Accent furniture manufacturers Superior Furniture Company and Jasper Cabinet Company have teamed up.

A two-year-old partnership that began as a chance meeting between the two owners in a factory in China is paying off in the form of expanded product lines, more finish and customization options and extended cross-marketing.

There's also a new addition to the mix, an alliance between Superior and another Michigan company, The Taylor Company, that will enable more domestic production, something Superior president Bill Lee is looking forward to.

Lee is the grandson of William S. Lee who founded Superior Furniture Company in 1936 as a maker of occasional tables. Today, the company offers a multitude of finishes, distressing and customization options for several styles of occasional tables, casual dining and accent bedroom pieces.

Lee joined forces with Jasper Cabinet president Robert Cribbs after the two realized how each seemed to have something to offer the other. Cribbs had become the new owner of the 110-year-old (then) Jasper, Ind.-based company following its 2002 closure and subsequent purchase by a local investment group.

"As I began to lose a lot of domestic manufacturers, I started going to China," Cribbs said. "So here I am in China where there are thousands of factories, but I'm in this one factory and this guy introduces himself as Bill with Superior. We talked and I asked him what he did. He said I do occasional tables, bedroom and dining. Not only did our product lines complement each other, but the more we talked, we kept finding all these things that overlapped, thinking that maybe this was meant to pursue."

Eventually, Jasper moved its headquarters from Jasper, Ind., to Grand Rapids where Lee said the companies have been "slowly but surely" cross marketing and growing their lines together — Superior's accent tables, casual dining and accent bedroom, and Jasper's secretaries, curio cabinets and entertainment centers.

"With Superior's finishing options I'm able to bring all the importer products and then Superior will finish it," Cribbs said. "And what's nice about it is you can buy Superior occasional tables with some of our furniture and mix and match the finishes."

So far, the partnership has also proven to be a successful merger of personalities. "When I make a call, I'll start talking Superior as well as Jasper," Cribbs said. "Plus, we're expanding into more 'Made in the USA' and Superior is now associated with a manufacturer that does domestic, and we will have them make things for us as well."

Cribbs is referring to Superior's new positioning with The Taylor Company, a provider of carving, finishing, assembly, packaging and vinyl/veneer wrapping to the contract and fine furniture industries.

To celebrate the relationship with the factory, the company brought a new Custom Occasional by Superior program to the High Point Market. "Basically you can design your own occasional table and I really think that we're the first to do it and present it this way. We offer four different table choices — cocktail, end table, sofa table, chair side table — and the tops come in four different shapes. You pick your own dimensions, edge treatments, apron, choose from 50 different finish options in paints and stains, and you can even pick your own antiquing levels on top and base."

Superior has also launched a custom color program with Jasper called the Superior Jasper Color Studio that, for a 20% upcharge, matches over 1,300 custom paint colors to upholstery, rugs and accessories.