Office furniture company looks for new building

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Friends Business Source, an office furniture and supplies business on Salem Avenue, wants to move closer to the I-75 corridor.

Olivia Barrow

Senior Reporter- Dayton Business Journal

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An office furniture and supplies company in Dayton is planning an office move and is looking for space.

Friends Business Source, which entered the Dayton market in 2012 when it bought Salem Office Products, is on the hunt for a total of 30,000 square feet of space along the Interstate 75 corridor.

Ashley Barger, marketing and public relations manager for Friends, said the current location at 4604 Salem Ave., is no longer the right area for the business.

A new location in the heart of the growth areas in the region could provide more access to new clients, and draw more visitors into the showroom.

The Findlay-based company sells well-known furniture brands such as HON, Alsteel, Gunlocke and Kimball.

The company is looking for a space with 10,000 square feet of office space — half what the company has now, since new office trends allow the same amount of employees to work in half the space — and 20,000 square feet of warehouse space. The company wants to double its warehouse space from the current 10,000 square feet it has because its inventory needs are growing. Barger said the office and warehouse spaces don't have to be in the same building.

Barger said the company wants to be moved into the new space by 2016. Locally, Friends Business Source employs 17, and Barger said the company is adding sales staff.