DANVILLE, VA — Swedwood, the industrial group within IKEA, an international home furnishings retailer, on April 30 announced that its Danville, VA, manufacturing facility will open officially on Wednesday, May 21. A formal ceremony for invited guests will include remarks by Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine and local government officials, as well as Swedwood and IKEA representatives.

The 930,000-square-foot Swedwood factory will be the Swedish company’s first furniture production location in the United States, and will produce a variety of wood-based IKEA products such as EXPEDIT bookshelves, LACK coffee and side tables, and BESTÅ modular entertainment systems.

“We made excellent progress on construction last year and our installation of equipment and machinery has gone very smoothly,” said Bengt Danielsson, North American president of Swedwood. “Now our primary objective is to complete appropriate operational training for 175 coworkers, as well as to ensure a seamless production and packaging process.”

Read the full W&WP feature story about the new Swedwood manufacturing facility here.

For more information about IKEA or Swedwood, please go to www.IKEA-USA.com or www.Swedwood.com.