by Olivia Cahoon
Digital finishing solutions for textiles are advancing as customized décor grows in popularity. Industries such as apparel, automotive, home décor, and furniture consider digital technology in the production of fabric and upholstery.
With a digital finishing solution in house, manufacturers and retailers deliver custom products faster. As these processes continue to improve, traditional textile manufacturers look at the benefits of digital, such as cost reduction, customization, and shorter runs.
Digital Enters the Furniture Industry
Based in Mariano Comense, Italy, Frigerio Poltrone e Divani is a family business specializing in upholstery production. Part of the Brianza furniture cluster, the company was founded as an artisan workshop. Today it is an Italian furniture manufacturer characterized by constant innovation, artisanal production methods, and the finest materials.
The manufacturer currently produces two collections that are distinct in mood and identity—Frigerio, characterized by clean, contemporary lines and Vittoria Frigerio, a luxury line.
Frigerio Poltrone e Divani is known for its fine Italian design, craftsmanship, and customization. As a result, “Made in Italy” quality and detailed artisanship are defining elements of the brand. It’s also important that the company maintains a clear, consistent brand identify to remain competitive in the globalized furniture marketplace.
To bring its Made in Italy elegance to buyers worldwide, Frigerio Poltrone e Divani focuses on craftsmanship and technologically innovative equipment. Gianfranco Frigerio, owner, Frigerio Poltrone e Divani, offers, “in the furniture industry, it is important to create a common thread between tradition and innovation without losing one’s own identity.”
While the furniture manufacturer prides itself on only producing made-to-order furniture that allows each customer to express their unique style, providing a high level of customization under increasingly shorter lead times is difficult. Simultaneously, respecting the company’s own strict quality standards presents a challenge.
As market forces pushed the company to deliver products increasingly faster, Frigerio needed to accelerate its production speed without sacrificing quality or customizability.
With a strong belief in the value of merging innovative technology with quality, the furniture manufacturer approached Lectra for a solution. “In the field of advanced technology providers, Lectra stands out as an innovative company that knows how to make products that meet each customer’s individual business needs,” explains Frigerio.
After consulting with Lectra’s team of experts, Frigerio decided to invest in the Vector iX—a low-ply fabric cutting solution developed to respond to the needs and challenges of low-volume furniture manufacturers. The Vector iX combines lean-oriented production processes with maximum uptime to deliver improved speed and better-quality products at a low cost per cut. Compared to other systems, it offers high cutting quality and performance as well as increased material savings.
With the Vector iX in house, Frigerio Poltrone e Divani accelerates the speed of its production process while maximizing fabric efficiency. Lectra’s automatic nesting software allows the furniture manufacturer to reduce nesting time from an average of 14 to two minutes.
Automatic nesting also allowed the company to increase efficiency by five percent compared to previous manual methods. Cutting and offloading steps—performed on a conveyor system—now take 16 instead of 27 minutes to complete.
According to Frigerio, Frigerio Poltrone e Divani and Lectra are now business partners that recognize the importance of an integrated and automated workflow for optimized production and cost savings without compromising on quality—making the final product even more competitive.
“We believe that collaboration with Lectra provides continuous process improvement, in terms of production optimization, operator efficiency, and waste reduction,” adds Frigerio.
Increased Savings
Frigerio Poltrone e Divani steps up furniture production with Lectra. By investing in the Vector iX, the Italian furniture manufacturer increased fabric efficiency by five percent, reduced nesting time from 14 to two minutes, and reduced cutting and offloading by 11 minutes. The company continues to partner with Lectra and invest in innovative digital solutions for manufacturing.
Sep2020, Industrial Print Magazine
