Paoli, Inc.

History

Paoli, Inc. was first organized in July 1926 by Samuel Elsby, Sr. as a consolidation of the previous Orleans Cabinet Company and the Paoli Furniture Company. This new organization started out as the Paoli Chair Company and was located in Paoli, Indiana. The main products manufactured were footstools, vanity benches, and dining room suites complete with chairs.

When the Great Depression hit, Samuel J Elsby, Jr., who was then serving as the Secretary-Treasurer, suggested creating a line of occasional chairs targeted towards the consumer market. These occasional chairs were successful at the Chicago furniture market show. The company began putting a focus on additional occasional chairs, which in turn, kept Paoli alive through the depression.

In 1951, Samuel Elsby, Jr. became president of Paoli Chair Company. By 1954, Paoli employed 300 people and became the largest manufacturer of occasional chairs in the world. Their success continued into the 1960’s and led to two plant expansions. Soon after the expansion and modernization was complete, Samuel Elsby, Jr. died at age 60. His sons, Robert Elsby and Sam Elsby III, stepped up to keep the business prospering. Not long after, the family sold the company to two investors named Joseph Wulfman and Sherman Heazlitt. Robert Elsby stayed with the company as President after it was sold, and ran the company until 1986.

By the end of the 1970s, Paoli made the switch from the residential chair market to the commercial furniture market. As Paoli contracted with other furniture manufacturers to produce desks, the company purchased property in neighboring Orleans, Indiana to build a warehouse to store the desks. Then in 1982, Paoli began making its own desk and casegoods products at the Orleans site. Because of success in the commercial furniture market, Heazlitt and Wulfman adopted the new name Paoli, Inc.

Joseph Wulfman retired and sold his share of Paoli, Inc. to Sherman Heazlitt in 1986. Heazlitt became CEO and Thomas A. Talone became the 5th president of the company. Two years later, Heazlitt sold Paoli, Inc. to Klaussner Furniture Industries of Asheboro, North Carolina. Through the 1990s, the company flourished, expanded, and moved all production and administration to a modern facility built in Orleans, Indiana. In 1999, Paoli, Inc. purchased Whitehall Furniture, an established manufacturer of quality seating.

In 2004, Paoli, Inc. was acquired by HNI Corporation, the second largest office furniture manufacturer. Shortly after the acquisition, Paoli launched a new program called inTWO that offers certain made-to-order casegoods and seating shipped within two weeks. In 2007, Dave Gardner became president and stayed with the company for three years. Brandon Sieben became president of Paoli, Inc. in January 2010. John Cahill is the current president. On October 7,2016 Paoli Inc announced it would start phasing out production in early 2017 with all manufacturing being phased out by October of 2017. Manufacturing is being moved to various locations across the United States. Approximately 350 people will have lost their jobs by October of 2017.

Products

Paoli, Inc. provides contemporary, traditional, and transitional casegoods, along with management and guest seating for private offices. Lounge seating for public spaces, conferencing, and reception seating are available as well.

Sustainability & Environmental Responsibility

Paoli’s furniture is constructed by maximizing utilization of wood that results in superior strength and enhanced use of the wood. American hardwoods such as cherry, sycamore, maple, and beech have been a key resource for Paoli’s building materials. The company is also an advocate for recycling in their community as well as their business and has increased the recycled content of packing materials. Paoli’s products have received awards including:

Commitment to Safety

Paoli places a focus on safety. These are a few of their accomplishments in safety: