* * * *

(Lenoir, NC) In a move that is a direct reversal of recent trends, Thomasville Furniture has announced that they will be hiring in excess of 100 employees for their only remaining US case goods plant. The Lenoir plant, located at 315 Elizabeth St, will see its employment grow to over 800 workers. While this is not full capacity at the facility, it is very welcome news.

Company President Ed Teplitz made his employees aware of the changes during meetings this past week. Increased cost of doing business overseas, including rising labor costs, shipping costs and rising fuel prices were the reasons given for the decision. The company plans to increase capacity at the plant by 1/3 and will have the new hires in place by the end of the year.

The Lenoir facility had shifted its focus several years ago to add contract furniture as well as its traditional case goods. This flexibility allowed the plant to survive while many others were being closed and their equipment sold. Management at the Lenoir facility took the opportunity to relocate the best equipment to this plant and lay the groundwork for the growth to occur.

Herb Greene, Chair of the Caldwell County Board of Commissioners was very excited to hear the good news and was quoted, saying “we are beyond happy to see Thomasville adding workers in Caldwell County. This is wonderful and we hope to see additional growth in the future. Furniture has been a way of life in our county and we hope to see it remain so. Diversity is nice and we need it but it is also important to add jobs that our people are already trained to do.”

Lenoir Mayor David Barlow echoed Mr. Greene, saying “I was afraid that growth in furniture was a thing of the past. To have 100 good paying jobs added in Lenoir is tremendous. This along with the growth we have seen in other areas will make a difference to our citizens.”

While Thomasville will be looking for experienced workers in many of the positions, they will also be looking for some new blood to fill other jobs. The positions will be on first and second shift. Ann Vaughn, head of Human Resources at the plant advised that interested workers may apply for employment through the company’s human resource department or contact the local Employment Security office.