Rethinking domestic manufacturing: Introducing Domestic Dynamos

HIGH POINT — With the global sourcing situation once again dominating industry discussions, this special feature section of Furniture Today shines a spotlight on U.S. domestic manufacturing and
explores the current state of domestic case goods, upholstery, bedding and fabric manufacture.

As part of that effort, Furniture Today highlights 25 Domestic Dynamos: unique, creative, leveraging local advantages, driving business, gaining share and addressing the needs of retailers looking to manage their business in a disrupted global sourcing environment.

Ashley Furniture
www.ashleyfurnitureindustriesllc.com

Ashley is an American home furnishings manufacturer and retailer, headquartered in Arcadia, Wis., and owned by father-and-son team Ron and Todd Wanek. It manufactures and distributes furniture and mattresses throughout the world, selling home furnishings and accessories through independent dealers and more than 1,000 Ashley HomeStores, independently owned and operated by licensees around the world. It has manufacturing and distribution facilities in Wisconsin, Mississippi, California, Indiana, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Florida, China and Vietnam. Ron Wanek serves as chairman, and Todd Wanek is CEO. The company’s third generation is now part of its leadership team.

Bassett
www.bassettfurniture.com

Bassett Furniture traces its heritage to local cabinet makers in 1902. Today, the producer offers a full range of furniture for the home, as well as home décor, rugs and outdoor furnishings. It also has about 100 dedicated retail locations in the U.S. and Puerto Rico. Its custom upholstery offers a choice of more than 600 designer fabrics, 50 quality leathers and more than 50 wood finishes. Headquartered in Bassett, Va., the company is led by CEO Rob Spilman, and about 75% of its products are built, assembled, finished and upholstered in the U.S.

Best Home Furnishings
https://www.besthf.com/

For more than 60 years, Best Home Furnishings has been family-owned and -operated. Its success story began with a very simple theme: Make the best quality product at the most affordable price. Through all these years, one thing has remained constant: its commitment to quality and the total satisfaction of its customers. Not only does the company assemble its furniture in its Jasper, Ind., facility, but many of its parts are American-made, too: mechanism, fabric, foam and wood.

Capel
www.capelrugs.com

Back in 1917, A. Leon Capel took raw materials from his existing venture, Gee-Haw Plow Lines, fashioned it into braids and started a rug business with a reversible braided rug called “New Departure.” Today the Troy, N.C.-based business is led by a third generation of the family: Ron Capel, president of retail and finance; Richard Capel, president of manufacturing; and Cameron Capel, president of sales, marketing and imports. While the company does import rugs from around the world, it still has its manufacturing location in North Carolina.

Carpenter
www.carpenter.com/en/

Founded in 1950, Carpenter Co. is a leading vertically integrated manufacturer of polyurethane foams. It also serves a diversified global marketplace with polyurethane chemical solutions, polyester fibers and insulation materials through a network of more than 70 production locations. In the U.S., Carpenter operates facilities in 15 states, including North Carolina, California, Texas, California and Florida. In the past two years, the company has expanded through three key acquisitions, including North Carolina-based NCFI Polyurethanes in 2023 and Virginia-based Casper Sleep in 2024. Based in Richmond, Va., the company is led by CEO Brad Beauchamp.

Craftmaster Furniture
www.cmfurniture.com

Craftmaster Furniture was founded more than 50 years ago in the small town of Taylorsville, N.C., where generations of North Carolinians have been building furniture dating back to the 1800s. With more than 650,000 square feet of manufacturing and 700 employees, it is the largest private employer in Alexander County, N.C. Custom order is its strength, offering more than 150 living room styles, 100 accent chairs, 800 fabric choices and 50 premium leathers, all built to order and shipped around the world within a few weeks. Craftmaster is headed by President Alex Reeves.

Gat Creek
www.gatcreek.com

The family-owned furniture manufacturer in Berkeley Springs, W.Va., specializes in solid wood furniture made from sustainably harvested Appalachian hardwoods. In early 2022, it made a $10 million expansion of the facility, doubling capacity and adding jobs. The company harvests its wood — ash, cherry and maple — from Appalachian forests with a day’s drive of the plant, in keeping with its holistic approach to sustainability. Today, the company is led by President Gat Caperton, who bought the company 30 years ago.

Glen Raven
www.glenraven.com

Glen Raven is a family-owned company that designs, develops and manufactures fabrics and textiles, as well as offering distribution, logistics and marketing services. Founded in 1880 as a cotton mill in North Carolina, it launched its flagship brand, Sunbrella, in 1961. Other brands include Dickson, GlenGuard, Trivantage, Visilite and ShadeCast, serving the furniture, marine, shade, window, protective and home fashion industries. Headquartered in Burlington, N.C., Glen Raven has production facilities in the U.S., as well as Europe and Asia. Leib Oehmig is president and CEO.

Hooker Furnishings
www.hookerfurnishings.com

Based in Martinsville, Va., Hooker Furnishings Corp. is in its 100th year, offering home furnishings for every room of the home. The company domestically manufactures premium residential custom leather and custom fabric upholstered furniture and outdoor furniture. Its brands include Bradington-Young, HF Custom, Hooker Upholstery, Shenandoah Furniture, H Contract, Sunset West and Home Meridian, which is comprised of Pulaski Furniture, Samuel Lawrence, Prime Resources International and Samuel Lawrence Hospitality. The company is headed by CEO Jeremy Hoff.

King Koil
www.kingkoil.com

King Koil shifted from a licensing model to a direct-to-retail manufacturing platform in 2018 with the opening of its company-owned and managed factory in Avondale, Ariz., for its U.S. retail partners. The company maintains close ties with Hartford, Conn.-based Blue Bell Mattress through a strategic partnership. The company first opened a 90,000-square-foot facility in Arizona and added a 40,000-square-foot expansion to the factory in 2021 to accommodate its growing SmartLife line. The company serves retailers in 26 states from its Arizona headquarters. The company has been led by CEO David Binke since 2017.

La-Z-Boy
www.la-z-boy.com

Based in Monroe, Mich., La-Z-Boy was founded in 1927 based on the design of a reclining wood-slat chair. Today, this American furniture manufacturer makes upholstered recliners, sofas, stationary chairs, lift chairs and sleeper sofas. The company has five major furniture manufacturing locations and 14 distributions centers in the United States, including a 1.2-million-square-foot manufacturing facility in Dayton, Tenn., which manufactures a majority of upholstery distributed in the Southeast. Since 2021, Melinda Whittington has served as president and CEO of the company, and as of December 2024, she additionally serves as chair of the board.

Legends Home
www.legendshome.com

Legends Home was formed in 1990 and is best known for its wood furniture, which is made domestically at its Phoenix-area plant. The case goods product lineup includes desks, bookcases, tables, fireplaces, entertainment centers and media consoles. Over the years, Legends has relocated four times to keep pace with its evolution, and its latest expansion nearly doubled the size of its Arizona manufacturing and warehouse facility. The company is headed by CEO Chris Dockter.

Mavin
www.mavinfurniture.com

Located in Amish country in Dundee, Ohio, Mavin is a third generation of lumber specialists who hand-select the best of the cherry, oak, maple, walnut or hickory tree to make quality products. The family selects and harvests the timber, shapes it in its own sawmill and then checks it in its own dry kilns. Originally Winesburg Lumber, the company had its origins as a two-man logging operation more than three generations ago. As the younger generation became a part of the organization, it began evolving into one of the most complete custom dining lines in the country. The company also produces bedroom, occasional and home office furnishings. Bryan Coblentz is president.

Mohawk Inds.
www.mohawkind.com

Mohawk is an American flooring manufacturer based in Calhoun, Ga., producing floor covering products for residential and commercial applications in North America and for residential applications in Europe. Products include area rugs and carpets in addition to a number of other types of floor coverings. Its domestic production facilities are located in Virginia, Georgia, Alabama, Texas, Ohio, Connecticut and Washington. The company offers vertically integrated operations from design and material sourcing to manufacturing and distribution. The company is headed by CEO and Chairman Jeffrey S. Lorberbaum.

Norwalk Furniture
www.norwalkfurniture.com

What began in 1902 as Galpin & Gerken, an upholstery company specializing in repairing and reupholstering furniture, went on to become Norwalk Furniture, based in Norwalk, Ohio. The company built its tradition of custom upholstery on a business of making buggy seats for carriages. Today, the ESOP-owned company operates a 440,000-square-foot factory with 225 craftspeople that makes some 40,000 pieces each year. Last year, Tim Newlin was named president and CEO of the company.

Rock House Farm Family of Brands
www.rockhousefarm.com

A family-owned company, Rock House had its start in 1947 with Century Furniture. Today, in addition to Century, its brands include Hancock & Moore, Highland House, Jessica Charles, Maitland-Smith, Cabot Wrenn, Hickory Chair and Pearson, which continue to provide fine products across all categories while keeping production stateside providing manufacturing jobs even as some counterparts shifted to sourcing all their goods. With second and third generation of the family still at the helm, the company is led by Alex Shuford III as CEO.

Sauder Woodworking
www.sauder.com

In 1953, Erie Sauder landed a patent for a snap-together table that would accelerate the evolution of a growing furniture maker in Archbold, Ohio, into the largest manufacturer of ready-to-assemble furniture in the country, with 2,000 employees and overall sales of $600 million-plus a year. Its Ohio facilities encompass nearly 4 million square feet and employ about 2,000 workers. Sauder markets more than 60 distinct furniture collections in a full line of RTA furnishings for the home, including entertainment, home office, bedroom, kitchen and storage. With a third generation of the family still active in the business, the company is led by CEO Nolan Pike, who succeeded Kevin Sauder in the role in 2024.

Serta Simmons Bedding
www.sertasimmons.com

The manufacturer behind the Serta, Beautyrest, Simmons and Tuft & Needle brands, Serta Simmons Bedding is based in Doraville, Ga. The company U.S. manufacturing facilities in North Carolina, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, New York, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Texas, Hawaii, California, Arizona, Seattle and Puerto Rico. In addition, SSB has five independent licensees that manufacture mattresses for the company. In 2023, the company opened its 500,000-square-foot plant in Janesville, Wis. Serta Simmons mattresses are designed and assembled in the United States. Jim Loree, CEO, joined Serta Simmons in June 2024.

Sherrill Furniture
www.sherrillfurniture.com

Sherrill Furniture Co., currently counting four generations of Sherrill family participation, has maintained its focus on high-end domestic upholstery since 1945, when O.T. Sherrill founded the company. It opened a fifth plant in Conover, N.C., near the company’s Hickory, N.C., base. In additional to Sherrill Furniture, brands include: Hickory White, CTH-Sherrill Occasional, Motioncraft, Precedent, Lillian August, Whittemore-Sherrill, and Mr. and Mrs. Howard. The company is led by CEO Charles Sherill, who also is senior vice president of product development.

Skyline Furniture
www.skylinefurnituremfg.com

Norman Wecker started Skyline Furniture in 1946, setting the foundation for the company’s custom-made upholstered goods. Skyline blends traditional manufacturing techniques with cutting-edge technology, such as rendering technology and digital textile printing, into its production processes. Today the company employs more than 350 people, still the Chicago-based furniture company it was when it began. Previously president and chief creative officer, Meganne Wecker succeeded her father Ted Wecker as CEO in 2024.

Stickley
www.stickley.com

Leopold Stickley, brother of Mission furniture designer Gustav Stickley, founded L.&J.G. Stickley in 1900. In 1974, Alfred and Aminy Audi bought the company and ushered in an Arts and Crafts renaissance. Today, more than 90% of Stickley furniture is made in upstate New York near its Manlius headquarters and in Archdale, N.C. The company is headed by CEO and Chair Aminy Audi. Her son Edward Audi is company president.

Telescope Casual
www.telescopecasual.com

This outdoor furniture producers started in New York City in 1903 as Telescope Cot Bed & Novelty Co., a company making wood cots and campstools. In 1921, the company’s saw mill and assembly operations relocated to Granville, N.Y. It continues to produce outdoor furnishings in Granville and in Vermont, operating a nearly 1-million-square-foot factory in Granville. Telescope is currently managed by fourth and fifth generations of the family: Kathy Juckett, CEO, and Henry Vanderminden IV, president.

Tempur Sealy
www.tempursealy.com

Tempur Sealy International delivers products that provide sleep solutions to consumers in more than 100 countries. The company says its brands — Tempur-Pedic, Sealy and Stearns & Foster — allow for complementary merchandising strategies and are sold through third-party retailers, company-owned stores and e-commerce channels. The company operates more than 25 facilities in the U.S. and Puerto Rico. The company has adopted a new name — Somnigroup International — and restructured with three divisions: Tempur Sealy, Mattress Firm and Dreams. Scott Thompson is CEO.

Vanguard Furniture
www.vanguardfurniture.com

A family-held company founded some 50 years ago, Vanguard is currently operating out of six production plants in Hickory, N.C., as well as a showroom in High Point and a new manufacturing location in Hillsville, Va. A founding member of the Sustainable Furnishings Council, the company’s green initiatives including recycling 95% of all post-manufacturing waste. Its product offerings include bedroom, dining room, living room, outdoor and office residential furniture, as well as a contract division. The company is led by Andy Bray, president and CEO.

Vaughan-Bassett Furniture
www.vaughanbassett.com

Founded in 1919 in Galax, Va., Vaughan-Bassett manufactures bedroom furniture, and 100% of its products are made in the U.S. by American employees. Most of the wood solids and wood veneers it uses are harvested near its production facilities in the Southeast: pine, oak, maple, cherry, ash, poplar, birch and beech. The company’s brands also include Artisan & Post and LM Co., a line produced in conjunction with HGTV designers Ben and Erin Napier. The company is led by President Doug Bassett, fourth generation of the founding family.