Schwarz returns home, buys Klaussner facility

ASHEBORO — Asheboro native son John Schwarz is buying the former Klaussner properties on Lewallen Road. 

With closing on Sept. 6 out of bankruptcy court, he’ll own five buildings and everything that’s in them. He believes it’s a bargain for $8.1 million.

“I’m real happy to be getting this,” he told a gathering on the second floor of the Klaussner office complex during an Aug. 1 meeting. “If I can buy a property at a good price, then I’ll market it. I’ll rent to people who can be beneficial to the community, who can bring people back to work.”

Prospective rental clients could be in storage or distribution. Some may want space for manufacturing. Don Moss, a site consultant from Charlotte, will be helping find clients. He said, “We have interest (from potential clients) for storage and I’m working with a lot of international clients.”

Now living in Gibsonville, Schwarz has close ties to Asheboro. 

“Neal (Hughes) and I grew up together in South Asheboro,” he said. “We played football for Coach (Lee J.) Stone (at Asheboro High School). Then Neal and I were recruited to East Carolina and played four years. Then we coached there for two years.” Hughes is now a property manager for Schwarz.

Schwarz returned to Asheboro from East Carolina to work in his family’s garment business, Smart Style. Later, after spending time in import/export, he went into business with his brother, Jeff Schwarz, buying and developing property. He said that at the end of this year his businesses will own 20 million square feet of building space in nine states.

Schwarz said he was directed to the Klaussner property by realtors and by Moss. But Schwarz already knew of the site.

“I grew up here and knew when it was built,” he said. “JB Davis (Klaussner president for more than 30 years and an Asheboro native) is a friend. He’s going to help participate in getting the place back going.

“The buildings will be rented by the first quarter of next year,” Schwarz said. “They won’t be idle. And there’s some great office space. We’re open for anything.

“There are all kinds of possibilities here. We’ll work with the community to see what they want.”

And Schwarz is happy to have a part in saving a heritage site in his hometown: “I’m glad to be back in Asheboro.”

The furniture manufacturer was founded in 1963 by Stuart Love, whose on-time delivery became an industry standard. Love sold the company to Hans Klaussner in 1979. Klaussner was an international businessman with the means to turn the renamed Klaussner Furniture Industries into a major national player.

JB Davis joined Stuart Furniture in 1970 and was promoted by Klaussner as president and CEO, retiring in 2012 after 42 years with the company. Davis and a management group bought the company from Klaussner, successfully running it for five or six years. Then the group sold out to Monomoy, an equity company.

The business had been renamed Klaussner Home Furnishings in more recent years but continued to manufacture upholstered furniture until last year when Monomoy announced in a letter to employees on Aug. 7 that the company was closing immediately.

At one time, Klaussner was considered the largest privately-owned company in North Carolina, employing more than 3,000 people. Davis rewarded the workers by expanding the annual picnics into concerts that featured artists such as Patty Loveless, Vern Gosdin, Delbert McClinton, Toby Keith, Martina McBride and others. The shows were moved to the Greensboro Coliseum complex.

During those heady times, Klaussner began sponsoring a NASCAR team, beginning with Mike Wallace, brother of Rusty Wallace, and later Michael Waltrip, whose wife Buffy was from Asheboro.

The company would bus employees to qualifying events at the Charlotte Motor Speedway, where they sat theater-style in the large Klaussner booth with a buffet bar in the rear. A few days later, a bus would take workers, whose names had been picked in a drawing, to watch the Coca-Cola 600 race in the stands.

Those days are long gone but better days at the Klaussner complex could be coming if Schwarz’s plans materialize.

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The selling points for this industrial site include:

•Approximately 900,000 square feet on 78 acres.   

•Five buildings, the largest approximately 500,000 square feet followed in size by a 344,000 square-foot bay.  

•Three smaller buildings that serve unique purposes at varying dimensions.  

•An interesting commercial opportunity for multiple tenants with enough dock doors to accommodate secure and private access.  

•Located in the center of the state with quick access to Interstate 73/74 north/south, Interstate 40 east/west and Interstate 85 north/south.  

•Located in close proximity to several developing megasites.