Randolph County company adding 50 new jobs
February 14, 2017
JL Furnishings East, a contract manufacturer of upholstered furniture for the hospitality industry, next month will begin adding up to 50 new jobs to support a new framing operation.
Steve Shreve, executive vice president with JL, told TBJ that the company plans to hire workers with machining, carpentry and sawing skills to build frames for upholstered furniture. The plan is to gradually add the jobs over a three-year period, he said.
The new employees would report to a 35,000-square-foot facility that JL owns at 4324 U.S. 311 in Randleman and had previously used for storage of raw materials. The facility, along with the new workers, will support the production of a new product line that Shreve declined to disclose.
“I hope to be in production next month,” he said.
He added that the new framing operation will somewhat limit the business that JL does with about five vendors that the company buys frames from.
“I’m going to start being more self-sufficient,” Shreve said. “We have been blessed with a lot of business.”
Shreve said the company did not receive any incentives for the expansion.
The company is affiliated with JLF Collections, a California manufacturer of custom seating and tables for the hospitality industry. JL Furnishings East employs about 100 Triad workers at a 65,000-square-foot manufacturing facility at 335 Commerce Place in Asheboro. The company also rents a nearby building of about 25,000-square feet, Shreve said.