VERONA, MS -  Ashley Furniture Industries  says it will locate manufacturing operations in a 275,000-square-foot facility in Verona, MS, create 60 jobs building sleeper beds and mattresses.

Ashley Furniture mannufactures nearby in Ecru and Ripley, MS. The Verona facility, located on a 35-acre site formerly occupied by Morgan Fabrics, will also serve as a state-of-the-art replacement part and customer support center.

“This decision was the result of several years of global strategic and grass roots analysis,” said Ashley Furniture Industries CEO Todd Wanek. He said the proximity to Ashley’s existing facilities in Ripley and Ecru, rail line service, and location in a Foreign Trade Zone influenced the decision.

"Furthermore, Mississippi is a business-friendly state that we are happy to call home,” Wanek said. Ashley Furniture employs 3,000 people in Mississippi. The Mississippi Development Authority provided assistance for infrastructure improvements through a Community Development Block Grant.

Ashley has been on a fast-track growth path. In August 2012 Ashley Furniture completed its $10.4 million acquisition of a 1.4-million-square-foot industrial facility in Advance, NC, and it is rapidly hiring there. Last May Ashley Furniture  broke ground on a $6 million expansion of its manufacturing complex to make motion furniture in Whitehall, WI.