by In this latest edition of The Last Word, Home News Now Editor-at-Large Ray Allegrezza speaks with Andy Counts, the top executive with the AHFA. Here Counts, a graduate of Georgia Tech with a degree in industrial engineering, reflects on his early career working for cabinet manufacturer Merillat Cabinetry as a plant engineer then moving on to become a regulator at the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality. Moving on to work with a private firm doing some of the same work, he was tasked with consulting the wood furniture industry because of his background in cabinetry.
This led him to work directly with the American Furniture Manufacturers Association, the predecessor to the AHFA, which approached him about becoming its director of environmental affairs, a position he accepted in 1998. From there, he became CEO and as he says, “the rest is history.”
Click the link below to learn about his role with the organization, including leading through the industry’s transition from a largely domestic wood industry to an import model. Also learn about some of Counts’ other significant roles within the AHFA over the past 26 years that have led the International Home Furnishings Representatives Association to name him a Pillar of the Industry, an honor he will receive at IFHRA’s annual Furniture Industry Awards Gala event to be held during the October High Point Market.
