Steady growth for largest FDMC 300 contract furniture companies
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For most major producers of office and contract furniture, the past year was one of steady growth. There were no changes in the order of the 10 largest companies in this market sector.

Overall, sales for the FDMC 300 group of companies grew 4.75 percent in 2018, to reach $54.691 billion.

The FDMC 300 is a group of the 300 largest cabinet, furniture, millwork, store fixture, office/contract and component producers in North America. This annual summary of wood manufacturing firms' sales performance is published annually by FDMC magazine.

This group of the 300 largest North American cabinet, millwork, furniture and fixture manufacturers recorded a seventh consecutive year of sales expansion in 2018, the year completed. In 2017, sales grew 5.4 percent over the previous year to $52.209 billion. 

The preliminary estimate of the North American office, education, and healthcare furniture market for 2017 was estimated to be $18.61 billion by the Business and Institutional Furniture Manufacturers Association.

Largest contract companies

The largest manufacturers, listed here and ranked by sales, comprise much of the overall market.

1. Steelcase Inc. Company makes seating, lighting, storage, furniture systems, interior architectural products, technology and related products and services. Sales were up in 2018, to $3.055 billion for the fiscal year. Divisions include Coalesse, Turnstone, Steelcase Health, Details and Vectra.

2. Herman Miller Inc. The company makes contract/office furniture and related services, and residential furniture, including desks, office systems, office chairs, healthcare systems, manufacturing and laboratory systems, home office, occasional and education furniture. The company employs 7,600 and reported sales up 4.5 percent to $2.381 billion

3. Haworth Inc. Based in Holland, Michigan, the company employs 7,000 and makes contract and office furniture; including systems furniture, office chairs and seating, desks, filing/storage, casegoods, tables (computer, conference, occasional, training, work), and upholstered guest chairs. Sales figure of $2.04 billion was reported in Feb 2018, a 5.3 percent gain.

4. HNI Corp. Contract and office furniture manufacturer makes desks, credenzas, filing/storage, office systems, office chairs, bookcases, conference tables, home office furniture and glass walls. The company has 8,500 employees and reported sales of $1.706 billion in 2018. We had earlier estimated sales of $1.7 billion based on third quarter office furniture segment figure. Ten manufacturing locations include Cedartown, Georgia; Mt. Pleasant and Muscatine, Iowa; and Wayland, New York.

5. Knoll Inc. Sales figure of $1.302 billion was reported for fiscal 2018 for the entire business. Company makes contract/office furniture, including office systems, office seating, desks, casegoods, file and storage cabinets, executive office furnishings, tables, lounge chairs, sofas, contract textiles, leathers and employs 4,000.

6. Global Furniture Group. Canadian company makes contract/office furniture, RTA furniture, office chairs, office seating, filing/storage, desks, office systems, conference tables, bookcases, sofas, upholstered chairs, swivels, meeting/training room furniture for hospitality, healthcare and education. There are many Canadian and U.S. locations. Toronto and Marlton, New Jersey, have large manufacturing operations. Sales of $1 billion is a general estimate.

7. Kimball International Inc. Company reported 2018 sales were $685.6. Sales increased over 2017. The company’s 3,015 employees make office and hospitality furniture and cabinet products in Borden, Jasper, Salem and Santa Claus, Indiana; Danville and Fordsville, Kentucky; and Martinsville, Virginia. Kimball purchased hospitality furniture maker D’Style in 2018.

8. KI. Contract and institutional furniture company makes chairs, ergonomic seating, conference tables, filing/storage, university/classroom furniture, auditorium seating, wall systems, adjustable work surfaces and healthcare furniture. Divisions include KI Canada, KI Europe Middle East Africa, Pallas Textiles, and Spacesaver. The Wisconsin, company has 3,000 employees. Sales of $650 million is our estimate.

9. Teknion Corp. Canadian contract and office furniture manufacturer produces office seating, filing/storage, desks, office systems, conference tables, bookcases, sofas, upholstered chairs and architectural wall systems. Plant locations include Calgary, Alberta; Concord, Markham and Toronto, Ontario; Montmagny, St. Vallier and St. Romuald, Quebec; Clayton, North Carolina; and Malaysia. Annual sales of $500 million is our estimate. Company employs 3,400.

10. OFS Brands Inc. Sales were up sharply to $404 billion last year. Company makes desks, filing/storage, open plan, conference tables, office chairs, office seating; healthcare, education and hospitality furniture. Sales were $330 million in 2017. Company had manufacturing plants in Huntingburg, Indiana; Huntington Beach, California; Leitchfield, Kentucky; and Archdale, North Carolina.

 

 

Largest residential furniture manufacturers

Residential furniture orders continued to grow, rising 7 percent in December compared to the year prior, capping off a 12-month streak of year-over-year growth, according to the latest Furniture Insights survey of residential furniture manufacturers and distributors from Smith Leonard. Year-end figures for 2018 show a 6 percent gain in new orders, compared to 4 percent in 2017.

Here are the largest residential furniture manufacturers in the FDMC 300:

1. Ashley Furniture Industries Inc.

2. La-Z-Boy Inc.

3. Dorel Industries, Inc.

4. Hooker Furniture Corp.

5. Flexsteel Industries Inc.

6. Ethan Allen Interiors Inc.

7. Brown Jordan International

8. Klaussner Furniture Industries

9. Bassett Furniture Industries

10. Century Furniture/RHF Investments

For more information on the FDMC 300, see https://www.woodworkingnetwork.com/fdmc-300.

 

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About the author
Karl Forth

Karl D. Forth is online editor for CCI Media. He also writes news and feature stories in FDMC Magazine, in addition to newsletters and custom publishing projects. He is also involved in event organization, and compiles the annual FDM 300 list of industry leaders. He can be reached at [email protected].