John Bassett III gathered the media, politicians and his factory workers together in January to announce that not only was he not closing his factory; but he was actually expanding it into the vacant plant next door. Photo by Stephanie Klein-Davis | The Roanoke Times
STEPHANIE KLEIN-DAVIS | The Roanoke Times
Photo taken January 26, 2011
John D. Bassett,III, Chairman of the Board of Vaughan-Bassett furniture company stood before employees, officials and the media on Thursday and announced an $8 million expansion in March in the adjacent 350,000 square foot Webb Furniture building for the assembly and finishing of bedroom furniture. The current plant is 800,000 square feet. They hope to hire 50 employees initially and the company has committed to adding 115 jobs over a period of two to three years. They filled the room with employees to make the announcement on Thursday.
???You can???t compete with China and Vietnam and Malaysia unless you have the finest equipment money can buy. . . and the best employees in the world,??? said John D. Bassett III, chairman of Vaughan-Bassett Furniture Co. in Galax.
