Emerald Home Furnishings Locating Operations in New Albany, Miss.

About 100 people braved  heavy rains and a tornado watch in New Albany  Wednesday afternoon, May 27, to attend a meeting under an open tent.

State and local officials and many  business people came to hear the announcement of a substantial new manufacturing employer locating here. Emerald Home Furnishings, a Seattle-based company, will move into space in the old Hickory Springs plant on Denmill Road in east New Albany.

Union County Board of Supervisors President Danny Jordan and New Albany Mayor Tim Kent

David Beckmann, CEO of Emerald, said his company will spend $2-million on equipment and installation to get the plant set up, and that it will employ 150 people.

“We were delighted with the combined efforts of The Mississippi Development Authority, along with Three Rivers Planning and Development District, the city of New Albany, Union County, and the Tennessee Valley Authority. All of these entities teamed together to create a vision of the opportunity of manufacturing in Mississippi,” said Beckmann. “We have been importing for decades, but this is our first effort in manufacturing upholstery in the U.S. The commitment to business in North Mississippi and the outstanding quality of the workforce here made our decision very easy.”

MS Governor Phil Bryant

Emerald Home Furnishings is a full-line supplier to home furniture retailers throughout the United States and in other countries around the world. Today, the company’s product lineup includes fabric and leather upholstery, motion furniture, casual and formal dining room furniture, bedroom suites, a complete line of occasional tables, as well as entertainment, home office, and accent chairs.

Josh West, who handles industrial recruiting for Union County, worked with Beckmann, state officials, New Albany and Union County officials, the Tennessee Valley Authority and his employer, the Three Rivers Regional Planning and Development District, to persuade Emerald to locate here.

Three Rivers Planning & Development CEO, Randy Kelly

New Albany and Union County contracted with Three Rivers several years ago, and pays the planning and development district to handle industrial recruiting for New Albany and Union County.