Thomas Russell

Company has initially received a 2.66% duty
AT THE MARKET — Lacquer Craft Mfg. President Mohamad Amini is optimistic about his company’s future in spite of uncertainties many Chinese bedroom furniture makers face in an ongoing review of U.S. antidumping duties.

Lacquer Craft, the owner of U.S. marketing companies Universal Furniture and Legacy Classic, initially received a 2.66% duty after the U.S. government’s 2004 investigation of Chinese bedroom producers.

It has since appealed that ruling, and Amini said this week he believes the rate will be reduced, based on correspondence from the U.S. Commerce Department.

He said he expects Lacquer Craft to prevail, largely because of its experience in preparing paperwork in the initial investigation. Some companies received duties as high as 198% either because they didn’t fill out the paperwork properly, or didn’t fill it out at all.

“The review process is the same,” he said. “We just feel like we are far more prepared having gone through this exercise one time.”

He also said the company’s use of non-Chinese materials, such as wood that is imported from the United States, allows Lacquer Craft to be judged through a market economy methodology versus a non-market economy methodology. That essentially will prevent the government from comparing it to furniture makers in a surrogate country such as India, which was a model country in the initial investigation, he said.

“We have minimized our dependence on surrogate value,” he said. “It’s not all about selling product below cost.”

Amini also noted that Lacquer Craft, which took a leadership position in organizing efforts to minimize duties for Chinese manufacturers, will restart informal meetings with those same companies. The goal is to keep the estimated 50-plus companies in the group informed of developments with the administrative review process.

Meanwhile, Lacquer Craft is moving forward with expansion plans for its Chinese  factories. The OEM plant in Dongguan will add two production lines by July, Amini said. A second plant outside of Shanghai, is adding three production lines, to be completed in 2014. A new warehouse at that facility will be ready this August, Amini said.

Amini also is pleased about the stock price of parent company Samson Holding, which went public last fall. The price, which opened at $2.75 Hong Kong dollars, has been hovering over $4 HKD the past few months, Am-ini said.

“I think we have just been focused on our business and would like to maintain our historical growth pattern,” he said of the company, which had $457.5 million in 2004 sales, according to a prospectus for the stock offering. “Our reaction is that we are happy (about the stock price), but our focus is on growing the business.”