Gilmore Furniture hiring 15 more workers for expansion

Sharon Hanks

Gilmore Furniture, Inc. is adding 15 more employees to its 75-member workforce by November 1 to work at its new addition at 321 Terminal SW in the Grand Rapids/Wyoming area.

The 22,500 sq. foot addition near 28th St. and U.S. 131 is next to its main manufacturing site and will meet the demands of its growing business from the contract furniture industry.

“We are very excited with this addition,” says Robert Clark, spokesperson for Gilmore Furniture.

The expansion is something the company had planed on in 2008 even though the market and economy suffered a down turn around that time.

“When we saw sort of a resurgence in growth, we decided to move ahead,” he says.

The company engineers and manufactures wood/veneer components and complete furniture products for the industry, including table bases, occasional tables, conference tables, furniture components, and private label finished goods. Founded in 1983 by Grand Rapids native Scott F. Gilmore, the entrepreneur is also the owner of Grand Metal Products in Norton Shores and Cumberland Furniture in Grand Rapids.

Clark says the company serves West Michigan’s largest office contract furniture leaders, including Steelcase, Herman Miller, and Haworth. By relying on Gilmore, these industry leaders can maintain a steadier workforce level instead of having to deal with hiring and laying off workers during the market’s ups and downs.

Source: Robert Clark, spokesperson for Gilmore Furniture

Sharon Hanks is innovations and jobs news editor at Rapid Growth Media. Please send story ideas and comments for the column to Sharon at sharon@rapidgrowthmedia.com. She also is owner of The Write Words in Grand Rapids.