USA - Ashley Furniture Industries, Inc., one of the largest manufacturer of home furnishings in the world, initiated on December 6 the expansion of the Ecru, Mississippi manufacturing and distribution facility.

Governor Phil Bryant joined city officials, community leaders and company executives at the ground-breaking site of the 437,794 sq. ft. addition. The expansion will feature an E-Commerce Fulfillment and Distribution Center as well as a new transportation maintenance facility.

To enhance Ashley’s ability to fulfill E-Commerce orders, which is an emerging demand, the addition will allow Ashley a better “speed to market” approach by storing more furniture on-site to better serve the regions customers. It also allows for the storage of the increased product from the company’s Saltillo (mattresses) and Ripley (upholstery) production facilities. Additionally, the largest private fleet in the industry, Ashley Distribution Services, will build a new transportation maintenance facility to keep their trucks serviced and prepared for their journey to its customers.

In 1974, Ashley Furniture Industries. developed its own transportation subsidiary, Ashley Distribution Services Ltd. (ADS). With a fleet of 800 tractors and 2,500 trailers, ADS handles an excess of 70,000 containers per year, traveling over 60 million miles annually.

“Ashley Furniture has had a presence in Mississippi for 25 years, starting with 129,000 square feet of facility space to begin Ashley’s production of upholstery furniture,” stated Ron Wanek, Founder and Chairman, Ashley Furniture Industries, Inc. “Since then, we have expanded our Ecru facility 14 times, creating a 2.4 million square foot manufacturing and distribution footprint. These expansions are a testament to our regional support, great employees and customers, and Ashley’s position in serving a global market.” Since 1994, Ashley Furniture’s manufacturing workforce in Mississippi has grown to nearly 3,600 employees.