NEW ALBANY, Miss. – Albany Industries announced a strategic expansion plan to add a 354,000-square-foot manufacturing and distribution facility in Salt Lake City, Utah to its growing global operations.  The stationary upholstered furniture maker said the facility will support Albany’s continued market expansion through the western United States, providing expanded offerings, improved lead times, and enhanced service for retail customers throughout the area.

“Albany has enjoyed tremendous growth in recent years by offering unique home furnishings products with exceptional value to the U.S. marketplace through utilizing our extensive global supply chain and operating facilities,” stated CEO Mark Gosnell. “Currently, our operations in three countries and four states enable us to provide exceptional service and value to U.S. retailers. The western U.S. represents approximately a quarter of the total U.S. upholstered furniture market. The addition of our Salt Lake City operation will facilitate our increased presence in the western U.S. and provide exceptional support for our retail partners in that region. Additionally, it positions us to serve over 1,200 national and regional retail locations across 11 states, as well as hundreds of independent retailer locations.”

“A key growth strategy for us at Albany is focused on getting close to our customers to better respond to their needs and shorten lead times,” said Craig Zielinski, COO. “Albany has long been a very operationally driven company which allows us to scale in a way that will be seamless to our expanding customer base. We are very excited for this expansion as Salt Lake City is a centrally-located spot for this next growth initiative.”

A multi-million dollar investment, initial plans call for the facility to distribute furniture produced at Albany's other factories, including a quick-ship program of some of the company's "proven winners," Zielinski said, with on-site manufacturing to begin at a later date. The Salt Lake City facility marks the company's seventh U.S. production site, with others located in Mississippi, Alabama, Florida and Virginia.

“Albany continues to strategize for long term growth and this expansion is a pivotal milestone,” said Bentley Jones, chief revenue officer. “The new facility in Salt Lake will expand our presence and ability to serve the western region by providing freight savings, shortened lead times, and lower inventory carrying costs for our customers. With our best-in-class styling and value focused price points, Albany is excited to increase our presence and product offerings throughout the western U.S.”

Zielinski also noted, "Our supply chain and the capabilities that we have globally really unlock a lot of that creativity that we have in our product design. I think it's one of our differentiating core competencies. We own our own cut and sews, so we can leverage the best price, but also the best quality, and these are all made to the same standards across our total network.” Albany's production facilities are fully vertically integrated and high-tech, including CNC machining at the wood mills, CNC foam cutting, full fabrication and assembly capabilities. 

Production facilities are located in New Albany, Pontotoc, and Calhoun City, Mississippi, Bay Minette, Alabama, Tampa, Florida and Galax, Virginia, in addition to the Salt Lake City, Utah site, with operations also in Mexico and Vietnam. Founded in 1995 and headquartered in New Albany, the company is ranked on the FDMC 300 list of the largest North American wood products producers and is well-known for its stationary upholstered furniture, including sofas, loveseats, and sectionals, as well as chairs and other pieces of furniture. It also has a Motion division.