Daily News
From Home Furnishing Business
La-Z-Boy to Invest $30 Million in Manufacturing Campus
August 2,
2021 by Laurie Northington in Business Strategy, Industry 
Global furniture producer La-Z-Boy Incorporated (NYSE: LZB) has announced it plans to invest more than $30 million over a two-year period in its Neosho, Mo. manufacturing facility.
The 550,000 square-foot plant, which began operations in 1970 and employs approximately 950 people, makes reclining motion furniture and supports all La-Z-Boy manufacturing operations with metal components and purchased parts.
The scope of the project includes various upgrades and renovations throughout the upholstery plant, a new medical clinic for employees and their families, and a new parts distribution center.
“We are making strategic investments across the organization to ensure La-Z-Boy emerges stronger in a post-pandemic environment,” said Melinda D. Whittington, president and CEO. “With unprecedented demand for the La-Z-Boy product, making improvements to our manufacturing facilities will help drive efficiencies and shorten lead times for customers and consumers while strengthening our manufacturing footprint for the long term.”
“The Neosho facility is responsible for producing a significant portion of the La-Z-Boy branded product,” said Darrell E. Edwards, SVP and COO. “These essential upgrades will improve productivity while providing for a more modern and pleasant work environment for our employees who continue to work tirelessly to service our customers. We are extremely proud of our dedicated workforce and are pleased we can invest in our infrastructure to support them. Additionally, we are building a new 60,000 square-foot warehouse space to house our parts distribution operation to more efficiently service the entire supply chain across the enterprise.”
Bill Snow, vice president of the La-Z-Boy branded business, said: “We appreciate the opportunity to make these important improvements to our Neosho campus, which will undoubtedly positively impact our employees, the community, our customers and the wholesale operation of the company. We plan to hire more than 100 workers across the site to support the demand for our upholstered product.”
A ground-breaking ceremony for the Neosho project is scheduled to take place on August 11, 2021.