Inside the Factory | Exterior Furniture
Get a #BehindTheScenes look at how our exterior metal furniture is made.
Tracking the process from raw materials to the finished article, see what goes into making your outdoor metal chairs, tables and stools first hand from the workshop floor.
Raw materials...
All metal is recycled and recyclable. Even the powder coating process has been perfected to create zero emissions, minimising the environmental footprint of each product.
It's a normal day in the workshop, with reels of metal over 1 km long on hand and ready to go into production.
There are many individual elements that make up a chair, table or stool. These elements can be cut, bent, molded and welded. Each manufacturing process uses large amounts of accurately directed pressure and can create thousands of pieces.
Fun facts:
- Some of the most complex designs are made up of over 300 individual elements and take over 72 hours to be put together
- High tech robot arms designed to speed up production can simultaneously bend metal in two directions
- All elements of the chairs are welded together by machines overseen by an operator, then checked and fixed up by hand
The Manufacture Process
1.Welding
Using a high heat created here by a blowtorch (not forgetting protective gear!) welding focuses the heat to a specific point between two metal surfaces. The parts will melt and fuse together creating a strong bond.
2. Powder Coating
After welding, all products are cleaned before being hung ready to be sprayed with . Each product is sprayed by a machine and checked by an operator. Any folding mechanism, such as folding chairs and tables are opened during this process to ensure complete coverage of the powder coating.
3. Packaging
It takes roughly an hour for the powder coating to dry before the furniture is ready to be wrapped, boxed up and sent off to their new homes in cafés, bars and hotels across the globe.
4. Testing
People are on hand all along the production line to make sure the chairs and tables are of the highest quality.
Testing also happens behind closed doors in specially controlled areas. Here exterior furniture picked out from the production line and put through its paces to make sure it can handle anything thrown at it by the elements.
5. QA Check
The final checks are done, ensuring every component and element of the chair, table, stool or sofa is 100% correct before boxing and loading for delivery.
The finished product...
All good furniture comes to those who wait, and the chairs and tables we get to enjoy once all the hard work has been done are definitely worth it.
Here's a look at some of our exterior metal furniture collections, as seen across the world, from side walk cafes to museum gardens.
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Inside Out Contracts
Building 16, 42 Creek Road, London SE8 3FN
Sales: +44(0)20 8305 3130
Production: +44(0)20 8305 3136
Design: +44(0)20 8305 3139
Company No. 02841010
VAT No. 752 0164 61
