Innovation in rental chair design from New Zealand

August 2001 - Press Release - ALLOYFOLD NZ

The New Zealand "Alloyfold" chair has been making waves in our industry for some time with its much-heralded lightweight aluminium construction. But more recent innovation and the mission behind it, makes Pathway Engineering's product quite intriguing.

The Alloyfold was designed in New Zealand ten years ago as an alternative to the "heavy" steel folding chair design and quickly became the chair of choice in that rental industry, a position it still holds today.

Pathway Production Manager, Mike Goatley, was involved in the early design stages and says the product was not without its challenges. Goatley says "Most people will tell you that it's not possible to make a folding chair strong enough using aluminium, but we worked carefully with a NZ smelter to create a custom blend of hard alloy that responds especially well to an annealing process. We refined this over time to create an extremely strong product."

That's as much as Goatley will say about the process but the company is proud of the fact that independent industrial testing on the product classified the Alloyfold at Level 5 on the British Standard, which is the highest level there is. Aluminium furniture is typically classed at Level 3.

But what has been a talking point among rental owners here in America are the unique properties of aluminium. That is its light weight [the Alloyfold is 30% lighter than a steel equivalent], and the fact that aluminium does not rust. Rental owners are seeing lower transport costs, quicker installation and longevity in service as serious considerations.

Another interesting difference is the way the frame is finished. The process is known as anodising which is a chemical alteration of the material surface structure, rather than a coating. The anodic layer is typically 10 microns thick and is extremely resistant to the rigours of our industry, making the frames last longer.

Now the company has further refined the design and this year released the "Alloyfold II" to the rental industry. Managing Director Murray Kennedy says, "The Alloyfold needed fine tuning to maximise its potential, and this year we tinkered with the design a little. We wanted to make the product stack extremely tightly to allow maximum quantities to be moved and stored and at the same time improve the stability of a stack".

The Alloyfold II achieves that with an unprecedented 4'10" high stack of 50 chairs, and also with increased stability through the use of small crimps in the alloy tube that allow the chairs to "nest" with each other at both ends.

Pathway Engineering is supplying the Alloyfold direct from New Zealand in container lots, or through McCourt Manufacturing out of Arkansas. They are excited about their innovative "Alloyfold II", but if you talk to these Kiwis a little more you soon realise that it's not only the product that's unconventional.

This company is also a registered charity and all Alloyfold profits are used to assist the poor and disadvantaged in their community. They do this by providing accommodation and assistance of various kinds, but also by providing manufacturing jobs for those that most need them.

You can learn more about the Alloyfold and Pathway Engineering at www.alloyfold.com