The company revealed Wednesday that in 2014, it received a buyout offer from Taiwanese manufacturer Alexandre International, which has produced furniture for Century and other high end resources.
However negotiations that had been ongoing since last year were recently terminated. “At that time Harden considered the availability of capital, expanded access to retail markets in the Far East, and operational synergies to be attractive opportunities. After a thorough review, and considering the improved domestic economic outlook the company recently terminated those negotiations,” Harden said in a statement.
Officials at Alexandre International were not immediately available for comment.
Harden is currently headed by CEO Greg Harden, who is a fifth generation leader of the company. He noted that the company is moving forward with its efforts to modernize its McConnellsville case goods and upholstery plant, which are expected to begin in the second quarter and be completed in early 2016. The project is being funded by 5 Star Bank as well as a previously announced grant from Empire State Development.
The investments will include new CNC machinery to compliment or replace existing equipment. The company is also investing in new equipment for its upholstery and finishing operations. In addition, the expansion and modernization is expected to increase capacity of Harden’s sawmill operation by 33%, with improvements expected in yield and energy consumption and efficiency.
Harden said the decision to remain locally owned was “more than simple economics.”
“The financial crisis and subsequent recession took a very heavy toll on the entire furnishings industry, and the weak recovery that followed made it very difficult for us to secure the financing we needed to grow the business,” he said. “In addition, we are convinced that if we can remain family-owned there will be greater opportunities for the Harden brand and our team in McConnellsville.”
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