Wood House Upholstery LLC Chooses Mocksville for its First US Upholstery Manufacturing Plant

By Jeanna Baxter White

Wood House Furniture manufacturing facility in Trinidad

Wood House Upholstery LLC has chosen Mocksville, NC for its first US manufacturing facility and will begin operations in the Shelba D. Johnson Trucking building at 970 Milling Rd in August. The company is now seeking upholsterers, sewers, cutters, frame builders, general laborers as well as an experienced cutting and sewing supervisor and plans to hire 20-30 employees immediately and an additional 10-20 employees within the next six months.

Applications Accepted Next Week
Wayne Stewart, CFO/COO, will accept applications at the Davie County Chamber of Commerce located at 135 South Salisbury Street in Mocksville beginning next week. The hours will be Monday, July 1st from 9 a.m.- 1 p.m. and Tuesday, July 2nd from 1-5 p.m. in the upstairs conference room; and Monday, July 8th and Tuesday, July 9th from 4-6 p.m. in the lower conference room on the back side of the building. The company is offering competitive pay and benefits.

Wood House Upholstery’s parent company, family-owned Caribbean manufacturer Wood House Furniture, began making standard and custom upholstered furniture in 1992. Since 2002, Wood House has expanded production from a 3,000-square-foot plant to a combined 150,000 square feet of manufacturing space in factories in Barbados and Trinidad that employ 150 people.

Wood House Owner Alan Cox decided the timing was right for the company’s North American debut which has been in the works for several years. Wood House already exports to 21 countries in South and Central American and the Caribbean.

Wood House introduced its new USA collection of 20+ frames retailing from $599 to $899 during the High Point Furniture Market this April. The pieces are available through retailers across the country.

Initially, the furniture has been imported from the Caribbean and distributed through warehouses in Miami and at Shelba D Johnson. However, corporate leadership soon realized that producing the furniture in the US would help the company maintain its competitive edge in pricing and began seeking a manufacturing site.

The decision to locate in Mocksville was an easy one, according to Stewart. “Being from this area I am well aware of the proximity of raw materials suppliers and the employee work ethic of folks around here. We will have a family-oriented work environment which treats employees with respect and rewards hard work.”

He also cited the serendipitous nature of being able to lease the manufacturing space from Shelba D Johnson Trucking which already warehouses and transports Wood House Upholstery’s products.

“Shelba Johnson had excess space they weren’t utilizing inside a former furniture plant that still had much of the infrastructure we need in place. It’s really a win-win situation for everyone.”

Cox is pleased with how well everything has come together. “We are excited to be opening our facility here in Mocksville. The company is well positioned for growth and the Mocksville area has an excellent reputation for a seasoned and talented workforce.”

Terry Bralley, president of the Davie County Economic Development Commission, is equally pleased. “We are happy to share the great news of more jobs and another international manufacturing operation locating in our community. We are extremely excited to welcome Wood House Upholstery to our well-positioned community and business ready county.”