Mississippi State University Breaks Ground for a New 35,000 Square-foot Furniture Manufacturing and Management Center

Furniture World Magazine

To be located at the intersection of Blackjack Road and Locksley Way on campus, the building will be named for Chickasaw County furniture manufacturer and lead contributor Hassell H. Franklin, a 1959 industrial management graduate and MSU's 1995 Alumnus of the Year. A $1 million gift from Franklin, founder, president and chief executive officer of Chickasaw County-based Franklin Corp., will supplement $3 million in state funding appropriated in 2001 for the building. Designed by Pryor and Morrow Architects of Columbus, the facility will contain research laboratories, classrooms, office space and an auditorium/distance learning classroom. The center also will house the newly created Institute of Furniture Manufacturing and Management, an interdisciplinary program drawing on the strengths of the colleges of Business and Industry, Engineering and Forest Resources, as well as the School of Architecture and MSU's Extension Service. Currently, about 50,000 Mississippi workers produce approximately 70 percent of the nation's upholstered furniture. Research conducted by MSU's Furniture Research Unit is estimated to save the state's manufacturers more than $3 million annually. Chittenden & Eastman Company, Burlington, Iowa recently announced that Mr. Carl S. Gale, has assumed the position of Vice President of Sales & Marketing. In this role, Mr. Gale will be responsible for implementation of Chittenden & Eastman marketing programs, as well as supervision of the Chittenden & Eastman sales force. Mr. Gale, a resident of Overland Park, Kansas, brings a strong background to Chittenden & Eastman, having served in various Sales & Marketing Management positions for Simmons and Sealy dating back to 1973. Mr. Gale has earned numerous accolades during his career, including being named by Bedding Magazine (now Bedtimes) as one of the top ten Bedding Sales Representatives.