WoodDigest.com |

As its website says, “Khoury Furniture believes in doing common things uncommonly well.” That’s one reason why this Michigan Upper Peninsula company has managed to grow and prosper, even in these tough times. But there are other reasons as well.

This 64-year-old company may seem to some to be located at the end of the trap line, so to speak, but that hasn’t prevented this diverse company from practicing leading-edge manufacturing techniques, while at the same time being dedicated stewards of the forests.

In 1945, beginning with a sawmill and a handful of men with raw talent and determination to build a successful business from the ground up, Harry and Edward Khoury formed Khoury Brothers, a manufacturer of high-quality window casings, door frames, mouldings and furniture. Soon after, the brothers decided to focus their manufacturing efforts solely on furniture design and production.

Today, Khoury remains a family-owned business, which operates its own sawmill and kilns. It all begins by properly managing and selectively harvesting locally sourced trees to get the best yield from quality logs utilizing its sawmill, Aspen Lumber Company.

This allows the company to specifically control the milling, kiln drying and surfacing of the majority of the lumber used in its furniture manufacturing processes, according to plant manager, Jeff Tushoski. Waste is minimal, as excess wood chips and sawdust are used as fuel to heat its facilities.

In 2007, Aspen Lumber Company completed the process of being certified by SmartWood. Using SmartWood lumber, Khoury produces quality solid wood furniture that meets or exceeds FSC guidelines. The company is a member of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), Rainforest Alliance, U.S. Green Building Council, and a number of other trade associations.

Products produced include Shaker, traditional, country and contemporary designs fashioned from Northern hardwoods — no composite wood materials. All furniture is finished with water-based coatings.

Jeff Tushoski was asked a number of questions about the company and why it is successful.

Wood Digest: How do you cover the market?

Tushoski: We have independent sales representatives across the country that sell to furniture dealers. We also have a permanent booth at the Las Vegas Market (Booth #1260B) where we show our products and invite our customers to see our new designs.

WD: You produce only solid wood furniture. Why not composite wood materials?

Tushoski: Most of our furniture is either solid wood or FSC-certified NAUF (No Added Urea Formaldehyde) plywood.

We don’t use particleboard and use very little MDF. We feel that heirloom furniture is made from solid wood. Particleboard and MDF just don’t last.

We produce a wide range of products ranging from our standard bedroom collections to very high-end private label furniture including custom furniture for the hospitality industry. Since we offer 14 different paint and stain options, we typically stock raw material and only produce to order. Standard collections have a three- to four-week lead time. Custom furniture varies depending upon the amount of engineering required. Most of our product is shipped common carrier for smaller orders, but many of our local trucking companies will haul full loads anywhere across the United States.

WD: With so many domestic residential furniture manufacturers going out of business, how have you managed to survive and prosper?

Tushoski: We’ve identified and developed new markets to survive. We’ve started producing private label product. Other manufacturers that produce overseas have come back to the United States, looking for a domestic manufacturer to make their product. We’ve been able to accommodate these customers by producing their designs under their own name. Also, we have been awarded many contracts on hotel/motel/condo projects. We manufacture product for the hospitality industry similar to our own collections of furniture using the same construction methods, solid wood, custom finishes, etc., so the quality of the product is much better than the particleboard manufacturers. We’re also developing a new niche market by offering cribs. We’ve developed several new designs of cribs which will be made in the United States out of solid FSC wood, finished with water-based paints and stain. They are truly eco-friendly green products. With all the recalls on cribs produced overseas, we think we’ll have a great opportunity in the baby market.

We’re utilizing our machinery in many different ways by producing for other companies for private label furniture and contract furniture along with our own collections. We also invested close to $1 million last year in new equipment to try to stay more competitive. We felt we needed to invest in machinery that could help us twofold — one with smaller lot sizes and quick setup, and one that would be more environmentally friendly. We purchased a Taylor Dual Automated glue clamp that uses environmentally friendly formaldehyde-free glues for all of our panel production. We purchased two Onsrud CNC machining centers from Scarlett Machinery in Grand Rapids that allow us to run more efficiently, especially for small lot sizes.