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Business Name: Thomas A. Johnson
Furniture Company.
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Location: Lynchburg; future plans
call for a manufacturing and training facility in Ghana.
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Year Founded: 1996.
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Owner: Thomas A Johnson.
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Business activities: Two
divisions: custom-made high-end cabinetry, furniture and architectural
products; and mass-produced furniture as a subcontractor for large
furniture companies.
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Geographic reach: Currently, about
a 60-mile radius. "My ultimate goal Washington, D.C. and further," he
says. "Now that I have some skilled craftsmen working for me, I’ll be
able to hit the road [and sell]."
Market Niche: "Using reclaimed
lumber. Customers love it. [Ironically] people stop here on the way to
the dump to throw wood away, and they give it to me. Some of it is 100
years old. I am strategically located," he says, laughing in
stitches.
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Number of employees: Six now,
planning on 25 to 30 within the next year or two.
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Growth rate: The company has
doubled its revenues since 2000. In 2001, Johnson purchased a
100-year-old, 75,000-square-foot former tobacco warehouse and
outbuildings on the back of the James River. Unexpected result of
business networking: Johnson invited to this year's presidential
inauguration.
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Motto: "Discipline, determination
and success."
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