In furniture factories today, companies tout their cleaner atmospheres, well-lit plant floors and skilled positions theyâre looking to fill. Technology enhances the work.
Twenty years ago, the furniture industry was much different. At the turn of the century, a large chunk of the furniture manufacturing jobs in the Catawba Valley were building case goods â wooden furniture or frames. Within 10 years, the majority of those jobs moved offshore, Craftmaster Furniture President and CEO Roy Calcagne said in a December interview.
Many furniture manufacturing jobs left the area, and Catawba County wasnât alone. The industry that remains has evolved and is growing â even more rapidly at the end of 2020 than before the COVID-19 pandemic started, furniture leaders say.