Dayton furniture manufacturer among top U.S. plants

Industry Week magazine has nominated the La-Z-Boy manufacturing facility in Dayton as one of the best plants in the U.S.

Janet Earnhardt, spokeswoman for La-Z-Boy of Tennessee, said the manufacturing publication nominated 20 plants for the award. That number will be whittled down to 10 winners to be announced in the magazine’s January edition.

“It’s a great opportunity for us to benchmark against some of the best run companies in North America,” Ms. Earnhardt said.

According to Industry Week, the nominated plants have “pursued process and people improvements and achieved enviable performance metrics in numerous operational areas.”

The La-Z-Boy facility was selected because of its improved productivity, safety record and added level of quality, Ms. Earnhardt said.

“Industry Week measures a number of things, but those are the areas where we experienced the most improvement,” she said.

In September, the plant was one of three manufacturing facilities named by Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen as winners of the the Governor’s Award for Trade Excellence.

“I’m extremely proud of these companies for their efforts over the past year, which is being recognized under the Governor’s Awards for Trade Excellence program we created two years ago,” Gov. Bredesen said at the time. “These companies are proof of outstanding service, showcasing the benefits of exporting Tennessee goods, and demonstrate that Tennessee companies of any size are at the forefront in the global marketplace.”

La-Z-Boy of Tennessee opened the doors to its 1.2 million square-foot Dayton facility in 1973 and makes recliners, sleep sofas, reclining sofas and stationary sofas onsite. Exports make up four percent of its sales.

The Dayton plant has 1,488 employees and is one of four La-Z-Boy plants to manufacture residential, upholstered furniture.

The company laid off about 240 workers at the Dayton facility about a year ago, but Kurt L. Darrow, La-Z-Boy president and chief executive, said the local facility is a vital part of its organization.

“(The nomination) reflects the commitment that La-Z-Boy Incorporated has made to ensure our facilities run in an exceptional manner with a focus on operational efficiencies and continuous process improvements,” Mr. Darrow said. “With innovation at the core of our philosophy, the changes made to our operations over the years allow us to consistently deliver quality, custom-ordered furniture to the consumer quickly while creating a work environment for our employees that fosters teamwork and satisfaction.”

The list of finalists includes manufacturing facilities all across the U.S. and Mexico. Several in the Southeast made the list including Batesville Manufacturing in Manchester, Tenn.; E-Z-Go in Augusta, Ga.; Phillips Luminaries in Sparta, Tenn.; and Nordson Corp. in Dawsonville, Ga.