Posts Tagged ‘Wood Furniture Trends’
Indiana Furniture awarded FSC Chain-of-Custody Certification
Indiana Furniture (www.indianafurniture.com) was awarded Forest Stewardship Council Chain-of-Custody Certification by GFA Consulting Group.
The certification (certificate number GFA-COC-002183; license code FSC-C110951) provides a guarantee about the acquisition and use of raw wood materials in the production of FSC-certified products. FSC Chain-of-Custody Certification is an assurance that wood based materials used in Indiana Furniture products come from forests that meet stringent environmental, social and economic standards throughout all production stages including harvesting, processing, manufacturing and distribution.
“We understand that we must not only contribute to sustainability by developing and manufacturing products with excellent environmental performance, but that we must also work to enable our customers to further minimize their own environmental impact,” said Mike Blessinger, vice president of sales and marketing.
Thos. Moser introduces new modern furniture line
The Ellipse furniture line includes a five-piece wood Dining Collection.
The father and son team of Tom and David Moser worked together to design the latest furniture line from Thos. Moser: Ellipse.
This mid-century modern furniture line is ideal for compact spaces, and uses design elements like traditional joinery, exposed end grains, elliptical forms and space-efficient profiles. The Ellipse Dining Collection is the first in the line to be debuted with five pieces of furniture, including a dining chair, rectangular dining table, sideboard, square dining table and stool.
“We wanted to revisit Danish mid-century modern style and bring to bear our own intellectual interpretation on this school of design to make these pieces distinctly Moser,” says David Moser, product development manager at Thos. Moser. “Ellipse is a progression of our design impulses with simple, clean lines where the beauty of the pieces is paramount but does not sacrifice practicality. It was refreshing to collaborate with my father on this design. We hope our customers have as much pleasure using our pieces as we did creating them.”
Ellipse is available online and in the company’s showrooms nationwide, beginning in early October 2011.
Zepol ranks top U.S. wood furniture import ports
Zepol Corp. reported data on the top 10 U.S. ports and countries of origin for wood furniture imports, from June 2010 to May 2011.
The largest port over this period (see figure) was Los Angeles, with an import volume worth $2,149,727. The second largest U.S. port of Newark, N.J., imported $1,057,338,765 worth of wood furniture. Savannah, Ga., was ranked as the third largest port with imports totalling $578,481,375.
Over the same period from 2010-2011, Zepol ranked China as the top country of origin for wood furniture imports, which totalled $3,760,121,814. Vietnam was ranked as the second largest wood furniture import source, at $1,369,026,517, and ranked third, Canada’s imports totaled $873,445,084. Canada was also the top country of destination for wood furniture imports, which totalled $673,124,115.
Colorado manufacturer uses beetle kill wood for furniture
I've Got Wood uses beetle kill wood to create wood lamps and various furniture pieces.
Mountain pine beetles have caused destruction and devastation to trees in the Colorado mountains, infesting more than 1.16 million acres of pines. Instead of chopping the trees down and turning them into landfill chips, one Colorado-based manufacturer is using the beetle kill wood to produce its furniture.
The company, I’ve Got Wood, says the beetle kill wood’s blue color makes it great for unique products like its Beetle Kill Bench and Beetle Kill Lamps.
I’ve Got Wood says it hopes to create “a happy ending by turning these fallen trees into timeless pieces of furniture.”
HPFI offers antibacterial wood finishes
High Point Furniture Industries introduced a line of antibacterial finishes for its wood seating products.
HPFI says its Sentinel finish process uses the antimicrobial, antibacterial agents of the silver ion process to help healthcare facilities stop germs from spreading. It is included as a standard component of the wood finishing process, and does not require any special order handling, specification or up-charge on any HPFI wood seating component, according to the company.
Inscape, KI, Herman Miller named top contract suppliers
Michael A. Dunlap & Associates LLC announced the results of its May 2011 MADA/OFI Supplier Survey, in which suppliers rate furniture manufacturer, giving top scores to Inscape, KI and Herman Miller.
The Supplier Survey was designed to measure how suppliers view their customers by asking suppliers to score 15 selected office furniture manufacturers in North America. Ratings were done on a scale of one, not acceptable, to five, excellent, for 10 individual business activities: accounting/finance; engineering; information technology; manufacturing; marketing and product management; quality management; product development; sourcing/purchasing/procurement; top management; and overall experience. The scores for each furniture manufacturer and each business activity were collected, then combined into a total score for each furniture manufacturer. Suppliers rated Inscape (formerly Office Specialty), in Holland Landing, Ontario, as the top-ranked customer. KI was rated second, followed in third place by Herman Miller Inc.
Respondents were also asked which companies they currently supply to and which they would like to supply to. Steelcase was named as the company most commonly supplied to and Trendway Corp. was named as the company suppliers were most interested in doing business with, according to the survey.
Las Vegas, High Point, N.C., combine furniture showrooms in joint venture
World Market Center in Las Vegas and much of the High Point, N.C., home furnishings showrooms will be united under a single ownership and management in a recently-announced $1 billion deal, Furniture Today reported.
The new owner, International Market Centers L.P., is majority-owned through funds managed by Bain Capital Partners and a subsidiary of funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management. The Related Cos., an investor in the World Market Center, is a minority owner in the deal, along with Bassett Furniture and Network World Market Center. Bob Maricich, who led World Market Center, will become chief executive of International Market Centers, with joint headquarters in High Point, N.C., and Las Vegas.
The joint venture initially includes a combined 13 buildings of more than 10.6 million square feet in Las Vegas and High Point, N.C. When acquisitions are completed, International market Centers will own 11.5 million square feet, including the acquisition of Showplace and related properties, which is expected to close in 60 days, according to officials.
“International Market Centers will create a seamless market experience on both coasts and offer significant cross-category business opportunities,” said Scott Graves, managing director at Oaktree. “The company’s plans include attracting additional traffic from international buyers, enhancing marketing efforts and creating new distribution and sales channels for exhibitors.”
Berkline closing Tennessee furniture plant, ending operations
Berkline BenchCraft Holdings LLC will close its furniture production operation in Morristown, Tenn., eliminating jobs for 602 workers employed at the Morristown-based company, according to the Knoxville News Sentinel.
Mike Geczi, with a public relations firm representing Berkline, confirmed 602 workers will lose their jobs when the company closes and will not receive any severance compensation. Additionally, the company will liquidate most of its assets.
“Berkline had been pursuing a ‘going concern’ asset sale, but was unable to find a buyer and secure needed financing on acceptable terms,” a statement from the company said. “In early 2011, Berkline engaged a financial adviser to explore strategic alternatives and pursue a sale process, which was ultimately unsuccessful.”
Interzum features lightweight construction
Interzum will feature lightweight construction along with the latest trends in designs and materials at the 2011 fair for the furniture and interior design industries.
Interzum will have one wing of its fairground set aside for the ”Boulevard of Innovation,” which will show off new trends in furniture design. The group exhibition, “The Lightness of Design,” is dedicated to lightweight furniture and will showcase innovative lightweight solutions for kitchens, living rooms and bedrooms. Companies displaying products in “The Lightness of Design” will show fair attendees that lightweight furniture is cost effective, visually appealing, and is ideal for integrating electronic components, like keyboards, monitors and speakers, into furniture or accessories.
Other Interzum highlights will include “functional enhancement for textile materials” and “lighting and innovative materials in architecture and design.”
Interzum is the world’s largest industry event for suppliers to the furniture, interior construction and bedding industries, show organizers say, and is held every two years. Interzum 2011 will take place from May 25-28, in Cologne, Germany. For more information on registration or travel arrangements, please contact Interzum’s North American office at 773.326.9926 email k.dickerson@koelnmessenafta.com
Ligna to cover wood use with demonstrations, seminars in Germany
Ligna in Hannover, Germany will cover the full wood-utilization spectrum at this “Making More out of Wood” trade show, running from May 30 through June 3.
The trade show will offer many topics on wood use. A furniture assembly workshop, lightweight.network, will host live demonstrations on wood furniture assembly at the central “Plaza” platform. The demonstrations from machinery manufacturers and component suppliers will show how wood furniture products are assembled to be lightweight yet extremely stable. On May 31 and June 1, the ”Think Light” international conference on lightweight panels will offer 13 presentations by suppliers with an overview of the latest production processes and product developments.
Other sessions at Ligna include: timber windows; innovative wood-based construction solutions; business and export forum on bioenergy; NRW – making more out of wood; and FEMADE – international trade show for the forestry, wood and furniture industries.
