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August 3, 2006

Incentives for Future Foam?

The High Point Economic Development Corporation this morning identified the unnamed company in this story: Future Foam.

According to the EDC, Future Foam would expand it's existing 336,000 square foot plant by 24,000 square feet. It would add 12 new jobs and invest $3.8 million in capital improvements. The city is looking at giving Future Foam $90,000 in incentives.

If the name sounds familiar, well, this might be why: It's the same plant that had an explosion in May. One of the workers, Ricky Dale Hardin, died a few weeks later.

You can read the EDC's press release below the jump

Future Foam considers expansion in High Point
For its home furnishings-related operations

HIGH POINT, NC – A home furnishings-related local company could be growing soon in High Point.
Future Foam North Carolina -- the local operation of Future Foam, Inc. (www.futurefoam.com) -- is considering expanding its foam manufacturing facility at 1300 Prospect St. in southern High Point. With the expansion, the company would:
·make a $3.8 million capital investment;
·build a 24,000-square foot addition to the existing 336,000-square foot facility and add new equipment;
·create 12 new jobs, adding to its current workforce of 105.
On Monday, August 7, 2006, the High Point City Council will hold a public hearing on proposed economic development incentives for the expansion, in an amount up to $90,440.
On August 2, the board of directors of the High Point Economic Development Corp. unanimously voted to recommend the incentives package to the High Point City Council.
“We are pleased that Future Foam is considering expanding in High Point,” said Loren Hill, president of the High Point Economic Development Corp. “The company has operations in 12 states and could expand in any number of places. It’s especially important to us that another home furnishings company may soon be growing in High Point, the Home Furnishings Capital of the World™,” he added.
There have been several other home furnishings projects announced this year in High Point, including Legacy Classic Furniture; Stroheim & Romann, Inc.; Master Design Furniture; and Russell Turner, a retail licensee of Ashley Furniture Industries.
ABOUT FUTURE FOAM
Future Foam, Inc., began producing foam in 1958 for the furniture industry in Council Bluffs, Iowa. The company was founded in 1956. The headquarters of the company remains in Council Bluffs. The company has operations in 12 states.
The High Point facility became the company’s fifth pouring plant when it started operations in 1998.
At the High Point facility, raw materials are converted into flexible polyurethane foam for use in furniture cushions, mattresses, and other applications for home and industry.
According to its website, the company’s “goal is not to be the biggest producer of polyurethane foam, but to be the producer of the best polyurethane foam.”

Posted by Jonathan Jones at August 3, 2006 10:41 AM