[CHIPPEWA FALLS, WI – 7/8/21] On Thursday, July 8, 2021, Ashley Furniture held a ribbon cutting ceremony for the opening of their newest manufacturing facility in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin. The Chippewa County Economic Development Corporation worked with Ashley Furniture to help identify and purchase their next manufacturing location. The CCEDC’s mission is to help existing businesses expand and to find new markets while promoting Chippewa County as a place for new investment and economic growth. Ashley Furniture is excited to establish strong roots in its home state of Wisconsin, and also looks forward to having access to Chippewa Falls’ workforce.

“It’s always good to come home, and this event is no exception,” states Travis Wagner, Senior Vice President of Global Manufacturing for Ashley Furniture. “We are so grateful for the encouragement from the community to expand our roots here and we are excited to have our 12th facility so close to Arcadia, where Ron started the company.”

“We are proud to be local and we want to thank the city, the county, and the CCEDC for working with us to make this happen,” expressed Cole Bawek, Ashley Furniture’s Director of Public Relations. “The community has been terrific to work with and we look forward to being here and continuing to contribute to the city of Chippewa Falls. We understand the importance of manufacturing to the Chippewa Valley, and are excited to provide many manufacturing jobs to this area. One manufacturing job creates about 3.4 additional jobs, a ripple effect that we are happy to bring to Chippewa Falls.”

“Ashley Furniture is a global manufacturing powerhouse and we are excited to welcome them to Chippewa Falls,” noted CCEDC’s President and CEO Charlie Walker. “This expansion came at the perfect time for the community, as the economy is reopening and people are anxious to get back to work. The workforce and the economy will benefit greatly from this project for years to come.”

“We are extremely excited to be a part of this opening,” stated Tom Waldusky, Chair of the CCEDC Board. “Ashley has done so much for community leaders, and our leaders have gone above and beyond to see to the needs of businesses and economic growth. The collaboration between organizations to make this happen is astounding.”

Representatives from all areas of business were in attendance at this ceremony, including the engineering and architecture firms that have been assisting Ashley Furniture with their construction efforts as well as government and economic development teams. The community was eager to show their support for Ashley Furniture, who continues to invest in Wisconsin and the United States as a whole.

For further information, please contact Danielle Bauer [CCEDC] at info@chippewa-wi.com.

About Ashley Furniture: As the world’s largest manufacturer of furniture, Ashley Furniture Industries, Inc. has taken pride in not just building beautiful, affordable furniture but consistently innovating in new technologies, new materials and new ways to increase speed to market. Originally founded in 1945 in Arcadia, Wisconsin, Ashley Furniture celebrated their 75th anniversary and their 15th year of being the world’s largest manufacturer of furniture in 2020.