The World-Famous Maker of Boos Blocks Doubles Down on its Made in America Heritage
John Boos & Co. has reported that the Planning Commission of the town of Effingham, Illinois has approved the site plan presented by Boos calling for a new wood plant and retail showroom to be built in the small Midwestern town it has called home for more than 125 years. Boos is a world-renowned manufacturer of butcher blocks and butcher block tables, kitchen islands and carts, cutting boards and chopping blocks.
Joe Emmerich, president and CEO of Boos & Co., explained the company's strategy is to consolidate under one roof multiple wood manufacturing buildings plus a retail outlet. The project is expected to improve productivity and to expand the company's wood furniture and cutting board manufacturing capabilities. In 2012 Boos made a similar massive investment in a facility of 87,000 square feet. That structure houses corporate offices and the company's metal fabricating plant. Boos is also a leading manufacturer of stainless steel tables, base cabinets and compartment sinks sold principally in food service channels.
At 122,000 square feet, the scale of this new manufacturing facility relative to the town of Effingham is simply astounding, declared Mark Shook, owner of Butcher Block Co., [John Boos' largest online dealer](https://butcherblockco.com). You could allot almost 10 square feet to each of Effingham's 12,500 residents and fit all of them comfortably inside the building. This level of corporate commitment to keeping and expanding manufacturing jobs in small-town America sets a great example other captains of U.S. industry should strive to emulate, Shook observed.
About Butcher Block Co. BBC, which operates exclusively online, sells a wide range of kitchen furniture, equipment and accessories made of wood and/or metal, including butcher block countertops, islands, tables, carts, cutting boards and chopping blocks.
