Rowe Tour

It’s hard to comprehend what is underneath a beautiful fabric on a sofa or a chair. We see the fabric and enjoy the comfortable seat, but what is involved in the production of that piece? Visiting the factory of Rowe Furniture was definitely an eye-opener. So many hands touch each piece of furniture. The Rowe factory is located in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Elliston Virginia with the closest large town being Roanoke. The factory is located on 20 acres and workers drive as far as 45 minutes from all different directions. There are offices for customer service, order entry, human resources, accounting, and the large assembly portion of the factory employs over 400 workers. The process is very organized, but the combination of all the moving parts is complicated and a bit mind boggling. Each order is entered into their system and when the order is ready to go into production, the fabric bolts for the body and pillows are pulled. There are racks & racks of fabric in one section of the factory.

The patterns for each piece are made and the fabric is placed onto the pattern. There is a machine that secures the fabric to the pattern so that everything is accurately cut and each piece is tied together into a “kit”. The order has begun!

The sewers complete all the pillows, seats & back cushions, and the parts are distributed to various departments for stuffing and completion. All the sewing is done upstairs in the mezzanine area overlooking the frame and assembly production below. They have a system of knowing where everything is located because the fabric for the frame has moved to even another department.

There is a separate department for making seat & back cushions and pillow inserts. These have to be completed before they can be inserted into the sewn casings and covers. The fiber is blown into the back cushion casings and weighed so the insert that belongs to each piece is accurate. Many designs vary so that is a lot of fiberfill blowing around! Some of the feather/down inserts are purchased from outside sources which is very standard in the industry.

The frames are assembled on-site from “kits” that are produced by a Rowe-owned frame facility nearby. When these are completed, the application of the foam, springs, and all the insides of the pieces are started and then the body fabric is located so it can be applied to the correct frame.

There is an assembly line process where a group of technicians apply the fabric to the arms, the back, the decking, and the dust covers. Nail heads are applied individually by hand if required and legs are installed. When the frame is complete, the cushions and accent pillow are located and the completed product goes through inspection and to the packaging department.

All of these experienced, skilled craftsmen (and women) work as a team to complete over 400 pieces of furniture every day. Rowe has a program called PATH which stands for Pride-Accountability-Teamwork Honesty and they definitely appear to follow those guidelines. We had a wonderful time during the tour and definitely understood more about the costs & expertise that is involved in production. Each of these team members works to support themselves & their families, so when you factor in all the material and labor costs, a sofa or a chair made in the USA is priced well. Our Rowe & Robin Bruce sofa’s average retail is $1700-$2500 depending on style and fabric choice. We are sometimes asked about lower prices and we can now explain more about the process and costs that go into a custom-made piece of upholstered furniture. Lower prices would probably translate into fewer hands-on workers and inferior quality internal construction that can be covered & hidden by the fabric. We think our beautiful custom upholstery by Rowe Furniture is worth it and we hope you will too.