N.C. furniture manufacturer to create 150 jobs in Pittsylvania

North Carolina-based Ison Furniture Manufacturing Inc. will invest $3.5 million to acquire and renovate the recently closed A.C. Furniture Co. Inc. facility in Pittsylvania County, creating 150 jobs, Gov. Ralph Northam announced Monday. 

Ison furniture will also purchase new assembly and production equipment for its upholstered furniture products. Its supplier, Dogwood Global LLC, will occupy a vacant onsite 30,000-square-foot building and invest $500,000 in new equipment. Ison will also dedicate excess upholstery and sewing capacity at the facility to manufacture personal protective equipment for COVID-19 response.

“We are pleased to welcome Ison Furniture Manufacturing and Dogwood Global to Southern Virginia,” Northam said in a statement. “Manufacturing is an important pillar of many communities across our commonwealth and is key to rebuilding our economy in the wake of the ongoing global pandemic. The region’s strong history with textiles and furniture combined with the caliber of the existing upholstery and furniture-building workforce makes this project a natural fit for Pittsylvania County, and we look forward to the future success of this new operation.”

Ison Furniture produces furniture for consumer and hospitality markets and has two facilities in North Carolina. Closed in March 2020, A.C. Furniture Co. had operated in Pittsylvania County since 1977.

“Southern Virginia is known for having some of the finest furniture craftsmen in the country, and Virginia has led the way in providing a foundation for businesses and employees to grow and prosper together,” Ison Furniture President Akria Ison said in a statement. “Local and state government embraced our concept of designing a COVID-conscious facility, and our family-owned business looks forward to helping over 150 employees prosper and take care of their families.”  

Virginia competed with North Carolina for the project. The Virginia Economic Development Partnership (VEDP) worked with Pittsylvania County, the Southern Virginia Regional Alliance and the Virginia Tobacco Region Revitalization Commission to secure the project. Northam approved a $186,500 Commonwealth Opportunity Fund grant to help Pittsylvania County with the project. Employee training will be provided through VEDP’s Virginia Jobs Investment Program. 

“Our initial plan was to open the factory in North Carolina, but Virginia was far and away a better option,” Rodney Terry, Dogwood Global vice president of business development, said in a statement. “The economic environment Virginia has built over the years gave us the confidence that our financial investment would be secure. We told the economic development group that we had contracts we had to fill, and the speed moved on this project blew us away. Virginia is ready for business.”

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