plans to locate in the area.
This isn’t the first RTA plant in
Southside Virginia. In an interesting
twist, two RTA plants recently closed
in nearby South Boston. O’Sullivan
Industries and d-Scan, a Masco subsidiary, both closed their doors within the
past two years.
The biggest box
There are 270 Ikea retail stores
worldwide, mostly in Europe, with annual sales of about $28 billion in 2007.
North America, with 40 retail stores,
accounts for about 15 percent of sales.
Lindquist says that Ikea stores carry
9,500 SKUs, and 3,000 of these change
annually. The company has 1,350 suppliers from 50 countries, and uses 31
distribution centers. About two-thirds
of products are sourced from Europe
and one-third from Asia.
Swedwood itself had sales of about
$1.7 billion in 2007, which would put it
in the top 10 of North American wood
products manufacturers. It produces
about 15 percent of Ikea’s total pur-
chases. It has 38 factories (including
the Virginia plant and another new
operation in Portugal), mostly
in eastern Europe. More than half of
the division’s employees are now in
Poland.
Overall, Swedwood aims to achieve
high production efficiency in large
process-oriented factories using
modern technology and focusing on
optimum use of equipment and raw
materials. Each Swedwood factory is intended to concentrate on one produc-
continued
Jorgen Lindquist,
vice president of
Swedwood North
America, met with
press and Virginia
officials during a
recent tour.
THE WORLD’S
BEST DOVETAILER
FROM THE WORLD’S
MOST DEDICATED
IMPORTER.
Expedit shelves, left, are being made
in high volume, a key to Swedwood’s
efficiency.
Besta RTA furniture, below, will be made
at the new Virginia plant.
YOU COULD SEARCH NORTH AMERICA AND NEVER FIND A MORE EFFICIENT
DOVETAILER THAN OMEC – OR ANOTHER IMPORTER FOR OMEC PRODUCTS.
Lack tables, below left, are made of
lightweight panels produced in the
Swedwood factory.
FOR THE PAST EIGHT YEARS, MACOSER HAS OFFERED THE RELIABILITY AND
PRECISION OF OMEC EQUIPMENT, FROM MANUAL MODELS TO FULLY
AUTOMATED HOPPER-LOADED CNC. SO WHETHER YOU CRAFT 50 DRAWERS
PER MONTH OR 50,000, OMEC HAS THE PERFECT FIT FOR YOUR BUSINESS.
IMPORTED BY
1-800-866-5288 | macoserwood.com
