IKEA to Build Plant in Virginia

October 12, 2006  by in UnCategorized   

By Home Furnishings Business in Occassional Tables on October 2006 A region hard-hit by furniture and textile plant closings got good news Thursday.

Swedish furniture retailer/manufacturer IKEA will build a new factory in Danville, Va., the company’s first U.S. production facility. The Times-Dispatch of Danville reported the announcement.

The $85 million, 810,000-square-foot plant initially will employ 300 workers, but that number could grow to as many as 740 over the next 10 years as the plant expands. Construction will begin in November, and production of bookshelves, coffee and side tables, and entertainment centers for IKEA’s North American stores should start in September 2007.

Officials from the Danville area cheered the landing of Swedish home-furnishings giant IKEA as a key step in rebuilding the area’s economy.

The plant will be part of IKEA subsidiary Swedwood International, which has more than 35 plants employing more than 13,000 people, mainly in Eastern Europe.

IKEA has more than 235 stores in 34 countries, including 28 in the United States and 11 in Canada.