April 21,
2012 by in UnCategorized 
By Home Furnishings Business in Business Strategy on April 22, 2012
Solid wood home furnishings supplier Home Trends & Design has expanded its Austin, Texas, warehouse to 70,000 square feet, doubling the amount of space the company had been operating with.
The 7-year-old company was started by Hank Cravey and Dhaval Lodhavia. Cravey manages the U.S. operations, and Lodhavia oversees operations in Asia.
The move to the new warehouse will enable the company to offer a wider variety of inventory and ensure goods are ready for delivery.
Home Trends & Design is a founding member of the Sustainable Furnishings Council http://www.sustainablefurnishings.org/ and has been included in the Inc. 5000 List for 2011. http://www.inc.com/inc5000/profile/home-trends-and-design
April 21,
2012 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Executive Changes on April 22, 2012
The board of directors of the American Furniture Hall of Fame Foundation Inc. has elected new officers and board members, and appointed new members to the Hall of Fame Legacy Board.
Randy Ford, Leggett & Platt, has been elected board president; George Cartledge, III, Grand Home Furnishings, first vice president; Bill Kimbrell, Star Furniture, second vice president; and Bill Markowitz, The Veneman Group, secretary-treasurer. Kurt L. Darrow, La-Z-Boy, will continue to serve on the executive committee as board chairman.
New directors serving a three-year term are Michael Amini, AICO/Amini Innovation Corp.; and Jack Hawn, Jr., Zenith Global Logistics. Joining the Legacy Board are Russell Bienenstock, Furniture World Magazine; and Art Van Elslander, Art Van Furniture.
"In the past year, we have made great progress on our key initiatives, undertaken to preserve our industry's history and to honor our leaders" Ford said. "We have published 27 of our 43 oral histories and are working now to make these searchable by topic on our Web site. After receiving several gifts, we are in the process of completing professional cataloging of our memorabilia, which is a first step toward making it available through our Web site.
"We also have begun the development of a comprehensive history of the furniture industry by building a timeline, now 72 pages long," he said. "This project will take years to develop but we have taken a huge first step that will be visible to the entire industry later this year as a Wall of History at the major markets. We also are pleased to report that the new selection process is underway and that the Industry Fellows Committee will present a slate of nominees in the next two months."
Re-elected members serving an additional three-year term are Aminy Audi, L. & J.G. Stickley, Inc.; George Cartledge III, Grand Home Furnishings; Randy Ford, Leggett & Platt, Inc.; Roger Friesen, Casana Furniture Company Ltd.,; William D. Kimbrell, Star Furniture; and Dennis Novosel, Stoney Creek Furniture.
The American Furniture Hall of Fame Foundation is open to all home furnishings industry companies, organizations and individuals that do business in the United States. Membership includes eligibility to vote for inductees into the American Furniture Hall of Fame, and the opportunity to help preserve the history and heritage of the industry. Memberships are $250 at the individual level, and $500 and $1,000 at the corporate level. All contributions are tax deductible.
The 2012 inductees-individuals who have made significant contributions to the growth and development of the U.S. furniture industry-will be honored at a gala Oct. 14 at the High Point Market. For information, call (336) 882.5900.
April 20,
2012 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Upholstery on April 21, 2012
Ashley Furniture unveiled its plans for a North Carolina manufacturing and distribution at a news conference on the eve of
High Point Furniture Market.
At the gathering in High Point, local and state development officials, N.C. Senator Richard Burr discussed the impact of the $80 million project, which should create 550 jobs in North Carolina's Piedmont over the next five years.
A state Job Development Investment Grant and a One North Carolina Fund award helped bring the Ashley plans to fruition.
Phase I calls for a 418,000-square-foot distribution center that should be in operation by October or November; another 507,000-square feet, also for distribution; and a 408,000-square-foot upholstery manufacturing facility. The site has potential for a total build-out of 3.2 million square feet.
Ashley CEO Todd Wanek noted that the North Carolina project is just one investment Ashley is making in its U.S. operations: "Every one of our facilities is being re-birthed."
Chairman Ron Wanek said the State of North Carolina, and local developers had been very supportive.
"Generating a facility like this takes for years to get up to speed," he said. "It's a huge, huge risk and a huge, huge undertaking, and we appreciate the help we're getting."
Senator Burr credited the N.C. Department of Commerce, in particular, and Governor Beverly Perdue for the leadership in economic development that brought about a project such as Ashley's.
Ashley "is putting a tremendous amount of trust in North Carolina and Davie County, and more important, the people of North Carolina," Burr said. "I don't know of anyone who wakes up every morning and bets on the future being better than yesterday than Ron and Todd Wanek."
To help facilitate this expansion, the company has been awarded a grant of up to $825,000 from the states One North Carolina Fund. This fund assists the state in industry recruitment and expansion deemed by the governor to be vital to a healthy and growing state economy. One North Carolina Fund grants require a local match, and this grant is contingent upon approval of local incentives.
In addition, the state Economic Investment Committee voted to award a Job Development Investment Grant to Ashley. JDIGs are awarded only to new and expanding businesses and industrial projects whose benefits exceed the costs to the state and which would not be undertaken in North Carolina without the grant.
Under the terms of the JDIG, the company is eligible to receive a grant equal to 60 percent of the state personal income withholding taxes derived from the creation of new jobs for each of the 10 years in which the company meets annual performance targets. If Ashley Furniture meets the targets called for under the agreement and sustains them for 10 years, the JDIG could yield as much as $3.19 million in maximum benefits for the company.
Other partners who assisted with this announcement include: The N.C. Department of Commerce, N.C. Department of Transportation, N.C. Department of Revenue, N.C. Community Colleges, Davie County, Davie County Economic Development Commission Inc., N.C. Rural Economic Development Center, Golden LEAF Foundation, and Duke Energy. R.J. Reynolds gifted 200 acres for the project.
April 19,
2012 by in UnCategorized
By Aggregated Content in Business Strategy on April 20, 2012
from http://www.newsobserver.com/2012/04/20/2012721/nc-governor-plans-furniture-jobs.html
North Carolina's governor is kicking off the world's largest furniture trade show with an announcement expected to mean hundreds of jobs.
Gov. Beverly Perdue is visiting the High Point Market today for a jobs announcement involving Davie County, about 30 miles away.
Read Full Article...
April 19,
2012 by in UnCategorized
By Aggregated Content in on April 20, 2012
from https://newsdesk4.moreover.com/click/?p=aHR0cDovL3d3dy5uZXdzb2JzZXJ2ZXIuY29tLzIwMTIvMDQvMjAvMjAxMjcyMS9uYy1nb3Zlcm5vci1wbGFucy1mdXJuaXR1cmUtam9icy5odG1s&a=MzMyMA&f=SW1wb3J0ZWQ&s=cmljaHhtbA&u=YWNyZW5zaGF3QG5hcGNvLmNvbQ&c=TkFQQ08&i=MA&e=TmV3cyAmIE9ic2VydmVy
HIGH POINT, N.C. -- North Carolina's governor is kicking off the world's largest furniture trade show with an announcement expected to mean hundreds of jobs.
Gov. Beverly Perdue is visiting the High Point Market on Friday for a jobs announcement...
Read Full Article...