‘Factory Man’ author named guest speaker at AWFS

The Association of Woodworking & Furnishings Suppliers announced that John Bassett III will be a special guest speaker at the 2015 AWFS fair in Las Vegas, sharing his personal story of standing up to China’s dumping of cheap furniture into the American market.

A dynamic storyteller and passionate individual, Bassett will share how his company faced extreme challenges when China began dumping cheap furniture into the American market in the 1980s. His story reveals how he discovered exactly who in China was producing it, his relentless commitment to his employees and his successful pursuit of political support for enforcement of anti-dumping duties.

Bassett is a third-generation furniture man with a total of 53 years in the industry, first at Bassett Furniture Industries founded by his grandfather, J.D. Bassett Sr., and since 1983 at the helm of Vaughan-Bassett — currently the largest wooden bedroom furniture manufacturer in the U.S.

Bassett is a past president of the American Home Furnishings Alliance. He was named Furniture Today’s Manufacturer of the Year in 2001 and InFurniture Magazine’s Man of the Year in 2003. In 2013, he was inducted into the American Furniture Hall of Fame and in 2014 was named UNCG’s Entrepreneur Extraordinaire. He also authored the book “Factory Man,” about his battles against Chinese furniture dumping.

Bassett will open the second day of the show, speaking at at 8 a.m. on July 23 at the Las Vegas Convention Center. The event is free and open to all show attendees.

For information, visit http://awfsfair.org.