Larry Thomas
Michael Loe to oversee sales, marketing

ATLANTA — Amber Furniture, a Latvian ready-to-assemble furniture maker whose products are sold extensively in Europe, has opened a U.S. office here and hired industry veteran Michael Loe to oversee sales and marketing.

The company makes juvenile furniture and case goods, and currently is shipping to the United States on a container-direct basis. However, Loe said Amber may open a distribution center along the Eastern Seaboard.

“We’re getting very positive response to our products so far,” said Loe, who once headed RTA producer AIG Designs and most recently worked for specialty chair importer BackSaver.

Amber made its U.S. furniture show debut in a temporary space at the winter Tupelo Furniture Market. Loe said the company won’t have a space at the April market in High Point, but said he will be in town during market to meet with prospective dealers.

Loe said much of the company’s line is solid-wood RTA, but some items are made from medium-density fiberboard.

Solid-wood items are made from Northern European pine, which Loe said has more density and is sturdier than America’s Southern pine because it grows slowly in a harsher climate.
MDF items, primarily home entertainment and home office pieces, have contemporary styling and a lacquer finish.

Amber was founded in 1997 and has a 200,000-square-foot factory in Riga, Latvia.