By: Jeff Linville
North Carolina factory employs 72

MARION, N.C. — Broyhill Furniture is closing its frame parts plant here this summer and will begin laying off workers in mid-May.

The plant will cease operations May 20, but some workers in the plywood and maintenance departments will continue their jobs until as late as June 16, according to Tom Lentz, vice president of marketing and advertising.

Once all work is complete, the factory will be permanently closed and offered for sale. The 187,288-square-foot facility was rebuilt in 1976 and currently employs 72 people.

“This period of unprecedented change in the industry has forced most domestic furniture manufacturers to react to the competitive pricing pressures at retail,” said Lentz. “Broyhill is not immune to these factors and is evolving with the changing dynamics of our industry.”

Broyhill’s parent company, Furniture Brands International, has said more than once that Broyhill’s performance has been hurt in recent years by the influx of imports. FBI has directed Broyhill to increase its import offerings and last year named Universal veteran Harvey Dondero as president and CEO.

In announcing the closing, Lentz said, “It has become more cost-effective to move the machining of the upholstery frame parts to the actual upholstery manufacturing facilities or source these parts from outside suppliers.

“The efficiency of the Marion operation has also been impacted by the loss of wood parts manufacturing that had supported a number of the company’s domestic case good manufacturing facilities. These facilities were closed due to the globalization of furniture manufacturing which has resulted in domestic manufacturing facilities being unable to compete effectively with the lower-cost imported furniture products now prevalent in the marketplace.”

Lentz added, “We very much regret that it continues to result in the necessity to close facilities and lay off loyal, dedicated employees.”