HDM Furniture Industries Announces Manufacturing Realignment at Henredon and Drexel Heritage

Furniture World Magazine

HDM Furniture Industries, Inc., a subsidiary of Furniture Brands International, Inc. announced the consolidation of two upholstery manufacturing facilities located in High Point, NC. The plants, which have a combined employment of approximately 400 people, will consolidate the majority of the operations of the Brevard Road Henredon Plant into the Drexel Heritage Plant #37. The balance of the products will be transferred to Henredon's Mt. Airy upholstery facility in Mt. Airy, NC. The Brevard Road Henredon Plant will close. As a result of the consolidation, over 185 employees in the Henredon plant will be transferred to the Drexel Heritage Plant #37. The facility is being reconfigured to manufacture both Henredon and Heritage upholstery products. Jeff Young, President and Chief Executive Officer of HDM said, "The consolidation of these two manufacturing operations is directly related to capacity issues. This will allow us to utilize our larger Drexel Heritage facility more efficiently, reduce our redundant costs, and enable HDM to continue to provide our customer base with premium upholstered products. The upholstery products that will be manufactured in Plant 37 feature similar construction and tailoring specifications and will represent primarily the company's high end seating lines such as Heritage upholstery, Henredon upholstery, Drexel Heritage's licensed Lillian August and Vera Bradley upholstery as well as Henredon's Ralph Lauren, Lauren and Barbara Barry licensed upholstery products." Mr. Young concluded, "It is expected this restructuring will be completed by the end of the year and approximately 45 positions will be eliminated. The company will provide job search assistance as these employees seek other employment." HDM, with headquarters in High Point, North Carolina, is the combined operations of Henredon, Drexel Heritage and Maitland-Smith, all subsidiaries of St. Louis, Missouri based Furniture Brands International.