News

Altra Furniture plans new showroom in China

October 9, 2011

Renovation has begun on the new Dorel Home Furnishing showrooms in Dongguan, China. The facility will house displays for Altra Furniture, along with showrooms for other Dorel Home Furnishing divisions.

In addition to the showrooms, the facility will house the Altra Design Center with on-site design and engineering capability. Designers will be able to create products and then evaluate sample quality in the same facility. An in-house lab is being built to test products in-house, including hardware performance, finish color and laminate durability.

"Customer presentations in China are scheduled so often, that we really needed a large facility that could accommodate our products," said Altra vice president Stephen Wahrhaftig. "Visitors will be able to evaluate designs and styles, while working with our in-house design and engineering team at the same time. This will allow rapid development at the cost and quality required for a project."

Adjacent to the showrooms will be a new regional office to house the growing team of engineers, quality control inspectors and logistics personnel, as well as designers used by Altra and other divisions.

The showroom will also feature a Buyer's Lounge area, functioning as a remote office for visitors.

"Buyers visiting China have a lot to do in a limited amount of time. By providing a quiet space with secure WiFi, desks, scanners and printers they can save time as well as the high costs of hotel business centers," said Wahrhaftig.

The Altra Furniture Showroom is centrally located in Dongguan, minutes from several popular hotels. The showroom will afford an opportunity to hold training sessions with suppliers, given by Dorel engineers and quality control inspectors.

Construction is expected to be completed by November 1, and a grand opening is scheduled for early 2012.