New Owners Refurbish Battered Ohio Furniture Maker
Friday, August 20, 2010
Posted by: Marco Coelho
Families Use Aging Norwalk Furniture as Foundation of Custom Manufacturer
By JAMES R. HAGERTY, WSJ
 NORWALK, Ohio—Dan White has an edge that many rivals in the slumping U.S. furniture business can only envy: He wiped the slate clean at a venerable manufacturer, Norwalk Furniture, and restarted the business with no union, little debt and a simplified business plan.
Nearly two years ago, Mr. White and 11 other local investors paid about $5 million for the choicest assets of Norwalk Furniture just before the rest of the 106-year-old company slid into bankruptcy liquidation. Mr. White, a 60-year-old Norwalk native and entrepreneur who made his fortune selling flood-zone data to mortgage lenders, had no experience in furniture. But he ended up as chief executive of the resulting firm, Norwalk Custom Order Furniture LLC.
Click HERE to read the entire article.
|
|
Email to a Friend