Galax, VA, December 5, 2005--Nearly four years after buying a lumber operation in Galax, Turman Hardwood Flooring announced Friday that it will expand its facility in the city, add a new product line and hire 40 more employees, starting early next year, according to the Galax Gazette.
Turman representatives joined state and local officials on Friday at the Crossroads Institute to announce the expansion and a state incentive package totaling $100,000.
The Governor's Opportunity Fund and the Tobacco Region Opportunity Fund each contributed $50,000 grants to Turman. The company will use the money to buy new equipment.
The Floyd-based Turman Group acquired the former Burress Company lumber operation from a bankruptcy court in early 2002, turning it into a successful hardwood flooring plant.
John Sternlicht, Virginia's deputy secretary of commerce and trade, said Turman plans to spend $2.7 million to build an addition to its facility on Boyer Road in West Galax and add new equipment.
The company will expand its hardwood production by 25 percent and add a new wood pellet manufacturing operation. The wood pellets are made from sawdust and burned in special stoves as a cheap alternative home heating fuel, explained owner Mike Turman.
“This is a good start and a good sign of a rebound,” Sternlicht said.
City officials welcomed the good news, following Webb Furniture's announcement last month that it would close down its bedroom manufacturing plant in mid-January. The company will lay off 309 workers.
Galax Mayor C.M. Mitchell said Turman is a “well-run and well respected” company. “You worry about the entrepreneurial spirit, but Mike's ability to take a chance on a new product and hire new people shows that spirit.”
Regional Economic Developer Tom Elliott said that Turman was considering facilities in North Carolina for its new wood pellet operation, but the incentive package allowed the company to expand in Galax.
Elliott said Turman approached him several months ago about the possibility of expanding. “We wanted to make sure they did it here,” Elliott said. “The Galax facility will actually require more upfitting to take on this project than the ones in North Carolina, but state funds will offset those costs.”
Mike Turman said the hardwood plant was having trouble getting rid of its sawdust waste, so it looked for a new way to use it. “We burn it for boiler fuel in the winter, but in the summer it piles up.”
