Daily News
From Home Furnishing Business
Hickory Springs Boosts Production at 3 Plants, Tennessee Factory to Close
June 5,
2019 by Jane Chero in Business Strategy, Industry 
Privately held Hickory Springs has announced it will increase foam fabricating operations at its plants in Ocala, Florida, Lenoir, North Carolina, and Verona, Mississippi. As a result of this move, the company will close its Cleveland, Tennessee factory.
“Because of recent achievements we have made in operational efficiencies and our focus on lean manufacturing we have been able to increase capacity at our other southeastern facilities to better serve our customers,” said Michael Hinshaw, chief operating officer at HSM.
Production equipment has been moved from Cleveland to the company’s other foam fabrication facilities, and the majority of customers who had been serviced by the Cleveland factory have been successfully transitioned to the other plants.
The Cleveland factory primarily serviced customers in Tennessee and north Georgia. The vast majority of the foam fabrication serviced furniture manufacturers, but the factory also had customers in the healthcare, medical and packaging industries.
The plant’s 34 employees were given 60 days advance notice of the consolidation and received retention bonuses for staying on the job until production ended. Workers also were offered jobs at other Hickory Springs locations, and four agreed to relocate to the Ocala factory, Hinshaw said.