Wurms Diversified Solutions contract upholstery operations match the formulation of the coated vinyl fabric to the exact needs of its customer. An ergonomic seating industry leader who had an existing line of upholstered laboratory and healthcare chairs, reached out to WDS. The prospective customer manufactured their own sewn cushions but had identified several issues. Concern number one, client had a vinyl covering with stitched seam where moisture and bacteria could seep. Next, client required a material for use with certified cleaners and disinfectants. Last, this would be a new product offering and volume was yet to be determined.
Valerie Sanderson, VP Administration, worked with the customer engineering, sales and purchasing staff to develop a seamless, vinyl upholstery solution that alleviated all concerns and continued to fit the existing foam and plywood substrates. In this case, customer startup volume did not warrant bringing in custom fabric runs of 1500 lineal yards from the mill. Despite this hurdle, Naugahyde’s Formfit II vacuum formable vinyl, available from distribution in smaller production lots in 19 stock colors, met the customer needs.
Wurms Diversified Solutions contract upholstery operations can pair the customer budget to the needs of its customer. A manufacturer and marketer of high-end tools and equipment for professional use in the American automotive repair facilities sought to modernize its own line of mechanics creeper seats. This product line design had been the same for decades, a cushion with a silk screened logo. Its annual usage would be approximately 40,000 pieces, broken into smaller weekly releases.
Our mission: to work with a tier one supplier who would reinvent this concept. Valerie Sanderson, VP Administration, worked with the customer engineering team to design a pad that incorporates an embossed logo graphic as a dimensional effect into the vacuum formed supported expanded vinyl (SEV) covering
Sanderson comments “Our in house tooling department drew the CAD file and cut multiple thermoformed upholstery plugs from Ren epoxy modeling board using one of our 5-axis CNC Routers. We then mounted these plugs to a 6-up base which produced the best yield for the standard vinyl roll width of 49.5 inches. Seamless vinyl covers were formed in black and then transferred along with the other necessary components from our other departments to our upholstery team for assembly using the presses. The resulting first cushion articles, produced on time and under a specified cost per unit, impressed the customer sales and marketing team.”
WDS continued to play a crucial role in managing this new customer relationship. As this program kicked off the company identified an economic order multiple and worked with the customer to establish a standard quantity per full pallet to help minimize the transportation burden of the customer. Wurms Diversified Solutions strives to be a high-performing supplier to all of its customers by streamlining processes that lead to better customer service and loyalty.
For further information please contact 419.492.2184 or email rfq@wurmsproducts.com