Factory Man

Factory Man PDF Author: Beth Macy
Publisher: Little, Brown
ISBN: 0316231568
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 469

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Book Description
The instant New York Times bestseller about one man's battle to save hundreds of jobs by demonstrating the greatness of American business. The Bassett Furniture Company was once the world's biggest wood furniture manufacturer. Run by the same powerful Virginia family for generations, it was also the center of life in Bassett, Virginia. But beginning in the 1980s, the first waves of Asian competition hit, and ultimately Bassett was forced to send its production overseas. One man fought back: John Bassett III, a shrewd and determined third-generation factory man, now chairman of Vaughan-Bassett Furniture Co, which employs more than 700 Virginians and has sales of more than $90 million. In Factory Man, Beth Macy brings to life Bassett's deeply personal furniture and family story, along with a host of characters from an industry that was as cutthroat as it was colorful. As she shows how he uses legal maneuvers, factory efficiencies, and sheer grit and cunning to save hundreds of jobs, she also reveals the truth about modern industry in America.

A Profile of the Furniture Manufacturing Industry, Second Edition

A Profile of the Furniture Manufacturing Industry, Second Edition PDF Author: Susan M. Walcott
Publisher: Business Expert Press
ISBN: 195152747X
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 104

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Book Description
This book highlights the role of global networks, lean and green production methods, customized quality versus price competitiveness, online outreach along with showroom access, labor issues, and related factors that continue to compel location shifts and extensions of the furniture industry. The furniture industry serves as an indicator for the changing state of American manufacturing. A brief history of U.S. furniture manufacturing creates the context for continuing geographic shifts among Asian locations, foreign ownership impacts and global market considerations, as well as the demands of three significant domestic market demographics. The furniture industry is separated into its various parts from wood to metal, home to institutional markets. Government actions including tariffs, health, and environmental regulations are also considered. Based on numerous interviews and site visits, strategies of corporate survivors in the face of mergers, and emergence of new players are profiled to indicate practices for increasing adaptive capacity and marketing the appeal of “made here”. This book highlights the role of global networks, lean and green production methods, customized quality versus price competitiveness, online outreach along with showroom access, labor issues, and related factors that continue to compel location shifts and extensions of the furniture industry.

Factory Man

Factory Man PDF Author: Beth Macy
Publisher: Little, Brown
ISBN: 0316231568
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 469

Get Book Here

Book Description
The instant New York Times bestseller about one man's battle to save hundreds of jobs by demonstrating the greatness of American business. The Bassett Furniture Company was once the world's biggest wood furniture manufacturer. Run by the same powerful Virginia family for generations, it was also the center of life in Bassett, Virginia. But beginning in the 1980s, the first waves of Asian competition hit, and ultimately Bassett was forced to send its production overseas. One man fought back: John Bassett III, a shrewd and determined third-generation factory man, now chairman of Vaughan-Bassett Furniture Co, which employs more than 700 Virginians and has sales of more than $90 million. In Factory Man, Beth Macy brings to life Bassett's deeply personal furniture and family story, along with a host of characters from an industry that was as cutthroat as it was colorful. As she shows how he uses legal maneuvers, factory efficiencies, and sheer grit and cunning to save hundreds of jobs, she also reveals the truth about modern industry in America.

The Jamestown Furniture Industry: History in Wood, 1816-1920

The Jamestown Furniture Industry: History in Wood, 1816-1920 PDF Author: Clarence Carlson
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
ISBN: 1625847793
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 214

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Book Description
While all but gone today, Jamestown's furniture industry was once the second-largest producer of furniture in the United States. Manufacturing boomed from 1816, when William Breed and Royal Keyes opened their shops, to the 1920s, when Jamestown was still one of the top wood furniture producers in the country. In the nineteenth century, the thriving railroad industry allowed Jamestown's quality creations to be distributed nationwide. After the Civil War, an influx of Swedish immigrants brought their craftsmanship and skills to Jamestown, forming Morgan Manufacturing, Empire Furniture Company and many others. Then, their pieces were valued for quality and durability; today, they're coveted by collectors as beautiful antiques. Local expert Clarence Carlson uncovers the fascinating story of Jamestown furniture.

A Profile of the Furniture Manufacturing Industry

A Profile of the Furniture Manufacturing Industry PDF Author: Susan M. Walcott
Publisher: Business Expert Press
ISBN: 1606496573
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 98

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Book Description
The furniture industry has played an important role in the history of the United States as a bellwether for manufacturing. This sector continues to be a major manufacturing employer in the US and around the world through its utilization of a global production network. Types of furniture range from household (indoor and outdoor) to institutional, with particular growth in firms supplying medical and government-related commodities. The industry is highly responsive to economic and fashion trends, but is partitioned into high, medium and low cost segments that reveal different location-al and market responses to changes in these factors. Recent developments indicate that the post-1980's migration of furniture manufacturing to offshore, low labor cost countries has stabilized and shows signs of re-shoring in the US for high end customized technologically intensive products utilizing the remaining embedded skilled labor and locally clustered industry components. Businesses that survived the recessionary 'creative destruction' largely adopted lean manufacturing processes and took advantage of newly available, lower cost equipment and buildings to upgrade their production practices, absorbing market from former competitors. New partnerships will be traced with branches and headquarter relocations in Asia, along with cooperative supplier relationships with former U.S. and new foreign companies. Industry survivors adopted practices that could be highly instructive for other manufacturers challenged by globalization to grow stronger by increasing their adaptive capacity. Concepts illustrated in the furniture industry would be useful to a number of audiences in academic, industry and public policy markets. The proposed book provides an overview of the industry and its global production network including a brief overview of the manufacturing technologies of each sector. Assessment of new competitors in Asia and South America will illustrate opportunities and challenges in these locations. The book culminates by considering challenges, opportunities, and the future outlook of the industry in regional clusters.

High Point University and the Furniture Industry

High Point University and the Furniture Industry PDF Author: Richard R. Bennington
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
ISBN: 1439673004
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 192

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Book Description
High Point University was founded in 1924 as a small liberal arts college. The High Point Furniture Market was founded in 1909 and has grown to be the largest wholesale furniture market in the world. Over the past century, the furniture industry and the university have developed an ongoing, mutually beneficial partnership that has resulted in industry-specific programs for students. Discover the history of this relationship and the impact that real-world exposure has had on the students and the industry. Read the stories of several High Point University graduates who are successfully employed in various positions throughout the furniture business. High Point professor Richard Bennington unearths the history of a dynamic partnership.

The Furniture Industry and Its Potential Market

The Furniture Industry and Its Potential Market PDF Author: James B. Forman
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Furniture industry and trade
Languages : en
Pages : 24

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Book Description


Sawdust in Your Pockets

Sawdust in Your Pockets PDF Author: Eric Medlin
Publisher: University of Georgia Press
ISBN: 082036553X
Category : Antiques & Collectibles
Languages : en
Pages : 183

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Book Description
During the twentieth century, three industries-tobacco, textiles, and furniture-dominated the economy of North Carolina. The first two are well known and documented, being the subject of numerous books, movies, and articles. In contrast, the furniture industry has been mostly ignored by historians, although, at its height, it was nearly as large and influential as these other two concerns. Furniture companies employed thousands of workers and shaped towns, culture, and local life from Hickory to Goldsboro. Sawdust in Your Pockets: A History of the North Carolina Furniture Industry is the first survey of the state's furniture industry from its cabinetmaking beginnings to its digital present. Historian Eric Medlin shows how the industry transitioned from high-quality, individual pieces to the affordable, mass-produced furniture of High Point and Thomasville factories in the late nineteenth century. He then traces the rise of the industry to its midcentury peak, when North Carolina became the largest furniture-producing state in the country. Medlin discusses how competition, consolidation, and globalization challenged the furniture industry in the late twentieth century and how its businesses, workers, and professionals have adapted and evolved to this day.

The Furniture Industry and Wartime Controls as They Affected the Consumer

The Furniture Industry and Wartime Controls as They Affected the Consumer PDF Author: United States. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Furniture industry and trade
Languages : en
Pages : 12

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Book Description


The Development and Structure of the Furniture Industry

The Development and Structure of the Furniture Industry PDF Author: John Leonard Oliver
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Furniture industry and trade
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description


Furniture Manufacturing in the New Millennium

Furniture Manufacturing in the New Millennium PDF Author: Ken Susnjara
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780966569308
Category : Furniture industry and trade
Languages : en
Pages : 241

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Book Description
Industrial additive manufacturing is currently being used successfully every day to produce some of the largest composite parts ever made. These include large aerospace molds and tools, foundry patterns for various industries, chassis for electric busses and what is likely the tallest 3D printed structure ever made. Although the process results in substantial savings and dramatically reduces lead time, much of industry today still doesn't understand it.In this book, the author, who was instrumental in developing the technology actually being used in industry today, explains in everyday language what it is, how it works, what actually works, and what doesn't. He provides a guide for non-technical managers to help them understand the basics so they can evaluate how this new technology might impact their company.He explores all aspects of this process in clear, easy to understand language including the print process, polymers, software, trimming, cost savings, time savings, computer simulation and the practical, real world, aspects of getting into large scale additive. He includes sometimes humorous vignettes about surprises, missteps and stumbles during initial technology development and how they were handled.If you are a manager in an industrial company who might benefit from large scale additive technology, or, if your company is actively exploring this area, this book will give you the background you need to participate and make better decisions. It will also help you cut through confusion and crosstalk that often accompanies a new technology like this.