Pristo bariatric recliner

Despite posting a drop of 82% in profits in the last quarter of 2008 Herman Miller the US office furniture giant have acquired healthcare furniture provider Nemschoff. Based in Winconsin on te shoes of lake Michigan the Company was founded by Leonard Nemschoff in 1950. The product portfolio is made up of waiting room furniture, bariatric chairs, patient chairs and specialised recliners. The healthcare market is often seen as recession proof and office furniture makers view the market with commonality of products and opportunities to create a boarder range of products. Herman Miller paid around 32 million dollars and 200 shares for Nemschoff

Dandelion

Sting plus the new fabric from Camira has been developed after four years of research. It is based on the common stinging nettle, hence the name, and is on of the most environmentally sustainable fabrics available to the contract market. The stinging nettle has strong fibres that have inbuilt fire resistance. This is blended with
pure wool to give the finished product. Sting is available for te upholstery of office chairs, conference chairs and reception seating and is available in 9 contemporary colours. We are currently pricing this fabric on recently added break out chairs Button and Gloss. We will be adding this to our other office seating and chair lines over the coming.

Imagine from Wallis

Although this years Prima office furniture exhibition in Islington was a quieter affair than last year there were some interesting new products to see.
Office Chairman’s ’s OCee modular reception seating is a stunning design with a high degree of comfort. The Bison chair from Allermuir was also shown which we feature on our break our seating line however this chair would be equally at home in conference and reception area. Designed by Simon Pengelly the flexible arms of the Bison chair wrap around the user and the conical shape gives the chair a smaller then average footprint. The new modular office seating range from Wallis offers a combination of chairs with our without backs with linking units provided by circular cushions which are available with and without glass tops. The chairs can be reversed in configuration with the chairs facing away from each other and arranged in curves opening up almost limitless opportunities. The Alumini acoustic office screens and Airflake screen system two of Abstracta’s most popular screen products were also shown to good effect. Edge the design arm of Pledge were also there with there xross swivel based tub chair and beam seating products with its central location this appeared to be one of the busier stands.

This years Design Prima exhibition takes place from the 2nd to the 4th of June ar=t tah Business Design Centre in Islington
The following office furniture manufactures are exhibiting this year:
Allermuir Contract and reception seating
Ares Line Italian office seating manufacturer
Burkhardt Leitner Production of exhibition stands and equipment
Bralco Italian Office furniture
Burmatex Contract flooring
Camira Leading fabric provider to the contract furniture industry
Colbrook Bhosson Saunders Computer arms and office accessories
Della Rovere Italian office furniture
Dieffebi Italian metal  storage and office furniture
Edge Design  Office chairs and soft seating
Eurotek UK based office furniture
Frem Group Bespoke reception desks and boardroom tables
Girsberger German office chair provider
Guialmi Italian metal office cupboards
Hands of Wycombe Bespoke executive furniture, boardroom tables and reception desks
Hitch Mylius Reception and pubic space seating
Icon office furniture: UK based office furniture provider
Johanson Design Swedish designed office and contract seating
Lesco Products UK importer of office accessories
Naughtone UK based designers of contract and soft seating
Office Chairman UK based supplier of office chairs
Orangebox Office seating and Office chairs manufactured in South Wales
Rackline Mobile office storage systems
Railex Systems UK based metal office storage
Screens at work Office screens based in the UK
TDS Office Design Dutch provider of metal office storage
Templestock office filing systems
Wallis office UK provider of office chairs and seating

Despite posting a massive loss in the US Steelcase, the world’s largest office furniture manufacturer has announced the opening of a new showroom in Manchester.
The showroom will be their second in the UK and will mark the development of 22 showrooms or Worklife centres across major cities of the world. Worklife is being marketed a  showcase of possibilities, highlighting the latest ideas from the Company. Steelacase is also looking to expand its number of office furniture dealerships across the North West. Work Life is scheduled to open in Mid June and will be located in Both Street, Manchester City Centre.

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Three containers of office furniture and office equipment have arrived in Ghana to support a school project. The furniture mainly comprising desks, filing cabinets and meeting tables has been donated by the Jewel and Esk College in Edinburgh. The college worked with the charity the Sabre Trust who specialise in supporting educational projects in West Africa. The furniture left Edinburgh in November 2008 and arrived at the end of December after spending 3 weeks to clear at Customs. The school were reported to be amazed at the quality of the furniture and were very pleased and proud to receive the donation. The Sabre Trust was advised by Green Standards a Swindon based charity that specialise in the redistribution of office furniture and equipment to Third World countries.

Despite the worsening global economic downturn Techo the Czech office furniture manufacturer have increased profits by 17% and sales by 7% . There has been a drop off in orders of late and some agency workers have been laid off but the time workforce is still intact. Techo was founded in 1991 by Jiri Kejval and operates in Romania, Georgia, Hungary and the UK. In 2007 Techo has been under the ownership of Ahrend office furniture in Holland. Techo produces a number of office furniture ranges including Arkus which was installed into the new offices for The MET office in 2004, Citis a flip top table and desking system and Focus a frameless desk system that seems to defy gravity. Techo’s UK office are in Farringdon Road, London

Steelcase the international office furniture manufacturer have teamed up with Armstrong the commercial ceiling specialist to producer a range of sound absorbing products called Soundscapes. The products are aimed at reducing noise in offices and can best be described as acoustic canopies and clouds. Soundcape come in a variety of shapes and sit under the ceiling and have been shown to absorb 785 more sound than normal ceilings. Soundscapes can also add an aesthetic appeal to the overall design of the office convex and concave sections called Hills and Rivers have been designed to provide a focal point as well as having an sound insulating effect. Steelcase believe that the increasing use of collaborative teamworking space within commercial offices is going to have an increasing effect on noise levels and these innovative and design conscious products will enhance their considerable portfolio of office furniture and office environment products

Senator International’s take over of Teal furniture in High Wycombe will give the group access to products in the growing healthcare furniture market. Teal, a traditional family run business based in High Wycombe in Bucks manufactures contract furniture including beds, chairs and desks for student and sheltered accommodation. There is also a traditional range of wood framed lounge furniture suitable for hotels, restaurants and public areas. Traditional seating for office reception areas and conference rooms also forms part of the portfolio Residential furniture for nursing homes including specialised seating is at the core of the business and represents further diversity for the Senator group which includes Café and contract furniture from Allermuir, entry level office furniture from Toransen, Beam desking systems from Beyon and Senator’s own stable of office furniture r

Steelcase is working in collaboration with the Institution Recycling Network (IRN) in New England on a program to find ways of re utilising and recycling used office furniture. Most recently the two have worked together on a project at the University of Notre Dame and managed to re home 1600 items of office and classroom furniture resulting in a donation to victims of the hurricane in Haiti and Jamaica which cost the school less than if the furniture had been moved to landfill. The IRN is a cooperation that works with public and private organisations to improve the financial benefit and efficiencies in recycling.
Based in Grande Rapids near Chicago Steelcase Inc are the world’s largest manufacturer of office furniture and seating