Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, April 20, 1995 TAG: 9504210052
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B-8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RICHARD FOSTER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
What a difference extra space makes.
For Bedford-based Sam Moore Furniture Industries, it means creating new product lines, entering virgin markets and doubling production.
The almost-50-year-old company, which specializes in making chairs for the home and office use, has enlarged its factory by about 15 percent. The 40,000 square-foot, $1.5 million addition completed this month brings its factory space to 300,000 square feet.
The company, which markets its chairs to mid-priced retailers around the world, sells locally to Grand Piano & Furniture Co. Inc. It also made chairs for the recently refurbished Hotel Roanoke.
In a time when many furniture companies still are recovering from the 1990 recession, Sam Moore plans on enlarging its 325-person work force by around 20 percent, adding 75 manufacturing workers by the end of the year. The company, which now produces 500 pieces of furniture a day, expects to add a second production shift this fall.
During the recession, Sam Moore's revenue grew at a steady rate of 10 percent each year. It didn't downsize and it hasn't had a layoff since 1969. As a privately owned company, Sam Moore does not release sales or revenue figures.
Credit its success to a long-standing policy of fiscal conservativeness and responsible risk-taking, says President and Chief Executive Officer John Boardman.
"Recessions are great times for well-managed companies," Boardman said. "In good times, a lot of businesses make mistakes, they get into areas they don't know anything about, they hire people they don't need and when the recession comes, that's when they get in trouble."
When other companies were losing business, Boardman's company found new markets. As the U.S. furniture market declined, Sam Moore looked overseas, replacing furniture for bombing victims in Saudi Arabia after the Persian Gulf War. That venture opened up a new market for Sam Moore in the Middle East.
It also meant adapting to a new customer base.
The Saudi government bought seven truckloads of chairs - about 1,000 - from Sam Moore, but no ottomans. When Boardman tried to spice up the sale, "the interpreter told me, 'No ottomans!' I didn't realize that in Middle Eastern countries, the rudest thing you can do to somebody is show them the soles of your feet."
Now the company is looking to expand to other foreign markets, including the Pacific Rim.
Sam Moore's new furniture line, which includes several art deco pieces influenced by designs of the 1920s and '30s, was the result of careful marketing.
Over the last couple of years, the company introduced two art-deco-style chairs, one of which became a top-seller. It then studied designs and customer preferences, which resulted in a new product line to debute this year.
The larger factory has allowed the company to add five new chair lines to its repertoire of 11 chair styles, including dining-room seats, recliners and 18th Century reproductions. It also allowed Sam Moore to expand its leather upholstery business.
More styles and selections means more sales, said Michael Moldenhauer, executive vice president of sales.
The extra space also means that the company can take on more of the lucrative special-order business, allowing customers to pick and combine fabric and chair styles. Sam Moore can turn the orders around in 30 days or less. And with more employees, it hopes it can trim the time more.
Production time has been cut drastically by the addition of an innovative conveyer belt in the ceiling, which somewhat resembles an amusement park sky-ride. It carries furniture across the factory on suspended wooden platforms.
"It's allowing us to compete," Moldenhauer said of the special-order business, which brought the company $1 million in sales last year. He anticipates that figure to double this year. "To be able to compete in today's market, everybody wants everything fast."
People don't want to wait three months for their furniture."
, which previously was only a minor sideline., saving employees the laborious tasks of loading and loading chairs on rolling carts.
"The more we shorten the cycle, the more the dealers come back to us, because they can ring the cash register more often."
by CNB