Mark Richey Woodworking earns national minority ownership certification

July 11, 2022

Mark Richey Woodworking of Newburyport, Mass., has been certified by the Greater New England Minority Supplier Development Council as a Minority Business Enterprise (MBE).

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Mark Richey Woodworking is an architectural millwork company also doing business as WallGoldfinger Furniture with offices in Vermont. Mark Richey Woodworking builds high-end interior and exterior millwork for companies, institutions, and residences across the country. WallGoldfinger makes corporate furniture for leading corporations, institutions, and government agencies worldwide.

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This certification, awarded last month, means the company has met the National Minority Supplier Development Council criteria for MBEs. The National Minority Supplier Development Council is the largest national, uniformly recognized certifying and advocacy organization for MBEs.

Mark Richey Woodworking is already a Minority and Woman Business Enterprise (M/WBE) regionally in its home state of Massachusetts as well as in New York City.

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The company is owned and operated husband and wife team Mark and Teresa Richey. Teresa Richey is a native of Peru, company treasurer and majority owner. The company underwent an extensive business review to earn the MBE certification and listing in the National Minority Supplier Development Council database.

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“This database is used as a sourcing tool by hundreds of buyers from major corporations that are seeking to do business with certified minority business enterprises,” noted Peter Hurst Jr., president and chief executive officer of the Greater New England Minority Supplier Development Council, in a June 10 letter to the company announcing its approval for certification.

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The National Minority Supplier Development Council website further describes itself as a “growth engine” for people of color. “It’s about upward mobility for the emerging majority of Americans, an equal shot at participating in the American experiment of free-market capitalism and entrepreneurship. Our work is about correcting the unequal access to wealth-building opportunities,” the website states.

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It’s a fitting recognition for Teresa Richey, who has been a decades-long advocate for providing wealth building opportunities for her employees and their families.

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“I came to the United States with an uncertain future. Forty years later, Mark and I have grown a home woodworking shop into a 130,000-square-foot factory employing 100 people with good paying jobs and benefits and the satisfaction that comes with being at the top of your field,” said Teresa Richey.

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“It’s exciting and humbling that even more businesses and organizations will find us through this national database recognizing MBEs,” she added.

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In addition to being a woman- and minority-owned business, Mark Richey Woodworking and its WallGoldfinger Furniture division is a green manufacturer. The company’s factory in Newburyport, Mass., operates using renewable energies, including onsite wind and solar. Manufacturing waste is collected and burned during the cold weather months in a biomass furnace to heat the plant. The company plans to next build a solar canopy over part of its parking lot to generate energy to power electric car charging stations for employee use.

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Mark Richey Woodworking’s work can be found in performing arts centers like the Kauffman Center for Performing Arts; museums; major corporations in tech, finance and pharmaceutical industries, for example; academic institutions such as Harvard; in retail and restaurants; and condos, hotels, clubs and private homes.  

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WallGoldfinger Furniture past clients include the White House, New York Stock Exchange, International Monetary Fund, most major law and finance firms and other Fortune 500 companies, as well as leading organizations and government agencies.

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Find Mark Richey Woodworking online at www.markrichey.com. Find WallGoldfinger here.