Ekornes’ Capacity Expansion at Morganton, NC Assembly Plant on Schedule for Early 2022 Completion

Furniture World News Desk on 9/2/2021

Ekornes AS announced that it is well underway with a major capacity expansion at its Morganton, NC assembly plant (J.E. Ekornes USA) as an ongoing effort to increase the growth of the company’s North American business and reduce product delivery lead times to consumers. The expansion will give the company an opportunity to add even more product lines to the capacity here in the North America. 

“Ekornes, Inc. is on track for the biggest sales year in our history,” says Peter Bjerregaard, President, Ekornes, Inc. “Unlike so many other manufacturers right now, we have a warehouse full of inventory and are able to ship as consumer demand dictates. We are so pleased to be able to offer our partners product to get out to consumers in a timely manner. The expansion of Morganton will set us up to be the best partner to our retailers for the future.” 

Construction is underway for a 100,000 sq. ft. addition to the existing production plant. By January 2022, the construction will be complete and will increase space to over 200,000 sq ft and increase capacity to 70 percent more seats per day. 

“Stressless has really been a bright spot in our business lately,” says Howard Haimsohn, Owner and President of Lawrance Furniture in San Diego. “They have been one of the reliable vendors that has truly given us a quick ship program. That is not easy to find anymore with freight and supply chain issues.”

In addition, Ekornes AS will hire over 50 fulltime employees for various positions. 

“We are thrilled to be able to support our local economy,” says Randy Tallent, Vice President, J. E. Ekornes USA. “This expansion has so many benefits to the North American business, and it will surely distinguish us from our competitors who only make or source products abroad.” 

Ekornes, Inc. is the North American division of the company that provides the NC plant workflow. Poised for a record-breaking sales year the plant expansion is right on time for increased retail business.

“North America makes up the largest market for Ekornes’ global business in terms of revenue and sales potential,” says Peter Bjerregaard, President Ekornes, Inc.  “Our Stressless business is thriving, and this expansion is a very positive display of the company’s dedication and support to our market, our retail partners and consumers here in the US, Canada and Mexico.”

Currently the Morganton operation produces all Stressless sofas sold in North America, including the popular motorized sofas, as well as Stressless dining chairs, ottomans, and accessories.  The company offers a quick ship sofa program out of Morganton, as well as a quick ship/stocking recliner program out of their New Jersey warehouse. 

J.E. Ekornes opened in 2012 and is located at 115 Wamsutta Mill Rd, Morganton, NC 28655.  It was the first major manufacturing facility outside of Norway. 

About Ekornes
Ekornes is the largest furniture manufacturer in Norway and owns the brand names of Ekornes®, Stressless®, Svane®, and IMG. Ekornes sells its products in 43 countries, maintains 18 sales offices in 11 countries, runs more than 4,000 sales outlets, and operates 10 production units in 4 countries. Company revenue amounts to around 3.2bn NOK (€ 315m) and the company employs some 2,200 people.