O'Sullivan Industries moving its corporate headquarters to Atlanta

Friday, August 20, 2004

Associated Press

LAMAR, Mo. -- O'Sullivan Industries Holdings Inc., one of the nation's largest makers of ready-to-assemble furniture, said Wednesday night it will move its corporate headquarters from rural southwest Missouri to Atlanta.

The move, expected to be complete by Oct. 30, will make O'Sullivan's corporate offices more accessible to customers and ''allow us to expand our management recruiting opportunities,'' president and chief executive officer Bob Parker said in a news release.

O'Sullivan's manufacturing, engineering, distribution and customer service operations in Lamar and South Boston, Va., will not be affected by the move, the company said.

The new corporate headquarters will be staffed by executive management, marketing units, senior sales management and some support personnel.

The decision follows several months of change in the leadership of the company, which was founded in St. Louis in 1954 and moved to Lamar in 1965 when a manufacturing plant was built there.

Parker joined the company in May after serving as chief operating officer of Newell Rubbermaid's Sharpie/Calphalon Group.

Two other Sharpie vice presidents have since been appointed executive vice presidents at O'Sullivan Industries.

O'Sullivan Industries sells ready-to-assemble desks, computer stations, bookcases, microwave carts and other items for home and office through several retailers, including Office Max and Wal-Mart.

The company was taken private in 1999, although its preferred shares continues to trade over the counter.

In 2000, it closed a 350-employee plant in Cedar City, Utah, moving some of those jobs to Missouri and Virginia. At that time, its employment in Lamar stood at about 1,600.

No one was available at the company's offices Wednesday night to comment on current employment numbers and how many jobs will be shifted to Atlanta.

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