Founder and CEO Hassell Franklin said the International Organization for Standardization rating was one way his company could boost sales without trying to beat bigger manufacturers at the advertising and brand recognition game. ISO standards open doors globally, he said. One way Franklin Corp. competes is by importing Russian birch. The overseas wood product actually is more cost-effective much of the time for fabricating furniture frames than domestically harvested wood stocks. Dan Seale, a forest products marketing professor at Mississippi State University, said economics and environmental restrictions caused many mill operations on the Pacific Coast to shut down, with international operations able to buy equipment at bargain salvage rates.
International standards differ as well.
They're making construction-grade products for the most part and they'll set up and do runs for the furniture industry on the side. Products such as Russian birch aren't under the same burden to meet construction standards for flooring and roofing, giving that product another competitive advantage, Seale said. Competition Where to buy raw materials represents just one microcosm of the challenge for manufacturers in Northeast Mississippi to stay on top of the competition for furniture dollars. Low overhead helps Gerald Washington. The Pontotoc resident still buys all fabrics for his company, American Furniture, the second startup Washington has built into a multimillion-dollar furniture business in Northeast Mississippi.