Alexander County got some good news recently with the announcement of a new production plant in Taylorsville — a furniture plant.

Indiana-based Jasper Group, a commercial furniture maker for nearly 80 years, will create 40 local jobs in an abandoned furniture factory building.

The plant will be in a 93,000-square-foot facility off N.C. 16 South that Kincaid Furniture vacated a year ago.

Company officials expect to start production by this summer, said Alexander County Economic Development Corp. Director David Icenhour.

The EDC won an $81,000 grant from the N.C. Rural Development Center to help Jasper renovate the building.

Alexander County’s furniture-making tradition made it a good fit for Jasper because of the skilled workers there, Icenhour said, and the RDC grant “helped sweeten the pot a little bit.”

The company makes custom commercial seating and case goods.

“Our products are 95 percent domestically manufactured,” said Jasper Vice President Brian Lish in a news release. “We are very excited about our Alexander County location and we look forward to continued growth.”

Jasper has eight U.S. plants. It also recently bought the former Blanton & Moore factory in Barium Springs.

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