Daily News Archive
Brought to you by Home Furnishings Business
September 24,
2008 by in UnCategorized 
By Home Furnishings Business in Bedroom on September 2008
Solid wood bedroom vendor Virginia Sterling has acquired Canal Dover Furniture Co., Midvale, Ohio. The company’s corporate offices will remain in Canfield, Ohio, an hour from Canal Dover’s 75,000-square-foot manufacturing facility. Terms of the asset purchase were not disclosed.
Owners Michael and John Scarsella launched Virginia Sterling at the April 2007 High Point Market as a division of Vaughan Furniture Company. The began searching for an alternate manufacturing partner in March, when Vaughan announced it would close its last domestic facility in Galax, Va.
“We analyzed multiple options for the continued manufacturing of the Virginia Sterling line over the past several months,” said Michael Scarsella. “Canal Dover’s reputation as a producer of high-quality, solid wood product made it the obvious choice, and of course we remain American-made.”
Production of Virginia Sterling will begin immediately at the Canal Dover plant. The Canal Dover line of products will continue without interruption until a thorough evaluation of how both product lines will ultimately dovetail from a production and marketing perspective can be completed.
“We’re going to be investing heavily in new machinery right off the bat,” Scarsella said. “(High Point) Market will dictate a lot of how the two companies will dovetail.”
Lloyd Love, who most recently served as vice president of manufacturing at Durham Furniture, has joined Virginia Sterling and will oversee the plant operation in Midvale.
“Lloyd’s more than 40 years of experience in solid wood will prove invaluable to our success,” Scarsella said. “He understands our customers and their needs and he is just as particular about fashion and quality as my father and I are. We are thrilled and honored to have him as part of our team.”
Canal Dover was founded in 1987 by Charles Kuder. Over the past 20 years, the company has grown into a premier regional manufacturer specializing in upper middle priced dining room.
“The Virginia Sterling line, combined with the experience and track record of the Scarsella family, provide an exciting opportunity for this workforce to take the operation to a new level,” said Kuder.
Scarsella said the Canal Dover facility is a strong foundation for Virginia Sterling’s continued growth.
“We will be building on this foundation through significant investment in technology, process and personnel over the next several months,” he said.
The plant’s location also allows easy access to cherry, maple, and quarter-sawn oak from neighboring Pennsylvania and West Virginia. “Virginia Sterling is fundamentally an American company, and we are extremely proud to be planting its roots in our home state of Ohio,” Scarsella said.
Virginia Sterling will exhibit during the Oct. 20-26 High Point Market in space 204 of Market Square.
September 24,
2008 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Casual Furniture on September 2008
The Forest Arm Chair by Janus et Cie received the Lillian B. Winchester Best of Show award in this year’s Design Excellence competition at the 2008 International Casual Furniture and Accessories Market held last week in Chicago.
The awards are co-sponsored by the International Casual Furnishings Association and Merchandise Mart Properties Inc.
The Forest Arm Chair also took first place in the Cast Metal Category, one of nine categories judged in the 2008 design competition. Best of Show was selected from among the category winners. The other category winners were:
• Complementary Casual Products: Seranata, by Wanda Technology.
• Outdoor Lighting: Lagoon Lights from Dayva International.
• Rattan/Wicker/Woven Materials: Cove Day Bed by Rock Wood Casual Furniture.
• Resin/Fiberglass: Windward Sling Arm Chair by Telescope Casual Furniture.
• Shade Products: Crescent Shade Lounge from TUUCI.
• Tubular Materials: NH-01 Chaise Lounge from Neoteric Home.
• Wood Furniture: Elan Dining Arm Chair from Gloster.
• Wrought Iron/Wrought Aluminum: Re-Trouve Arm Chair by EMU.
September 24,
2008 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in on September 2008
After closing in mid-2007, Thomasville Furniture’s Plant C in Davidson County, N.C., is back up and running, according to a report Thursday in the Lexington (N.C.) Dispatch.
Around 50 people, many who previously worked for Thomasville, are making chairs to complement work at the company’s plant in Lenoir, John Hastings, vice president of communications for Furniture Brands International, said in the report. Thomasville hired back around 100 workers in Lenoir when that plant increased production in July.
Thomasville cited increased costs for outsourcing some jobs in China, along with the cost of shipping goods from Asia, for the new domestic production.
September 24,
2008 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Case Goods on September 2008
The American Home Furnishings Alliance notified membership Thursday that the federal agencies in charge of implementing changes in customs declarations for imported wood products are running behind schedule, and furniture importers may not be held to the new requirements until spring 2009.
AHFA Vice President of Government Affairs Russell Batson learned that customs officials are not yet ready to provide electronic processing of the expanded declarations, which are required by an amendment in the Farm Bill recently signed by President Bush.
The bill provides U.S. authorities with additional tools for policing the shipment of illegal timber and timber products from abroad. The new provisions are contained in an amendment to the centuries-old Lacey Act and were developed in response to complaints from some foreign governments that the United States was providing insufficient controls over shipments containing suspect wood.
U.S. Customs and the Departments of Justice and Agriculture all have a hand in executing the new regulation.
“In meetings earlier this month, customs officials indicated that their agency would not be ready to provide electronic processing of expanded declarations by the December 15, 2008, compliance deadline specified by Congress,” Batson said. “An insistence on that deadline would therefore force millions of wood product entries now using electronic declarations back into a paperwork system, likely causing serious delays at ports of entry.”
An inter-agency working group is designing a phased-in approach to the new law. Under discussion is a voluntary compliance period running from December 15 until perhaps April 15, 2009, during which importers could gain familiarity with the new requirements without incurring penalties or delayed processing.
A second phase running from April 15 to August 15 would introduce mandatory electronic declarations, but only for tariff Chapter 44, which includes lumber products, veneer, flooring and miscellaneous products such as picture frames and broom handles. Federal officials reason that this category of products would present less complex determinations about component wood species and where they were harvested.
A third phase beginning in August of 2009 is likely to reach Chapter 94, which covers wood furniture, upholstered furniture, mattresses and many components of those products. Import declarations would have to specify any species of wood that may be contained in the product, and any countries that may be the source of such wood.
“This phrasing is designed to allow the over-reporting of species and source countries in cases of uncertainty and should also lend itself to a checklist approach,” Batson said.
Whether these declarations will have to include information on the quantity and valuation of wood is still under discussion.
“One source at the Department of Agriculture believes that any valuation information should be of the total product rather than the component wood, which should equate to the valuation input that is required in current declarations,” Batson added.
The three agencies plan to release more formal guidance about the law sometime in October. Based on this information and on consultations with import specialists, AHFA will prepare a compliance toolkit for its membership.
“Many of our member companies took the opportunity to contact their elected officials as the Lacey Act was being debated in 2007 and 2008, and the final version passed by Congress was considerably improved from the bill as it was originally introduced,” Batson said. “Our members are continuing to relay their concerns to lawmakers, because input from Congress can help steer the agencies toward workable enforcement policies.”
September 23,
2008 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in High Point on September 2008
Lane Home Furnishings, the world’s second-largest recliner maker, is rolling into the High Point Market with a first-of-its-kind road show that includes an 18-wheeler housing a mobile showroom that highlights three complete home entertainment room solutions.
Prior to the truck embarking on what’s being called Lane’s Home Entertainment Tour across the nation, guests in High Point will be able to get a peak at the mobile showroom with separate room solutions designed to appeal to men, women and families. Among the products highlighted are Smart Seating products with power adjustments and built-in cup holders, cabinetry that displays television screens at the optimum viewing height and furniture with storage that keeps components hidden away when not in use.
Visitors will use a hand-held computer to respond to questions to indicate their product and lifestyle preferences. At the end of the tour, they’ll receive a printout of home entertainment solutions that meet their needs and can be purchased immediately.