Sauder Signs Strategic Vendor Contract With IKEA

February 8, 2007  by in UnCategorized   

By Home Furnishings Business in Furniture Retailing on February 2007 Ready-to-assemble major manufacturer Sauder Woodworking Co. will supply kitchen cabinet components for the the eastern two-thirds of Sweden-based retailer IKEA’s North American stores.

The initial contract is for the manufacture of IKEA’s AKURUM kitchen frames and its RATIONELL kitchen shelves over a three-year period.

“We have been working with IKEA for over seven months to mesh our capabilities with their specifications,” Kevin Sauder, president and CEO of Sauder, said. “And we believe that these are the first of several lines we will be making for IKEA.”

The kitchen frames and shelves, which Sauder will start producing mid-year in its Archbold, Ohio, factories, are currently being made in Eastern Europe. But as IKEA’s North American store base grows, the company is developing a network of strategic vendors in the United States to more efficiently supply products to these operations. IKEA currently has 39 stores in the U. S. and Canada, with plans to open three to five stores a year in North America.