AXTON — Gov. Ralph Northam Monday announced that Ison Furniture Manufacturing, Inc., a North Carolina-based furniture manufacturer, will invest $3.5 million to acquire and renovate the recently closed A.C. Furniture Company, Inc. facility in Pittsylvania County, creating 150 new jobs.
The company is also purchasing new equipment for the assembly and full production of its upholstered furniture products.
Virginia successfully won the project after a competition with North Carolina.
The company’s supplier, Dogwood Global, LLC, will locate to a vacant 30,000-square-foot building onsite, investing $500,000 in new equipment and adding 45 new jobs to manufacture high-end wood tables and custom furniture frames that will be upholstered by Ison Furniture, according to a press statement.
Pittsylvania County Director of Economic Development Matthew Rowe said Monday evening that it is "always a great sign, a strong gesture when a company goes in and purchases a facility upfront," which Ison has done, recently closing on the 30,000-square-foot building.
"This facility is no more than 2 miles form the Pittsylvania County/Henry County line," Rowe continued. "Historically, A.C. furniture, which was there previously, employed numerous residents from Marttinsville all the way to Danville and Chatham. The same base of employment will still be in play."
The availability of the work force is the biggest driving factor for this industry to enter Pittsylvania County, Rowe said.