John Charles Designs: Quick-move artists
By Gary Evans -- Furniture Today, August 2, 2004
Buena Park, Calif. — Upholstery producer John Charles Designs may be a record-setter when it comes to moving.
The company, which makes contemporary and transitional upholstery, recently moved from its factory in nearby Cerritos to a new factory in Buena Park, famous for Knotts Berry Farm and other attractions. And it did it losing only a day and a half of production.
"It was amazing," said President John C. Genova Sr., who said production shut down at the old plant on a Thursday. "We planned to work on Saturday and Sunday, but we got in here so quickly and efficiently that we took Sunday off. We were building furniture on Monday morning."
The factories are two miles apart, which helped with logistics. The company also had three weeks access to the new leased facility before the move, and workers were able to install air lines, electrical distribution and new compressor and racking systems.
"It was wonderful to get all of the infrastructure of the building in," Genova said. "All we had to do was empty the rack and move (the product) into the new racks.
"Everybody in the whole factory pitched in," he added. "That's what made it so great. Everyone packed up their own area. We put it in a truck and brought it over here and they unpacked their own area. It was seamless. We kept telling our salesmen that they wouldn't even realize that we've moved."
At 50,000 square feet, the new factory is the same size as the old. But with 28-foot ceilings (vs. 21) and other efficiencies, Genova said he expects to get a 50% increase in production.
"What's happened is that everyone's buying the same style over and over," he said. "As we distribute more and more across the United States, we have more people buying the same thing so we're going to get better production."
