WOOX, manufacturer of Italian-American made gunstocks, axes and knives, is breaking ground to expand its operations in Hickory, N.C.—where woodworking expertise has been passed on for generations. The manufacturing facility’s growth will help meet demand for the firm’s premium products, particularly its line of Standard American and High-Grade American Walnut stocks.
For decades, Hickory was considered the furniture capital of America, or at least a major suburb. At its peak, the local furniture and woodworking industry employed thousands of skilled craftsmen, often in the same factory in which their parents and grandparents worked.
The tradition began in the late 1890s and grew steadily, despite the Great Depression, natural disasters and global conflicts. Economists estimate that shortly after World War II, 60 percent of all furniture in the United States was manufactured within a 150-mile radius of High Point, N.C.—an area that includes Hickory.
It began unraveling in 1999 during the Clinton administration, when the U.S.-China Bilateral World Trade Organization Agreement was signed. The document’s reduced tariff barriers saw production move overseas. In 10 years, the number of domestic woodworking jobs, family workshops and finishing skills capable of coaxing nature’s beauty to the surface decreased in dramatic fashion.
The WOOX expansion, expected to be complete late this year, brings some of jobs, skills and tradition back to the United States. As a part of the scaling up process, the company is hiring new team members at its Hickory plant, adding new buildings and increasing its economic impact in a city of roughly 46,000 residents.
WOOX stocks are cut from American walnut, which has a grain, figure and density that can’t be replicated. The company doesn’t use molds. It selects, then shapes and finishes each piece by hand, the same way it has done since 1937. Roughly 1 in 25 blanks meets the firm’s high standards of quality.
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