Area Development
Phoenix Hardwoods, Inc., an artisan manufacturer of high-quality furniture and home goods, will expand its production facility and open a new retail storefront in Floyd, Virginia. The project is expected to create eight new jobs.

According to company officials, the new retail and manufacturing space will enable the company to grow its product line, improve production efficiencies and better serve its customers. The project will lead to $100,000 in new capital investment and allow the company to purchase an additional $76,000 of Virginia-grown hardwoods over the next three years.

“As a lifelong conservationist, I'm overwhelmed and elated to receive this AFID grant,” said Phoenix Hardwoods President Jeff Armistead. “This will allow Phoenix Hardwoods to expand and continue our work with Virginia's sustainable natural and human resources, trees, and jobs."

The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services worked with Floyd County and the Floyd County Economic Development Authority to secure this project for the Commonwealth. Governor Northam approved a $10,000 grant from the Governor’s Agriculture and Forestry Industries Development (AFID) Fund, which Floyd County will match with local funds.

“Phoenix Hardwoods makes such beautiful furniture,” said Governor Ralph Northam. “Each piece displays the essence of the tree, sourced near Floyd, celebrating the Blue Ridge, and made right here at home in Virginia. Our team has worked hard over four years to bring business opportunities across Virginia, and we are working hard until the very end. We’ve pushed to recruit large, global companies to Virginia, attracting more than $80 billion in new investment and 100,000 new jobs, but we get really excited about the small, family-run Virginia companies, like Phoenix Hardwoods.”

In addition to keeping the facility and retaining their team, the company’s retail expansion is breathing new life into the old Farmer’s Supply store, a Floyd landmark that opened in the 1930’s and closed in late 2020.

“As someone who grew-up in the Appalachian woodlands of Craig County, Virginia’s hardwood forests have always held a special place in my heart. I am thrilled that we are able to partner with a community like Floyd County to support a company like Phoenix Hardwoods as both appreciate Virginia’s hardwood resources as much as I do,” said Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry Bettina Ring. “As it is through a deep appreciation of our forests and the beautiful products that come from them, like those created by the artisans of Phoenix Hardwoods, that we are able to grow markets for Virginia’s forest landowners and support sustainable forest management and restoration of our forests.”