Factory Man: How One Furniture Maker Battled Offshoring, Stayed Local - and Helped Save an American Town

Factory Man tells the story of John Bassett III, chairman of Vaughan-Bassett Furniture Co, and his effort to preserve jobs in Bassett, Virginia. The Bassett Furniture Company was once the world's largest wood furniture manufacturer and a cornerstone of its namesake town, operated by the same Virginia family for generations. Beginning in the 1980s, Asian competition forced the company to move production overseas. Bassett III, a third-generation furniture manufacturer, fought to keep production domestic and maintain employment. Vaughan-Bassett Furniture Co now employs more than 700 Virginians with sales exceeding $90 million. Beth Macy documents Bassett's personal and family history alongside figures from the furniture industry, examining how he used legal strategies, factory improvements, and determination to save hundreds of jobs while revealing insights about modern American manufacturing.