GOV. EASLEY ANNOUNCES CREATION OF 432 JOBS IN CALDWELL COUNTY
Raleigh - Gov. Mike Easley today announced that Broyhill Furniture Industries Inc. will invest more than $3 million and create up to 432 net new jobs in the city of Lenoir in Caldwell County. The project was made possible in part by a $2 million grant from the One North Carolina Fund.
(Media-Newswire.com) - Raleigh - Gov. Mike Easley today announced that Broyhill Furniture Industries Inc. will invest more than $3 million and create up to 432 net new jobs in the city of Lenoir in Caldwell County. The project was made possible in part by a $2 million grant from the One North Carolina Fund.
“The Broyhill name has been part of Lenoir’s history for more than a century and we are proud to see that tradition continue with this announcement,” Easley said. “Just as Broyhill Furniture remains committed to North Carolina, North Carolina remains committed to providing the skilled workers and business environment that allow companies from all segments of our economy to prosper.”
Broyhill is a wholly-owned subsidiary of St. Louis-based Furniture Brands International, the world’s largest manufacturer of residential furniture. Other subsidiaries include Thomasville, Drexel Heritage, Henredon, Hickory Chair, Lane, Maitland Smith and Pearson.
Thomas ( T.H. ) Broyhill made his first investment in furniture manufacturing in Lenoir in 1905 and today the company employs 1,242 North Carolinians. Its product line includes both residential and contract divisions that manufacture home entertainment wall systems, bedroom, dining room, home office and numerous upholstered furniture lines.
The new jobs will be primarily manufacturing positions and support staff, and will pay an overall average wage of $32,378 a year not including benefits. That is 15 percent more than the Caldwell County average of $28,184 without benefits.
“Broyhill is proud to build on North Carolina’s legacy of craftsmanship in the furniture industry,” said company President Jeffrey L. Cook. “The ability to grow our base of skilled associates in Lenoir was a key factor in the decision to commit to the region.”
The One North Carolina Fund provides financial assistance through local governments to attract business projects that will stimulate economic activity and create new jobs in the state. These grants require and are contingent upon local matches. Through the use of the One North Carolina Fund, more than 30,000 jobs and $6 billion in investment have been created since 2001.
Broyhill’s two largest upholstered manufacturing plants in the state currently are located in Alexander County, where 321 workers are employed at a plant in Taylorsville, and at the Whitnel complex in Caldwell County, where 472 workers currently work. These jobs will be consolidated at the new Lenoir site, and Broyhill plans to create an additional 4332 jobs in addition to those currently at the two sites. Broyhill considered consolidating operations from those two plants at a facility Furniture Brands owns in Mississippi. The state offered the One North Carolina Fund grant to encourage the company instead to preserve and increase those jobs in this state.
Broyhill will move into a 650,000-square-foot former case goods manufacturing plant in Lenoir that is part of a complex that has more than one million square feet of manufacturing space and 500,000 square feet of warehousing space. Company officials have said that most of the displaced Taylorsville workers and all of the Whitnel complex workers will be offered jobs at the new facility.
Other partners who helped with this project include: the N.C. Department of Commerce, N.C. Community College System, Caldwell County and the City of Lenoir.
For more information about Broyhill Furniture Industries, visit www.broyhillfurniture.com. For employment information, email hr@broyhillfurniture.com or mail information to Corporate Human Resources, One Broyhill Park, Lenoir, NC, 28633.
Office of the Governor 116 W. Jones Street, Suite 202, Raleigh , NC 27603-8001 Phone: ( 919 ) 733-5612
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