I took a tour of the Hancock and Moore facilities on Friday, Sept 7th to learn more about the brand and how it goes together. Imagine my surprise when Jimmy Moore himself took me around for the whole day! I had planned for a 60 to 90 minute tour, and four hours later told him I had to go as he was wanting to take me over to their frame and carving facility.

The main plant is very utilitarian and unassuming. There's not even a sign on the building - just a very plain door that says "OFFICE" on it. For a few minutes, I thought I was at the wrong place. This was Hancock and Moore???? It was clean everywhere, but I just expected something more ornate.

(see my photo on the link below)

Jimmy Moore is 70 years old, and spends EVERY day at the plant. He started the company with eight employees and seven of them are still there (the 8th one retired when he turned 85 years old). There is no "Hancock", that was a made-up name that Jimmy told me he got from "John Hancock" who was the first signer of the Declaration of Independence, and is indicative of standing up for what you believe in.

There are 500 employees at Hancock and Moore. As we made our way through the place, it was clear to me that Jimmy Moore knows EVERY single one of them, and their kid's names, and their grandkids as well. He kids with all the women that they're ugly - and they say 'old man, get outta the way" as they come through with materials and supplies. This is one big family...and they have virtually no employee turnover.

I asked Jimmy why that was, and he took me over to the nurses station and said "She's here full-time, and we have all sorts of medicines to keep everyone well. I don't have to do this, but I want to do it. This is one of the things I like to do for my people. Another is I help them all out whenever I can, we never lay anyone off - even if we're slow, and if they want to buy a new car in town, I get involved and usually can get another $ 500 or so off their best price. Things like that make this the best place to work in Hickory."

Everyone works fast at Hancock and Moore, with no wasted steps. Not rushed, but evenly-paced. I told Jimmy that I am always impressed with the way the pieces arrive at my loading dock. Its the ONLY brand of upholstery that I can take to a customers home in a box and pull it out in their driveway. The others all require what is known in the trade as "Deluxing", which is a fancy way of saying I have to get the touch-up kit out to fix the minor flaws. Jimmy told me that's because everyone at H&M is on piece work, not hourly wages. And there are more inspectors there on staff than any other upholstery plant in North Carolina. If they make a mistake, and the piece gets returned to them for repair, it takes four times as long to correct the fix as it does to make it initially, so quality remains high with the piece work pay structure.

I asked a lot of questions that you all here on Garden Web ask of me....so I could get it right from the head guy. Some of them are:

Spring Edges: Jimmy says they do them on some pieces, but a hard edge is more durable and will last much longer. He is working away from putting spring edges in the pieces and most have a hard edge. He then showed me why that is, but setting up a spring edge on a frame and demonstrating how fatigue weakens the frame over time.

Down Cushions: He likes the standard cushions the best, for the same reason I do. It stays firmer in the leather casement and there are less wrinkles over time in the leather as wear ensues over the life use of the piece.

Allergies: Everything at H&M is made of Hypoallergenic materials

Frames: Are all made in their own frame and carving shop. They do not make frames for other companies. A few of the ornately carved chairs are imported frames, but the bulk are still made in Hickory NC. He's very proud of the fact that all exposed wood is done from a single board and not pieced up.

Hides: Most hides are domestic origin, however because of EPA standards and the fact that Tanning facilities are notorious polluters, many USA hides are shipped overseas for tanning and then shipped back when complete.

Metal hardware: No metal ever touches metal in a H&M piece. Every clip is coated, every wire is insulated. This keeps pieces from squeaking as they age. Jimmy Moore is very proud of that fact, that his furniture stays quiet over many years. When he does a spring base (Say in a sofa for example), the coils near the back and arms are heavier and thicker so when you slide to that part of the cushion, you do not 'fall in' to the opening as one does with many pieces. Every piece of furniture has a specific spring diagram layout that must be followed.

Mechanisms: I asked about motion furniture mechanism failures and he told me they buy not only Leggett and Platt mechanisms, but the very highest grade from that supplier, which costs more but the rivets don't elongate over time as do their lesser lines. They also install a higher grade of cable and spend a lot of time securing cables so motion furniture remains in motion.

Arm Edges: I'd not seen this before, but the top of every sofa and chair arm has a piece of molded rubber that goes over the wood rather than the simple multiple layers of dacron fill that most makes wrap around the arm. Impressive.

Other details: When you see bamboo inserts, its made of real Japanese bamboo! Not paper. I watched one employee wet the bamboo down to apply to a sofa frame and nail it into place.

H&M is the first furniture factory I've been to that has a baking oven for the finishes. With a 90 second trip into that conveyor, the frames come out equal to 6 weeks of air-dry time. That means they are tougher and less likely to scratch or pick up packing marks as they are made.

Button Tufting. This is amazingly laborious. They do it old-school, with large upholstery needles and each button is sewn on by hand, the diamonds are hand-stuffed and padded. It takes one person eight hours to button-tuft a sofa. Many makers use a air-powered gun to shoot a button in, but they can (and do) come loose over time.

Nail Trim: Three people do nothing but hand-hammer those brass nails all day long. Talk about tedious....Each one set by hand and I counted an average of six taps per nail to set them.

Hand-Antiquing / Painting. Yes, they really do. I didn't even know they could paint various motifs on leather pieces at H&M, but watched as several items were getting a floral motif hand-painted on the hides.

Warranty: Here's the clincher. Jimmy Moore says that ANY Hancock and Moore piece that needs repair can always be returned to them and they will fix it for only the cost of the raw materials (no labor charge). Doesn't matter if its 2 years old or 20 years old. That to me, is amazing...and I'm not aware of anyone else that will stand behind their product like that. I think that makes a few people in the office roll their eyes, but as a consumer its exactly the kind of think you want. Two weeks ago I had a customer who had to re-order a 8-year-old $$$$$ Leathercraft Sofa as the leather had a tear in the back button tuft panel. Leathercraft would not take it back for repair and the local upholstery shops wouldn't touch it. A $ 4,500 sofa gone. Had that been a Hancock and Moore, the repair would have been about $ 200, plus shipping (if any).

I probably left some things out, so if any of you have questions on my production tour, I'll do my best to answer them.

-Duane