Bradington-Young's Cherryville, NC, headquarters and upholstery production will be consolidated to Hickory, NC.

Hooker Furniture announced it will transfer the Cherryville, NC, operations and corporate offices of its Bradington-Young leather upholstery division to Hickory, NC, effectively consolidating its domestic upholstery finished goods production.

The move is expected to be completed by mid-January.

"We expect that the consolidation of manufacturing operations to Hickory, Bradington-Young's newest and most efficient facility, will enhance long-term competitiveness and improve efficiencies," said Alan Cole, president of Hooker Upholstery. "The lagging recovery and the emergence of a more value conscious consumer require the most productive and efficient operating platform for every furniture company," he said.
 
"In the short-term, we expect the move will enable us to reduce redundancies and significantly lower our break-even point with the goal of achieving profitability at current sales levels. In the long-term, this can be a great launch pad for growth, as we expect a lot of good employees from Cherryville will move with us, and we believe we have the property to expand the Hickory facility as needed for the foreseeable future," Cole added.
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"The majority of the 121 employees from the 140,000-square-foot Cherryville facility will be offered transfers to the consolidated Hickory facility," Cole said. The Hickory plant, built in 1990, is nearly 100,000 square feet and currently employs 75 workers. In addition, employees from Bradington-Young's Cherryville corporate offices will be offered transfers to an approximately 30,000-square-foot office and support facility near the Hickory plant.

Read Hooker Furniture's press release.