Upholstery, chair plants lead way

Hickory, N.C.— In creating a custom-order driven wood furniture plant, Century had two key models for success — its own upholstery and chair plants.

For years, both plants have been successful in the special order business, offering dozens if not hundreds of options in their respective

The chair plant, for instance, makes 300 styles and offers a dizzying array of options.

"We run 100 (finishes) on a regular basis," said Kevin Boyle, plant manager. "We have just become experts at changing finishes."

Other options include more than 2,000 fabrics and 70 versions of nailhead trim.

Boyle said the plant turns out about 1,000 chairs a week, requiring most employees to know how to produce most of the 300 styles offered.

Century's chair and upholstery plants share resources and skilled labor. For instance, the chair plant makes many engineered frames for upholstery pieces and finishes 2,000 pieces a week, including chairs, sofa frames and legs.

"We offer a much broader array of finishes than the typical upholstery operation can do," said Terry Jennings, upholstery plant manager.

While it relies on the expertise of the chair plant for the finishes, the upholstery plant has plenty of its own capabilities.

For instance, it carries 2,000 SKUs of in-line fabrics, and uses still more fabrics for other special orders. According to Jennings, half of what the upholstery plant produces are made with the customer's own fabrics.

The upholstery plant also provides options in frame sizes and pillows, Jennings said.

He and other say the ability to customize and share resources among plants will be key to the company's success as a domestic manufacturer.

Andy Counts, CEO of the American Home Furnishings Alliance trade group, said Century's approach will help it continue to excel at serving design-oriented clients.

"It's just a matter of making that a focus of your business model and deciding what segment of the market you are trying to reach," said Counts. "Certainly, Century sees the potential business opportunity with the design trade, and by offering a variety of finishes on some of their existing product, they can cater better to that trade. That should help them compete domestically."