Buying tables and chairs? The use and abuse suffered by table and chair inventories have led many manufacturers to think outside the white wedding chair box and come up with new designs and materials to create tables and chairs that look good and will last.“Purchasing tables and chairs is a major financial commitment,” says Craig Clarke, vice president of Palmer Snyder Furniture Systems in Lexington, Ky. “Figuring how long a product will last, as well as the cost to keep that product in working condition, takes a lot of research and thinking. It all relates to residual value.”Well-made tables and chairs should pay for themselves within one year. If a rental store can get eight to 10 years of use from each one, the revenue each item contributes to the bottom line is dramatic, says Clarke.“Resin is the hot word today,” says Clarke. “Wooden folding chairs are being replaced by resin because such chairs require less maintenance and can be used both indoors and out.”The rotationally molded synthetic material creates a clean, crisp look.
Rental operators experience a financial savings over the long haul due to reduced labor costs, says Clarke.“When resin chairs were first introduced, the sides on the chairs looked incomplete, outlined rather than solid, so rental operators weren’t excited about them,” says John Jakob, owner of Horsefeather Trading Co. in Dallas. “Now, with rotational molding, the sides are solid even though the chairs remain hollow, so they look just like the white wooden wedding chair.”But just because all resin chairs look the same, that doesn’t mean they’re made the same. The life of the units vary. “For the greatest return and longevity, UV inhibitors need to be put in the resin mix to help prevent the chairs from yellowing and becoming brittle,” says Jakob. “Some manufacturers use only a UV-inhibitor coating, which helps with discoloration but not the durability.” “Resin chairs average about $30 per chair,” says Clarke. “But with wood, even if the initial cost is comparable, you need to add a minimum of $8 to $10 per chair to cover the cost of sanding and repainting them each year.”
The resin folding chair has been well-received, but the resin Chiavari is still evolving. “We find that change comes slow in the rental industry,” says Clarke. “Rental operators won’t make a whole inventory change until a product is proven. But once they are convinced, they move fast.“For example, when we introduced a special edging for our tables to enhance durability, many operators were reluctant,” says Clarke. “Now over half of our tables sold to the rental market include that edging. But it took more than three years to win the operators over.”“The old folding chair has been a rental headache from the beginning,” says Barry Stauber, president of National Public Seating, Clifton, N.J., “We have made a serious investment to create a durable, lightweight, plastic folding chair with a metal seat frame to help overcome standard problems.”Stauber says the new chairs are two to three times stronger than the company’s previous models, stack 36 high and — because of the powder coating — the finish won’t crack or rust when the chairs are used outside.
Even with the added durability, each chair only weighs 8 lbs. “We are one of the last American manufacturers of folding chairs,” says Charles McCourt, president of McCourt Manufacturing, Fort Smith, Ark. “Our chairs are static-tested and can support approximately 700 lbs. The same holds true for our tables, which feature a blow-molded polyethylene top supported on a metal frame.” New Zealand’s Alloyfold chair has done well in the U.S. market, too, says Sales Manager Antony Brett — “in part, I think, because it does address an ongoing issue in the industry, i.e., the desire to reduce the maintenance overhead associated with steel folding chairs.”Steel chairs need to be repainted when the painted frame chips or is scratched. Otherwise the exposed steel rusts, says Brett. In addition, a steel-framed chair will rust internally if it’s cleaned with a chair washer, he says. “Our chair frame cannot rust and in its satin anodized form requires no maintenance aside from occasional cleaning,” he says.
“Now I think rental store owners are looking a lot harder at cost-of-ownership issues rather than simply focusing on purchase price.”Along with more durable products, rental customers are asking for more efficient ways to move and store such products. Many manufacturers have put a lot of effort into creating transport equipment, but there are too many types of equipment to offer just one or two solutions. More are getting automated with racking systems and lift gates on trucks to make handling easier and to protect their inventory investment, says Clarke.“I’ve heard the more seasoned rental people say that the real business they are in is the business of moving and transporting furniture,” says Clarke. “Those that do it most efficiently are the ones who ultimately succeed.”Weight is another factor to consider, because of worker’s comp issues. Many rental operators are looking for lighter weight products. The typical 8-ft. banquet table weighs 62 lbs. Some plastics are well below 50 lbs. and the new, lighter plywoods come in right at 50 lbs., says Clarke.Besides the move to lighter weight products, what other trends are table manufacturers seeing?“