingalls Inds.; and Pepper Crutcher, a partner in Balch & Bingham, LLP.

Other presenters will include Nicole Ponder, professor of marketing in the MSU College of Business, who will share results of a consumer buying attitudes and behavior study; Jack McDougle, senior vice president of the Mississippi Council on Competitiveness, who will present, "Lessons Learned in the Global Manufacturing Competitiveness Index," and Bill Renick, workforce investment area director for Three Rivers Planning and Development District, who will address "Solutions for Surviving the Skilled Labor Shortage."

Summit sponsor CertiPUR-US will also provide a brief overview of the certified foam program.

The event runs from 8:50 a.m. to 4 p.m. The cost is $99 for AHFA members and $139 for non-members. It includes a light breakfast and lunch.

Those looking to stay overnight should contact the Hilton Garden Inn in Starkville at 662-615-9664. A group rate of $111 per night is available through March 12.

The AHFA's second Manufacturing Summit this year is planned for Aug. 22 at the Greensboro (N.C.) Airport Embassy Suites Hotel. The program will be announced later.