Furniture making may come back--literally.

• Position: Triad

All three events occurred within a week. Asheboro-based Klaussner Furniture Industries said it was closing a plant in its hometown. Norfolk, Va.-based furniture importer Ison International announced it was moving to Thomasville. Chinese manufacturer Dream Rooms revealed it was shifting its American headquarters from Los Angeles to High Point. More evidence that, battered by foreign competition, the mighty Triad furniture industry was dwindling into warehouse and office jobs?

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Maybe not. Klaussner, which will shed 130 jobs by the end of this month, blames the closing not on cheaper foreign goods but on the woes of two of its largest customers, retailers Sofa Express and Levitz Furniture. And while the region's boosters welcome Ison International, which will hire at least 25 in Thomasville, and American Dream Rooms, which will employ 40, they are not resigning themselves to recruiting only distribution centers. They claim furniture manufacturing is making a comeback. Steve Googe, executive director of the Davidson County Economic Development Commission, acknowledges that his county has lost about 5,000 furniture-making jobs since 2000. But he believes the tide is turning. "We're working with a British company right now that makes high-end furniture and is looking to locate here We've had several Chinese companies here looking for sites to build projects."

The reason is simple, says Andrew Brod, director of UNC Greensboro's Office of Business and Economic Research. "Thank you, weak dollar. We've been reading for some...