Focus: Office furniture remanufacturing--Everything old is new again

Office World News, Oct 1999 by Ellis, Alicia A

Eddy Edwards, president of Southern Office Systems located in Chattanooga, TN echoes the previous sentiments. "For twelve years, I managed a Steelcase dealership and saw a growing trend in remanufactured workstations."

In 1994, Edwards left the dealership to pursue this trend and started Southern. "The company has grown 25 percent a year since, with remanufactured systems constituting 95 percent of our sales."

STACKING UP THE BENEFITS

By replacing worn parts; repainting or relaminating cabinets and desks; and reupholstering panels and chairs, office furniture is given a new life. Existing corporations are able to have their old furniture remanufactured or remanufactured pieces coordinated with existing furniture to give their offices an updated appearance, which, as we all know, improves employee productivity and creativity. Startup companies that may not have been able to afford quality new furniture, can reap the benefits of remanufacturing with "like new" furnishings at a fraction of the cost. It is estimated that companies can save an average of 30 to 50 percent by buying recycled.

This is also a benefit to manufacturers of office systems whose products are being introduced to companies that could otherwise not afford new furnishings but, in the future, will remember the quality of their furniture and the company to go to when they need or want to buy new.

Remanufacturing is not only a costsaving alternative, but an environmentally friendly alternative. It is estimated that remanufacturing just 40 cubicles will divert one tractor-trailer load of furniture from a landfill.

"Environmental concerns are important to people," said Scott D. Parker, director of industry affairs for the Remanufactured Industries Council International (RICI), a nonprofit trade association charged with uniting and promoting the entire remanufacturing industry. "Often times, `green' products, while they may be the right thing to buy, may cost up to 20 percent more. We're talking about something here that is good for the environment, that usually costs less than a new product, and that performs like a new product. What more could you ask for? It's not a hard decision to make."

Due to the numerous lives it gives a products, remanufacturing also conserves natural resources. For each pound of new material used in remanufacturing, five to nine pounds of original materials are conserved. By diverting products and natural resources from the solid waste stream, landfill use is reduced and the lives of existing resources are extended.

"You don't have to be an environmental activist to appreciate what we do," said Chuck Sonntag, president and founder of RACE, Recycled Alternative Corporate Environments, a Boca Raton, FL-based remanufacturer of modular office furniture systems. "What's good for the environment can be good for business. "Founded in 1993, RACE offers complete project management services from design to final delivery and installation of recycled office furniture systems, including custom options and their exclusive RACE gable panel which is a top-angled panel that allows tall and short panels to be connected while maintaining an aesthetically pleasing panel flow.