2 Mississippi Furniture Producers Get Grants

August 23, 2010  by in UnCategorized   

By Home Furnishings Business in Business Strategy on August 24, 2010 Two Mississippi furniture manufacturers could have cheaper electrical bills through the help of the Mississippi State University's Franklin Furniture Institute.

The university worked with Lane Furniture and American Furniture Manufacturing Co. to obtain grant funding through the Mississippi Development Authority.

The $650,000 grant will be used to upgrade lighting and cooling/heating systems for the the two companies.

"Occasionally, there are federal or state grant funds available to the furniture industry," said Bill Martin, Franklin institute director. "We are pleased to offer this service to the furniture industry, which often does not have someone with this expertise."

Funding availability was provided by the Mississippi Job Protection through Energy Economic Development program administered by MDA. More than $40 million was distributed to the state by the U.S. Department of Energy for improving energy efficiency.

"When we first became aware of this opportunity, we sent a notice to furniture manufacturers across the state to make them aware of the funding and our ability to assist in writing a proposal," Martin said.

Lane Furniture's corporate projects engineer Jeff Gilmore expects the improvements to create a 50 percent energy reduction in the lighting and HVAC systems at the company's Saltillo, Miss., facility.

"The institute facilitated everything we needed to get this grant," Gilmore said. "Not only will this help this facility, we also hope it will spark some energy savings awareness among our employees."

Blair Taylor, chief financial officer for American Furniture, agreed, adding that the institute made the process much easier.

Established about 20 years ago, the university's Franklin Furniture Institute works to assist companies with services including furniture testing, marketing, exporting, workforce training, and grant writing.