Boca Raton, Florida — Norbar Fabrics is navigating the rebounding economy with a keen focus on select new lines and design books geared to customer needs and industry trends.

In that way, Norbar Fabrics has been a kind of barometer of the U.S. economy’s effect on the fabrics industry. When times were strong, the company was growing, adding new products and services, says 87 year old founder Norman Neufeldt. When tidings turned south, the company retrenched to focus on its strengths -- designs, niche products and customer service. Controlled growth has been a mantra at Norbar Fabrics, says David Neufeldt, 59, the company’s president who runs daily operations.

Tucked in a 38,000-square-foot warehouse and showroom a stone’s throw from Interstate 95 in Boca Raton, Florida, Norbar is an international jobber and distributor of decorative fabrics and trim working with interior designers, decorators, architects and hotels regionally and internationally throughout the U.S., Canada and the Caribbean. The company also provides hardware, custom headboards, bedding, comforters, bedspreads, pillow shams and bed skirts. Neufeldt family: The Neufeldt family -- salesman Jason, president David, VP Susan Harris, (David’s sister) Marni Davret, (Susan’s daughter) and patriarch, founder and CEO Norman Neufeldt -- in the company’s Boca Raton showroom.

Norbar has expanded as the industry’s needs have grown in kind, says Lance Garcy, executive vice president with P/Kaufmann Inc., in New York. Norbar is a large jobber account for Kaufmann and executives there have enjoyed personal relationships with the company’s executive team since Norbar’s early days in Deer Park, Long Island. Today, Norbar is one of Kaufmann’s top five customers.

“They’ve branched from design to a full-purpose supplier to the design community, much more of a national jobber today than when they started,” says Garcy, who’s seen Norbar executives at trade shows from Showtime in High Point to Brussels to Turkey;  inspecting their own warehoused goods on the weekends.

“David and his sister Susan Harris have a tremendous work ethic, just like their father. They’ve always paid attention to the quality and reputation of Norbar,” he says. “They’ve always made sure what they had on their shelf was first-quality goods they could deliver on the same day.”

CEO Norman Neufeldt, the family patriarch, launched the company in 1950. His family had been in gray goods and lining when Norman started a jobbing business. The family moved the company to Boca Raton in 1993.

Since the relocation, the company consistently has grown at roughly 30%; executives would not discuss specific sales figures. The company has 60 showrooms across the U.S. and Canada, with more than 20 salesmen. The company produces up to 50 design books annually, says Susan Harris, company vice president. Susan’s daughter, Marni Davret, works with Susan in advertising and merchandising. David’s son, Jason Neufeldt, 32, is a company salesman who, like his cousin, is being trained as the company’s next-generation leadership. Industry veteran Frank Tucci is the company’s general manager.

The company stocks sufficient inventory to ship upwards of 90% of all orders within 48 hours, Norman Neufeldt says. Every year, the company explores new product offerings. Several years ago, it was the addition of new lines, including prints, upholstery and sheers. Later, it was the trimming business, which today accounts for a significant share of work. In 2010, the book format changed to offer 10 new color books incorporating a wider array of SKUs, like silks, faux leathers and greater depth in upholstery, for example.

It’s not about the books produced, but the product and service being offered. “We’re not the only choice for product,” David Neufeldt says. “We’ve expanded with our clients’ needs, from inexpensive, plain solids to branch into prints, upholstery, sheers. But we’ve continued to stock inventory and delivery. Delivery’s been important since day one.” David and Norman Neufeldt with Susan Harris

“We now have a complete line our customers can look to us for,” Harris says. “We have survived the big guys, competition that’s so much bigger.

“We’ve controlled our inventory and limited our product. This allowed us to inventory more of our product. If you don’t know what you don’t have, you can’t deliver,” adds David Neufeldt, who with the family has slowly, deliberately led the company into new areas of growth, including outdoor fabrics. “Every company, when it gets to a certain point, you can start to lose control. If you lose control, you’re out of business.”    F&FI