As it often happens in the South, a casual chat between neighbors on a porch swing grows into a simple plan to build a brighter future for their families. Jorge Lagueruela and John Kennedy shake hands and ante up $1000 in venture capital, and the two friends form Trinity Furniture in March 1984. 

Preaching a commitment to build quality products at a good value with a high level of customer service, Jorge and John quickly established Trinity as a resource for private label manufacturing, serving such clients as Saks 5th Avenue and Lomazdale's. Eager to broaden their focus, they sought and were awarded a GSA federal seating contract in August 1985. Additional single-award contracts and direct relationships with the House and Senate led Trinity into a long-term alliance with the government's various entities.

Buoyed by a growing and stable customer base, in June 1986, the fledgling business finished construction on a modest 14,400-square-foot building in their namesake town of Trinity, North Carolina. With its location between High Point and Thomasville, everything related to furniture manufacturing was within easy reach.

NeoCon 1998 marked the international debut of Trinity's furniture collections for distribution to the commercial furniture industry. Of particular pride was that all products were designed, engineered, tested, and manufactured in America in their growing state-of-the-art facility.

Upon John Kennedy's retirement in 2002, Jorge Lagueruela became the sole owner of a rapidly growing business. To keep up, the facility grew to over 100,000 square feet of integrated furniture manufacturing space, incorporating prototype/engineering, woodworking, upholstery, and finishing departments.

With extensive experience in ANSI/BIFMA testing due to being authenticated on-site facilities, the natural segue to acquire BIFMA Level certification began. In 2010, Trinity Furniture was the fifth (and first minority owned) company to become BIFMA Level 1 certified.

By this time, Trinity is firmly established in four vertical markets: Healthcare, Education, Corporate, and Government. Within these markets, there is a wide variety of categories with a focus on wood-manufactured seating and tables.

In a full-circle moment marked by another casual conversation, Megan Lagueruela, Jorge’s eldest, joined the team in 2011 and eventually rose to Vice President of Marketing and Sales. Her brother, Evan Lagueruela, Jorge’s eldest son, came on board in 2015, beginning in the purchasing department before advancing to Vice President of Operations.

After 20 years of temporary booths, Trinity opened their first permanent showroom in the Merchandise Mart, Chicago, IL, in 2018. Two years later, Evan assumed the helm as President of Trinity.

In August of 2021, Jorge’s battle with Multiple Myeloma ended with the business ownership transferring to his wife, Debra Lagueruela. Trinity then transitioned from Minority Owned to Woman Owned.

In the Spring of 2024, Trinity celebrated 40 years in business. Trinity has continued to build upon the legacy begun by two neighbors. Still manufacturing in the town where they were founded, and still focusing on the same core mission that started it all…creating quality wood furniture in the U.S. one chair at a time.