Maxon Furniture closing; 132 jobs axed

Maxon Furniture Inc. at 520 Grace Church Rd. will close by the fourth quarter of 2010. Photo by Shelley Smith, Salisbury Post.

By Shelley Smithssmith@salisburypost.com

Maxon Furniture Inc. is permanently closing its Salisbury plant, laying off 132 workers. Maxon, a production facility for parent company HNI Corp., manufactures office workstations and panel systems furniture.

According to Gary Carlson, HNI Corp. spokesperson, the closing will be done in phases, with layoffs starting in May. The plant will completely shut down sometime in the fourth quarter of this year.

"(The closing) is a reflection of the national economy," Carlson said. "Office furniture sales are down 35-40 percent.

"With white-collar employment down, the need for office furniture (has) declined dramatically. Our industry has really taken a hit."

Carlson said HNI has numerous manufacturing plants to absorb the work done in Salisbury.

About 20 of Maxon's employees were in administrative positions, with the remaining employees working in shipping, welding, textiles and assembly.

"They were and still are a very desirable, well-skilled work force," Carlson said. "Our hearts go out to these people; they're a good group.

"They have done a tremendous job."

Carlson said employees will receive severance packages. How much they'll get depends on the length of their employment with Maxon. The company is also working with the state, he said, to try to maximize the employees' benefits.

The building, owned by HNI, will be marketed, and "hopefully another industrial company can move in, and (we will) encourage them to hire any of our employees," Carlson said.

"The people there have been just fantastic," Carlson said. "They've been a great workforce."

The Maxon plant opened in Salisbury in 1989 as BPI at its current 520 Grace Church Road location. The company said its 69,000-square-foot plant would employ up to 150 within three years.

In 2006, the company added 60 jobs at the Salisbury plant, taking over production for a plant that closed in Kent, Wash.

Maxon laid off 48 employees in April 2009.