Eighteen years ago, at the request of Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell, Renaissance Partners developed a business plan to save >400 manufacturing jobs at Pennsylvania House Furniture in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. The company had a proud history since 1887 making case goods—dining room tables, chairs, coffee tables, end tables, sideboards, buffets, china cabinets, beds, dressers and other items—all from Pennsylvania hardwoods, especially cherry. In 2004, Pennsylvania House gross revenues were $75 million. Its Lewisburg facility was 15 acres under roof, on 41 acres of land.

La-Z-Boy Furniture owned Pennsylvania House at the time, the sixth corporate owner in 35 years. Two years was the average tenure of company presidents in the 15 years that preceded our work. Governor Rendell directed us to find a way to save the business after La-Z-Boy announced it would close the Pennsylvania operations and send production to China.

La-Z-Boy publicly said it would support a plan to save the American jobs. When we presented our plan, which included equity investment from a fund backed by Pennsylvania employees and teachers retirement systems, La-Z-Boy reversed course. The company refused to sell at any price the most valuable assets, including the registered trademark “Pennsylvania House” and the distribution network of retailers.

After production moved to China, retailers steered customers away from Pennsylvania House products, saying manufacturing quality had declined. Today, all that’s left is the registered trademark (owned by a Chinese company) and the ability to purchase vintage Pennsylvania House pieces from used furniture dealers.

The wider story is Pennsylvania employment in the hardwood products industry fell 33% in the last 15 years, from 90,000 jobs to 60,000. From furniture to flooring, quality materials and construction have been sacrificed on the altar of big box store sales of poorly made goods at hefty prices. This phenomenon is detailed in an article titled, “Pottery Barn Unstuffed.”[1]

So, it was refreshing last year to get to know an entrepreneurial company bucking this trend, Steller Floors of Tyrone, Pennsylvania. https://www.floorsbysteller.com/ Steller’s founders/owners developed and patented an innovative hardwood flooring system. Steller has received funding from both public and private investors, including Ben Franklin Technology Partners in State College.[2]

The company exclusively uses the finest Appalachian hardwoods, which it manufactures into boards that click together using a Steller-patented fastener system. The flooring floats, which means it can be installed over concrete floors and need not be nailed or glued into place.

This unique system speeds installation, enables quick and easy replacement of damaged planks, and pemits flooring to be taken up and reinstalled elsewhere when commercial renovation cycles make that desirable. To resist water damage, the boards are sealed on all six sides—top, bottom and all four sides—compared to the top-and-bottom-only coating of other hardwood flooring products. For those attracted by tax saving opportunities, Steller flooring is eligible for accelerated depreciation under I.R.C. § 1245.

Company co-founder Dr. Britta Teller personifies the passion behind the Steller product. “We asked ourselves, ‘How do you make a difference? How do you make sure the place you live is good?’ You have to invest in it. You pour blood, sweat and tears into it. It’s work. And we’re watching that work pay off.”

When we visited her, Britta said she was proud to have hired that day another production worker at a living wage and with full benefits. Yes, quality costs money; but our communities gain when we set aside the “beggar thy neighbor” economics that have driven so much offshoring of U.S. goods production.

Please take a few minutes to view the Steller portfolio at the company’s website: https://www.floorsbysteller.com. Consider the company’s product for any renovations you or those you know are planning. The Steller team is creating jobs with a future, here in the U.S., one job and one day at a time. Let’s give them a neighborly helping hand.

[1] “Pottery Barn Unstuffed: A $1,200 Bed With Particle Board? Plastic Legs on a Fancy Chair? We Took a Chain Saw to America’s Biggest ‘Lifestyle Retailers’,” Smart Money, Oct. 2006, available at http://amelydesigns.com/PDF_Files/pottery%20barn%20article.pdf

[2] https://www.benfranklin4pa.com/post/stellerflooring-company-flourishes-thanks-to-innovative-system-that-makes-replacement-easy.