TROUTMAN, N.C. -
If you've flown through Charlotte Douglas International Airport, you've no doubt seen the rocking chairs. But few travelers know those very chairs are produced just down the road.
"We feel very strongly that if we say we make the world's best rocker, then we have to make them here," says Jean Land, who co-owns Troutman Chair Co., which produces the chairs in (where else?) Troutman.
It's been that way since 1934, when simple but elegant rocking chairs began pouring out of the company's Iredell plant. Jean's husband, Champion Land was so impressed, he bought the company.
"It's been said that we bought a diamond in the rough, and we're attempting to polish on it," he says.
Since then, Land and his wife have introduced new models, but they've left the production process the way it's always been: glue-free and hand-assembled.
"It takes the human eye to make sure you're putting good pieces of wood in rocking chairs," he says.
Those good pieces come from Troutman Chair's very own sawmill. There, longtime workers grapple the chairs into existence at a pace of more than 25,000 per year.
From there, the chairs go to retailers all over the country and even into Canada.
"We probably have 50 Canadian stores buying from U.S. and the third-largest retailer in Canada," Land says.
So while Land and his family are eager to sell as many chairs as possible, don't look for them to relocate offshore. They and their staff will be right in North Carolina, putting together future family heirlooms that will last a lifetime.
"Well, if they're gonna use our rocker and rock in them, then they have to be well constructed," Jean Land says.
Troutman Chair offers a lifetime frame warranty on all its chairs. The company's products can be found in restaurants, summer camps and front porches all over the continent.
"We feel very strongly that if we say we make the world's best rocker, then we have to make them here," says Jean Land, who co-owns Troutman Chair Co., which produces the chairs in (where else?) Troutman.
It's been that way since 1934, when simple but elegant rocking chairs began pouring out of the company's Iredell plant. Jean's husband, Champion Land was so impressed, he bought the company.
"It's been said that we bought a diamond in the rough, and we're attempting to polish on it," he says.
Since then, Land and his wife have introduced new models, but they've left the production process the way it's always been: glue-free and hand-assembled.
"It takes the human eye to make sure you're putting good pieces of wood in rocking chairs," he says.
Those good pieces come from Troutman Chair's very own sawmill. There, longtime workers grapple the chairs into existence at a pace of more than 25,000 per year.
From there, the chairs go to retailers all over the country and even into Canada.
"We probably have 50 Canadian stores buying from U.S. and the third-largest retailer in Canada," Land says.
So while Land and his family are eager to sell as many chairs as possible, don't look for them to relocate offshore. They and their staff will be right in North Carolina, putting together future family heirlooms that will last a lifetime.
"Well, if they're gonna use our rocker and rock in them, then they have to be well constructed," Jean Land says.
Troutman Chair offers a lifetime frame warranty on all its chairs. The company's products can be found in restaurants, summer camps and front porches all over the continent.
