Bradington-Young to Close Cherryville, N.C., Plant, Consolidate in Hickory

November 8, 2010  by in UnCategorized   

By Home Furnishings Business in Leather Upholstery on November 9, 2010

Hooker Furniture (NASDAQ: HOFT) will move its Bradington-Young leather upholstery division Cherryville, N.C., operations and corporate offices to Hickory, N.C.

The move consolidates Bradington-Young's domestic upholstery finished goods production at its Hickory plant.

"We expect that the consolidation of manufacturing operations to Hickory, Bradington-Young's newest and most efficient facility, will enhance long-term competitiveness and improve  efficiencies," said Alan Cole, president of Hooker Upholstery. "The lagging recovery and the emergence of a more value conscious consumer require the most productive and efficient operating platform for every furniture company.

"Because of the greater efficiencies in our existing Hickory plant, the availability of highly skilled and productive labor in the area and the lower costs and fewer complexities of operating one finished goods manufacturing facility, we see this as a very positive move for Hooker and Bradington-Young. In the short-term, we expect the move will enable us to reduce redundancies and significantly lower our break-even point with the goal of achieving profitability at current sales levels. In the long-term, this can be a great launch pad for growth, as we expect a lot of good employees from Cherryville will move with us, and we believe we have the property to expand the Hickory facility as needed for the foreseeable future. While domestic leather sales at Bradington-Young declined from 2005 to 2009, sales increased at a double-digit rate over the last four quarters."

He added that most of the 140,000-square-foot Cherryville facility's 121 employees will be offered transfers to the consolidated Hickory facility. The Hickory plant, built in 1990, is nearly 100,000 square feet and currently employs 75 workers. In addition, employees from Bradington-Young's Cherryville corporate offices will be offered transfers to an approximately 30,000-square-foot office and support facility near the Hickory plant. That move will eliminate some Cherryville positions due to redundancy with the Hickory operation.

Bradington-Young€™s leather cutting and sewing operations will remain at its separate, existing cover plant in Cherryville due to the specialized nature of that auxiliary plant for the storing, cutting and sewing of leather. The leather cutting and sewing plant will supply the consolidated Hickory plant.

Bradington-Young plans to implement the consolidation over the next 60 days and expects it to be complete by mid January 2011.

"Once the consolidation is finalized, we expect the Hickory plant to operate at close to its capacity," Cole said. "We believe this move will result in a strong, growing and profitable upholstery division that contributes financially to the ongoing success of Hooker Furniture."