Duvivier, the award-winning French furniture company optimises material use and doubles throughput to meet increasing demand from different markets.
Duvivier Productions’ unique know-how in working with hides of exceptional quality has gained it a worldwide reputation, with outlets in Miami, Seoul, Shanghai, Beijing and Sydney.
This was officially recognised when it was one of the first to be awarded the status of Entreprise de Patrimoine Vivante or ‘living heritage company’ by the French Government in 2007. To date, it remains the only manufacturer of upholstered leather furniture to be rewarded in this way.
The challenge
Having chosen to preserve its traditional skills and know-how by keeping manufacturing in France, Duvivier Productions is positioned at the top end of the leather furniture market, producing high-quality furniture in the finest natural leathers. Costs have to be kept to a minimum, so that prices can be set at an attractive and commercially viable level.
As part of its development strategy, the company’s aim was to double the number of hides cut each day, to the same irreproachable quality, without increasing staffing levels.
Lectra’s value proposition
In addition to the introduction of the Versalis leather cutting solution itself, a strong emphasis was placed on change management. In an industry where traditional often means manual, technology can be perceived as a threat to craft skills, slowing adoption of new systems and delaying the payback on investment.
With a comparatively small team of 100 employees, it was important for Duvivier Productions to work with a company that understands its mindset.
Both Duvivier Productions and Lectra recognised the need to involve the teams of craftsmen and women from the very beginning and to support them during implementation and afterwards.
Even though other companies were also considered, Lectra was able to prove it is the best fit to meet Duvivier Productions’ specific needs. “We weren’t convinced that other suppliers could deliver better service and performance than Lectra,” says Didier Leruste, CEO, Duvivier Productions.
New levels of quality and performance
For Duvivier Productions, the Versalis has brought three main advantages. The first is the significant time saving brought by the continuous cutting line, with its ability to digitise, nest and cut the hides, all on the solution itself. The second is productivity, with unbeatable throughput, up to 140 hides per day, and the third is perfect cut quality.
The project has been a great success. Productivity has doubled, as required, with no need for additional recruitment. The company strategy is now to continue to manufacture products under the Canapés Duvivier name and also products for other luxury brands such as Hermès.
In addition, the company’s savoir-faire is much in demand by design offices and consultancies working on major prestigious projects.
A relationship built on trust
The company wanted a solution in place very quickly. Lectra’s project approach ensured that the whole process went smoothly, from investment decision to implementation in only three months.
“The ability to get a new production tool in place in less than three months, and to get it up and running so fast, we could only do that with Lectra. We’ve been working with them for a very long time; they’re more like a partner than a supplier,” says Dean Leullier, production manager, Duvivier Productions
