by MORGANTON, N.C. – Luxury furniture manufacturer EJ Victor has received a $240,000 grant from the state of North Carolina which will help fund a renovation of its facilities that will result in an expansion of its upholstery and case goods production here.
The company is investing more than $1.6 million in the renovation effort, which is expected to create 30 jobs, up from its current work force of 155.
The renovation will transform a portion of its 195,000-square foot building now being used to house imported product into upholstery manufacturing, Board Chairman and Chief Creative Officer John Jokinen told Home News Now. He said some of the transformed space also will be used for case goods production.
In addition to renovating a portion of the building, the company is investing in new equipment, which Jokinen said includes a five-axis CNC router.
“It is a good high-ceiling area,” he said of the estimated 80,000-square-foot space. “It is going to actually convert a lot of that space into upholstery manufacturing and we will move some case goods into that area too.”
The funding was awarded by the North Carolina Rural Infrastructure Authority, which earlier this month announced the approval of 16 grants to communities in the state totaling $4.1 million. Combined, the projects would create 718 jobs, some 144 of which were previously announced, along with private investment of more than $95 million.
“These grants allow us the opportunity to unite good businesses with good people,” N.C. Commerce Secretary Machelle Baker Sanders said in a statement announcing the grants. “While businesses will benefit from access to our high-quality work force, our rural communities will expedite their post-pandemic economic recovery through the creation of hundreds of well-paying jobs and millions in private investment.”
In EJ Victor’s case, the funds will support its efforts to increase its domestic manufacturing capabilities.
“That is our quest and so far it is working quite well,” Jokinen said not only of the company’s emphasis on domestic upholstery, but also of the shift from imports to domestically made wood product.
The renovation effort has begun and is expected to continue into February.
