Waterjet

Case Studies

Take a look at some of the complex solutions we’ve developed and implemented for our customers.

Seating Foam

Foam Fabrication

FEEk SEATING

Foam Fabrication Case Study

Customer: Trendway

Product: Feek

Product Application: Lobby/Lounge Seating

 

Problem

Feek featured a completely new design concept, which was going to require a completely new foam manufacturing solution. Plus, the polyurethane foam in this case was part of a complex design, meaning it’s difficult to make, and required a high aesthetic, which is not always easy with foam.

Trendway also wanted the flexibility to let their customers order customized versions of the Feek line, requiring furniture assembly. Add the desire for a low price, and the foam needed to be completely customized, give premium performance and still maintain a market-competitive price point.

This task would require flexibility, efficiency and a mastery of foam.

 

Solution

With no ready-made, off-the-shelf foam manufacturing solution available, we were going to get to create.

Because the polyurethane foam would have to accomplish so much, our engineering team immediately got to work testing multiple foam grades to determine how to meet both the performance specifications and price targets.

Prototyping several iterative rounds of assembled furniture samples further honed both the product and the process as we went, resulting in an efficient process and quality product.

With new CNC foam and water jet foam production techniques developed for 3D cuts, gluing and assembly, Feek, in a sense, became a showcase for what fabricated foam can do.

 

Results

We successfully created an efficient process that produces a highly complex product with a pricing structure appropriate for the market. Being able to combine premium performance with a competitive price is not the easiest thing to do, but is a gratifying result for all parties.

Feek is being made with repeatable quality results, and Trendway’s customers can confidently place the Feek line in their lobbies and lounges, without breaking the budget.

 

Lounge Assembly

Upholstery and Assembly

Popular Lounge Chair Line

Customer: A Global Furniture Manufacturer

Product: Popular Lounge Chair Line

Product Application: Lobbies and lounges in higher-education settings

 

Problem

This is a high-end product. The materials had to be of the highest quality. The complex product design had a polyurethane foam concave seat. The product had to be extremely durable to last in higher-education settings.

Initially, those attributes sound great, but they come with specific challenges for an OEM furniture partner. High-quality, durable materials come with large price tags. The concave fabricated seating foams were difficult to upholster and would require extra labor costs.

Our customer’s internal production team couldn’t meet the cost targets set by the marketing team, and even got to the point of considering not taking the product to market, essentially forfeiting everything they spent on research and development.

 

Solution

Our job was to produce this contract furniture assembly product at the high standards it demanded, while also keeping the costs within the original budget. We started by sourcing under-structure components from our domestic relationships and custom glides from our international manufacturing partners. This kept costs way down while also bringing in the highest quality components possible.

To reduce the labor time required, as well as simplify the complex upholstering, we set up a lean, single-piece-flow cut, sew and upholster line, which again slashed costs.

Along the way, we made engineering, component and assembly suggestions to keep the process efficient and the prices low.

 

Results

Our suggestions led to increased durability and performance, a huge plus for the product’s intended application. We were able to not only lower costs to where they needed to be, but our customer completely recouped the product-development investment and saw a positive return on top of that.

Working with G&T in this turnkey OEM furniture assembly fashion cost our customer 30% less than producing the product internally would’ve required.

We received a superior rating for on-time, complete and quality metrics over a 24-month period.