Lectra, one of the world leaders in integrated technology solutions dedicated to industries using soft materials, recently hosted an executive level event in Nottingham dedicated to the UK upholstery market.
The interactive event brought together an impressive array of furniture manufacturers, and influential industry associations to discuss ways to meet the challenges of the market, in order to remain competitive and profitable in an increasingly fashion-led environment. The session began with a market overview and a powerful demonstration of how, using 3D technology, a prototype of a sofa can be created within just 40 minutes.
Headlining the event was James Truswell, development manager at QFC, who spoke about the importance of design at QFC and how implementing DesignConcept, Lectra’s 3D prototyping solution, has led to improved quality, smarter operations and reduced time to market.
“Our ability to do more with less is a key way that we drive the business at QFC. Working in partnership with Lectra has enabled us to become a leaner and more responsive organisation, allowing us to exploit our design and development resources more efficiently so that we are able to satisfy our customers’ needs and leverage more growth without increasing overheads.”
A lively Q&A session followed with participants from furniture retailer and manufacturer DFS, QFC and Lectra. Harvey Ellis, production director at DFS, commented: “DFS chose to partner with Lectra over 20 years ago. Lectra has always been the obvious choice for us, and we will continue to work closely together for foreseeable future.”
Celine Choussy Bedouet, marketing director for automotive and furniture at Lectra, concluded: “It is clear that the UK market is driven by the need to continually adapt to meet customer demand, whilst maintaining quality and business growth. I have been delighted to have engaged with so many furniture designers and manufacturers at this event.
“I feel that the audience took away the message that to optimise your business, you must first embrace the concept of change. With its global network of experts, Lectra can support this transformational change, across every aspect of the furniture manufacturing process.”
