Gov. Bev Perdue today welcomed the announcement of a joint venture known as the Carolina Artisan Group that will create 200 jobs in Valdese. The joint venture is a partnership between Art Van Furniture, Michigan’s largest furniture retailer, and Kellex Corporation, a furniture manufacturer in Burke County.
“Creating jobs is our number one priority, and the announcement today is tremendous news for Burke County and for North Carolina,” said Gov. Perdue. “North Carolina has a talented and skilled workforce, and we look forward to a long and successful partnership.”
The partnership will continuously design and develop quality custom and semi-custom living room and family room seating. Six styles of living room and family room collections will be available in the Art Van Furniture stores by mid-October. For the launch, all furniture produced in Burke County by the Carolina Artisan Group will be sold exclusively by Art Van Furniture.
“We see this as a win, win for everyone involved,” said Art Van Elslander, owner of Art Van Furniture. “We are fulfilling a consumer demand for high quality, affordable product made in America, and North Carolina is the epitome of craftsmanship in the furniture industry. We could not have asked for a better suited partnership.”
“The opportunity to partner with an icon in the furniture industry, Art Van Furniture, not only made good business sense, the leadership style and commitment to the US furniture industry matches the Kellex owners’ beliefs and values,” said Kellex Corporation owner Charlie Rice. “It truly is a win, win partnership.”
North Carolina continues to have a top-ranked business climate. Through Gov. Perdue’s JobsNOW initiative and other programs and partnerships, the state is working aggressively to create jobs, train our workforce, and forge a strong and sustainable economic future.
Partners who assisted with this project include: the N.C. Department of Commerce, Burke County, Town of Valdese, Western Piedmont Community College, Committee of 100, NC Rural Center, Duke Energy, Western Piedmont Council of Governments, Western Carolina Industries, Burke Development Incorporated, AdvantageWest Economic Development and NC Employment Security Commission.