CHF sees sourcing solutions

Staff -- Home Textiles Today, 10/1/2001 12:00:00 AM

CHF Industries

New York

President: Frank Foley

Principal businesses: top of bed, window, bath, juvenile

CHF Industries is no stranger to going overseas in order to get the products it needs. And according to Frank Foley, president, going someplace offshore may be the only solution left.

"If you're not a vertical manufacturer, your sources will be outside the United States more," Foley said. "The opportunities for substantial new investment in manufacturing capacity are limited here."

Foley said CHF sources many of the products it sells domestically "from most of the textiles-supplying nations in the world, including Europe" in addition to its U.S. sourcing and manufacturing operations. The company also employs its own sourcing specialists, who report directly to him. The primary reason for going overseas, he said, was the same reason as for other companies: to find product or resources not made or available here.

"In order for us to compete against vertical companies, we need to find resources that enable us to be cost-competitive," Foley said.

"We have lead times that are less than domestic supply lead times, and their cooperation in terms of manufacturing are comparable to anything we have anyplace else in the United States."