AHFA announced that Hassell H. Franklin, the leader of Mississippi’s largest privately-owned furniture company, received the American Home Furnishings Alliance’s prestigious Distinguished Service Award during the group’s 2009 Annual Meeting in Palm Beach, Fla., earlier this month.
Franklin began his furniture industry career in the 1960s, long before Mississippi became one of the nation’s largest producers of upholstered furniture. After earning a degree in industrial management from Mississippi State University in 1959, he served on active duty with the U.S. Army and in the Mississippi National Guard. He worked for several furniture companies in the late 60s before starting his own company in 1970 with only 32 employees.
Franklin Furniture now has over 1,300 employees and occupies a 75-acre campus in Houston, Miss., with over one million square feet of manufacturing and warehouse space. It is the nation’s third largest producer of reclining chairs. In 2004, the World Trade Center of Mississippi awarded Franklin its International Leadership Award in recognition of his successful efforts to position Franklin Furniture in the global arena. He did this by adopting lean manufacturing, outsourcing components and implementing other cost-saving improvements and techniques.
While he built his own company, Franklin also was busy supporting the furniture industry state-wide. He devoted countless hours to various organizations, including the Commission on the Future of Northeast Mississippi, which he helped form. One of the commission’s top areas of focus is workforce development.
Statewide, the furniture industry in Mississippi now accounts for some 50,000 jobs and an estimated $4.4 billion in economic impact. Wishing to better prepare individuals for this massive workforce, Franklin donated $1 million to help build a furniture center on the campus of his alma mater. The Franklin Center for Furniture Manufacturing and Management, an advanced technology facility for furniture research, teaching and service opened in January 2004. The 35,000-square-foot center houses laboratories, classrooms, offices and an auditorium/distance learning center.
“Lauded for his marvelous abilities in working with people, he has garnered support and admiration from all of the employees in his company, business leaders throughout his home region plus elected officials in his state and in Washington, D.C.,” said John D. Bassett III in presenting the award. “For nearly four decades, he has commanded a steady ship in the face of extreme adversity and competition while at the same time provided jobs and security for his workers.”
Franklin has served on the AHFA Board of Directors, as well as on the boards of the North Mississippi Medical Center, Itawamba Community College and the Mississippi Economic Council. His volunteer endeavors also have included creating grants for neighborhood and regional projects, establishing boys’ and girls’ clubs and building homes for those in need.
The American Home Furnishings Alliance – located in High Point, N.C., and Washington, D.C. – is the largest association of home furnishings companies in the world and represents more than 240 leading furniture manufacturers and distributors, plus about 200 suppliers to the furniture industry worldwide.