A formal ceremony for invited guests will include remarks by Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine and local government officials, as well as Swedwood and IKEA representatives. The 930,000 square-foot Swedwood factory was built on 209 acres in Cane Creek Centre, a joint industrial park for the City of Danville and Pittsylvania County(approximately 50 miles north of Greensboro, NC). The factory will be the Swedish company’s first furniture production location in the United States, and will produce a variety of wood-based IKEA products such as EXPEDIT bookshelves, LACK coffee and side tables, and BESTÅ modular entertainment systems. By May 21, more than 175 coworkers will have joined the IKEA/Swedwood family.
“We made excellent progress on construction last year and our installation of equipment and machinery has gone very smoothly,” said Bengt Danielsson, North American president of Swedwood. “Now our primary objective is to complete appropriate operational training for 175 coworkers as well as to ensure a seamless production and packaging process.”
Founded in 1991 by IKEA as a subsidiary to safeguard itself against the loss of vital suppliers in Europe, Swedwood is an industrial group of companies whose primary function is to manufacture and distribute furniture. Originally tasked to participate, when necessary, in the privatization of IKEA suppliers, Swedwood today has evolved into an IKEA supplier with advanced production facilities of its own, including more than 36 production units in nine countries (soon to be ten), and a staff of more than 13,000. (In addition to Swedwood, there are 1,300 other suppliers in 54 countries to IKEA globally.)
There currently are more than 275 IKEA stores in 36 countries, including 34 in the U.S. and 11 in Canada. Other new stores in North America will open in: Brooklyn, NY; Charlotte, NC; Somerville, MA; and Tampa, FL. IKEA also has seven distribution centers in North America, with facilities in: Bristol, PA; Brossard, Quebec; Perryville, MD; Savannah, GA; Tejon, CA; and Westampton, NJ. A northwestern distribution center will open later this year in Tacoma, WA.
Since its 1943 founding in Sweden, IKEA has offered a wide range of home furnishings and accessories of good design and function, at low prices so the majority of the people can afford them. IKEA has been ranked in FORTUNE’s annual “100 Best Companies to Work For” list (three years in a row), Working Mother magazine’s annual list of “100 Best Companies for Working Mothers” (four years in a row) and Training magazine’s annual “Top 100” ranking of companies that excel at human capital development (five years in a row). IKEA incorporates environmentally friendly and socially responsible efforts into day-to-day business, and continually supports initiatives that benefit causes such as children and the environment.
For more information about IKEA or Swedwood, please go to http://www.IKEA-USA.com and/or http://www.Swedwood.com..
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