#82 Replacements, Ltd--Greensboro, NC 4-17-09

For any of you who have Grandma’s china, crystal or silver—this is the place to find the missing pieces! Over 13,000,000 pieces are in inventory.

When we walked into the showroom, I was blown away by the displays, the cleanliness and the sheer volume of pieces. I didn’t know where to look first.

We went down aisles of beautiful wood display cases filled with treasures. The display cases were as amazing as the displays. Greensboro and High Point area of NC are the capitol of furniture making. Thomasville, Hendredon and too many others to name are located here. Twice a year the area hosts huge furniture conventions.

We took the tour of the warehouse. Above is only one of the racks of merchandise. They are 16 feet tall and there must be sixty aisles of racks all numbered with the items stored. All items are in their computer base by pattern and piece. Then the employees have access to which aisle and shelf the items are kept.

After an order is placed and picked up by an employee it is delivered to the shipping area where there are multiple tables set up for wrapping and boxing the items to be shipped. There are over 500 full time employees.

This is the area where the merchandise that comes in to the warehouse is inspected, sorted and labeled.

The company also does repair work and some manufacturing. Above is the silver repair and cleaning room. This is where the silver is cleaned, repaired if necessary and polished before it is entered into inventory to be sold.

Above are some of the pieces that are manufactured (from original stems) into pieces you don’t normally find in sets. There is even a spaghetti server!

We really enjoyed the afternoon we spent here. Of course I had to look and see if there was any depression glass! There were some beautiful pieces in the “museum” part of the building. These items were not for sale.

Dixie did find a sugar bowl to go with her Blue Ridge Pottery dishes. Now she has the sugar and creamer to match her set of dishes.

One other great thing that happened in High Point, (near Greensboro) NC--Dixie finally got her birthday present. A new sewing machine. Light weight to carry in the RV and computer controlled stitches. It is a Brother In-novis 80. Can't wait to start using it!