- Business furniture firm Haworth will auction an entire plant full of furniture manufacturing equipment. Hilco Industrial will conduct an on-site auction Dec. 7 at Haworth's Calgary, AB plant in Canada, in a sale described in the promotion as a "complete plant closure including assets no longer required to the continuing operations of Haworth." Offered is enough machinery and process manufacturing lines to create a large operation on its own.

Much of the equipment is for production of metal furnishings but the prospectus includes significant lots of woodworking equipment - many items of recent vintage - enough for a sizeable manufacturing company to get started. The inventory of raw materials alone, including metal, parts and hardwood lumber, plywood and veneers, is estimated at $2 million by Hilco Industrial.

Haworth Inc. designs and manufactures organic workspaces, including raised floors, movable walls, systems furniture, seating, storage and wood casegoods. Family-owned and privately held, Haworth is headquartered in Holland, MI and serves markets in more than 120 countries through a global network of more than 600 dealers. Haworth says it had net sales of US $1.11 billion in 2009, operating over 20 wholly owned manufacturing facilities in 10 different countries and employing 7,000 worldwide.

Separately, Haworth reported late last month that its Big Rapids, MI plant had inadvertently discharged a water based paint mixture into the Big Rapids sewer system on Oct. 23. "The discharge was predominantly contained within the Big Rapids sewer treatment facility," Haworth said in a statement. "From there, a small amount was discharged into the Muskegon River."

Haworth says it immediately notified the city and took steps to minimize effects. "The discharge was more than 90 percent water and the majority was contained at the sewer facility," Haworth reported.>>