Nemschoff $5 Million Expansion Will Add Jobs 

SHEBOYGAN, WI - September 8, 2004 - Sheboygan-based Nemschoff Chairs Inc. plans to build a $5 million production facility here that will create 30 to 40 new jobs, company officials said.

Construction and equipment for the planned 77,000-square-foot manufacturing facility, adjacent to its current factory, will be funded by an industrial revenue bond issued by the city, said Amy Nemschoff Hellman, marketing communications manager for the family-owned business.

“This is where we want to expand and we’re very pleased to make a further investment here,” said Mark Nemschoff, president and chief executive officer at Nemschoff. “There’s some furniture-building history here in the Sheboygan community and that coupled with the inherent craftsmanship and work ethic makes this a desirable place to expand.”

Wages and benefits at Nemschoff will be comparable to lost manufacturing jobs here, Nemschoff said. Richardson Brothers closed its furniture-making division in Sheboygan Falls in 2003 after 155 years in business, idling 205 workers. Last year, Mirro Co. of Manitowoc closed its plant, putting 882 out of work, and Tecumseh Products Co. closed its facilities in Sheboygan Falls and New Holstein, eliminating 610 jobs.

“Our wage scale and benefits package are very competitive in the community and in the broader area of eastern Wisconsin,” Nemschoff said. “We have been fortunate in bringing some of the people out of Richardson’s when they closed their operation and there’s some very good furniture-making folks that came out of there.”

Nemschoff has scheduled groundbreaking for Oct. 4 and plans to complete the new facility in September 2005.

Ron Pierce of Sheboygan Falls, who was laid off from Tecumseh in Sheboygan Falls a year ago, said Nemschoff’s plans are good news for unemployed workers, but the new facility will come too late to give him hope.

“I’ve really got to start pushing for a job real soon,” said Pierce, 49. “My unemployment is starting to run out.

Nemschoff employs 375 people, 300 of which are local, said Nemschoff Hellman. Other employees are at its plant in Sioux Center, Iowa.

The company will tear down its original furniture manufacturing plant, which is 100 years old and unused, and replace it with the new production facility, said Paul Babcock, vice president of operations for Nemschoff. The company’s current production facility, adjacent to the original plant, will remain.

“This will be another production facility,” Babcock said. “We’re actually out of room in our current situation.”

That’s due to an expanding product line and increased demand for its products – chairs, yes, and a myriad of other furniture for the health-care industry, including therapeutic furniture.

“We’re growing so fast,” Babcock said. “We constantly add products every year. This is just a result of the markets we’re in and we’re experiencing some nice growth right now.”

Nemschoff furniture can be found at St. Nicholas Hospital and the Aurora Sheboygan Memorial Medical Center, Nemschoff Hellman said.

There is $175 million available in Wisconsin for federal industrial revenue bonds, said Tony Hozeny, state Department of Commerce spokesman. The bonds are primarily used for constructing, expanding and equipping manufacturing facilities. The interest rate ranges from 3 percent to 4 percent, he said.

“It’s a federal program that allows the states to issue a certain amount of revenue bonds that are free of federal tax,” Hozeny said.

Nemschoff first has to find buyers for the bonds, which will be sold by the city, according to the commerce department. The city will lend the funds from the sales to the company.

The Common Council approved a resolution Tuesday declaring its intent to issue the bonds, said city attorney Steve McLean. It will have to approve another resolution to issue the bonds.

By Troy Laack

Sheboygan Press staff