Furniture-related jobs take dip in county; High Point Market coming up soon

Here’s one of the world’s largest dressers in Jamestown in nearby Guilford County.

ASHEBORO — The number of furniture-related jobs has declined in recent years in Randolph County, but the impact from the furniture industry remains crucial in the county.

The status of the furniture industry will be one of the major topics of conversation revolving around High Point Market, with the spring dates scheduled for April 26-30. This is an international trade fair for residential furniture and interior design.

Lisa Bennett, manager for marketing and research with the Randolph County Economic Development Corporation, said a couple of years ago that furniture-related jobs made up about 15% of the manufacturing workforce in the county.

The RCEDC reported more than 4,700 jobs related to furniture manufacturing in Randolph County. That number has dipped to about 3,830 as of the fourth quarter of 2024, Bennett said.

“It seems like it’s a little bit soft right now,” Kevin Franklin, president of the RCEDC, said of the furniture-related jobs in the county.

The closing of Klaussner Furniture in Asheboro in the summer of 2023 resulted in 826 lost jobs.

UltraCraft Cabinetry in Liberty is expected to begin layoffs in May for a facility closing that was announced late in 2024.

The abrupt closing of United Furniture Industries in November 2022 resulted in about 300 lost jobs in Randolph County.

Bennett said companies related to those plant closings also were impacted. Following the shuttering of United Furniture Industries, all 45 employees at Seagrove Lumber in the county were let go, she said.

So furniture has lost its top spot in terms of jobs in the county.

“Furniture was the largest one,” Bennett said.

Now, school-related jobs and Technimark have risen, with Toyota Battery likely soon move toward the top.

Still, the influence from the furniture industry extends in many ways in Randolph County. Some High Point-based companies have plants in Randolph County.

“We sure claim them,” Franklin said of those jobs.

Some furniture jobs extend farther away in Randolph County. Luke Home in High Point has manufacturing operations in Staley, where the facility was purchased in 2022.

High Point Market attracts visitors from around the world and the impact in the greater Triad is substantial. Archdale in Randolph County will have an influx of visitors, while official hotels for the event extend from throughout Guilford County to Winston-Salem.

New impact in region

Prepac, a Canadian furniture supplier, is closing operations at a plant in Delta, British Columbia, and moving that production to North Carolina. Furniture Today reported that more than 170 workers would be laid off in Canada.

Prepac opened its Whitsett facility, which is in Guilford County, in 2021, investing what was reported as $27 million for that plant. Prepac manufactures read-to-assemble furniture and shelving.