Adds 28 employees at Norton, Va., plant
Johnson City, Tenn.—To help meet anticipated product demand, Mullican Flooring announced plans to hire 28 more employees at its Norton, Va., production facility. It is being facilitated by a grant from the Virginia Tobacco Indemnification and Community Revitalization Commission (VTICRC) and represents a $3 million investment in new hires and equipment.
VTICRC is a 31-member body created by the 1999 state’s general assembly to promote economic growth and development in tobacco-dependent communities, using proceeds of the National Tobacco Settlement. To date, the commission has awarded 1,514 grants totaling more than $876 million.
“Considering the economic times we are in, it is refreshing to see 28 jobs being added to the county,” said Virginia Senator, Bill Carrico. “This is a step in the right direction to help southwest Virginia grow.”
With the hire, the Norton operation will have an additional 400,000 board feet of kiln capacity, representing a 20% increase in the facility’s overall production. “We’re grateful to the Commission for having confidence in us and for our employees, who are very dedicated and have a strong work ethic,” said Neil Poland, president of Mullican. “Right now, housing starts are up 21.5%, which is a good sign. We want to remain poised to meet the demands of builders and developers as the economy improves.”
Only solid wood flooring is produced at the Norton plant, and the various Mullican collections involved in the expansion include Knob Creek, Chatelaine, Muirfield, Castillian and St. Andrews.
The Norton expansion is also due in part to Mullican relocating production of its engineered products from Asia to its headquarters here in 2011. “The changes over the past year to our finishing capacity in Johnson City have played a key role in our ability to increase production at Norton,” Poland noted.
He added by year’s end Mullican will have added more than 100 new jobs in southwest Virginia and northeast Tennessee. “We remain committed to growing production volume and employment at all our facilities.”
Poland also stressed consumers are continuing to favor hardwood flooring over other floor covering options and that “future demand will increase as housing rebounds toward more normal levels of housing starts.”
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