Encyclopedia Dubuque
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FLEXSTEEL INDUSTRIES, INC.
FLEXSTEEL INDUSTRIES, INC. In 2016 Flexsteel was a designer, manufacturer, importer, an marketer of upholstered and wood furniture for the residential, recreational vehicle, office, hospitality and health care markets. (1) Plant locations in 1991 included Dubuque, Iowa; Dublin, Georgia; Lancaster, Pennsylvania; Riverside, California; New Paris, Indiana; Evansville, Indiana; Harrison, Arkansas; Sweetwater, Tennessee; Starkville, Mississippi; and Vancouver, Washington. Executive offices of the corporation were maintained in Dubuque. The Dubuque plant employed 433 workers including manufacturing and corporate workers. (2)
Flexsteel's industrial history began in 1893 as the Rolph & Ball Furniture Company based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (1) The company was apparently absorbed by the Grau-Curtis Company, a furniture manufacturer started in Minneapolis, Minnesota by Frank BERTSCH. The firm was renamed Flexsteel Spring Corporation in 1934. (2) In 1936 the company, under the leadership of Herbert T. BERTSCH, moved to Dubuque into the former buildings used by the Brunswick Victorola Company. Flexsteel was one of the first companies to produce on a conveyor production line. Realizing that low priced furniture was produced by many businesses in the industry, the company chose to use the Flexsteel spring in a more expensive but better product.
In the 1960s Flexsteel began its vehicle seating division after securing a contract to manufacture seating for Winnebago Industries. Stock in Flexsteel was first publicly traded in 1969. In the early 1970s, a profitable contract was signed with the General Motors recreational vehicle unit. The company added more plants and hired additional employees to meet the growing demand for its products.
In July 1990, Flexsteel announced that Jack B. CRAHAN, former vice chairman of the board and chief operating officer, would be the new chairman of the board and chief executive officer. Crahan replaced Frank H. BERTSCH who had been chairman of the board from 1958 to 1985. K. Bruce Lauritsen, former executive vice-president of sales and president of the company since 1985, was named the chief operating officer, and James R. Richardson, vice-president of marketing, was named to a new position on the board.
The 21st century with a declining national economy had a great effect on the company. With less customer demand, Flexsteel had to reduce its local workforce bringing an end to the assembly line production of upholstered furniture at the Dubuque plant.
In 2016 the company reported net sales of $500 million, a 7.1% increase over the previous year and the highest total ever recorded by the company. Net income increased 8.7 percent to a record $24 million. (3) Fiscal year 2016 was the third consecutive year of record net sales and the seventh consecutive year of growth for the company.
Flexsteel Industries on September 21, 2016 plans to close its Jackson Street manufacturing facility next year. Officials said it has become inefficient for manufacturing and costly to maintain. They planned to be out by December of 2017. Flexsteel employed a total of 250 associates at the manufacturing facility, with 185 of those associates represented by the United Steelworkers (Local 1861), Teamsters (Local 120) and Operating Engineers (Local 234). (4)
In a press release, Karel Czanderna, President and CEO, said the company had identified several viable locations for manufacturing. Directly linked with this decision, the company recently announced plans to invest up to $25 million in North American manufacturing infrastructure during the next two fiscal years to address aging facilities and improve efficiency. (5)
The 1962 through 2014 Dubuque City Directory listed 3400 Jackson.
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Source:
1. Montgomery, Jeff. "Flexsteel Will Close Dubuque Facility," Telegraph Herald, September 22, 2016, p. 2A
2. Ibid.
3. Montgomery, Jeff. "On Heels of Record Year, Flexsteel Eyes New Challenges," Telegraph Herald, August 18, 2016, p. 1A
4. Ibid.
5. Hanson, Brad. "Dubuque Based Flexsteel to Close Jackson St. Facility Next Year," KWWL.com. Online: http://www.kwwl.com/story/33152086/2016/09/21/dubuque-based-flexsteel-to-close-jackson-st-facility-next-year