Partner Profile: Ameriwood Industries

Ameriwood Industries, a division of Dorel Industries Inc. (TSX: DII.A DII.B; NASDAQ: DIIB) is one of North America's leading ready-to-assemble (RTA) furniture manufacturers for mass-merchants nationwide. When Hagerman & Company representatives first began discussions with Ameriwood Industries on the design solutions they needed, Ameriwood shared its vision for improved workflow. Only a few years ago, the company’s design development process was expensive and time-consuming. It required building physical prototypes of each desk, cabinet or console to be manufactured for the customer to review and accept, or to make modifications. Any modifications to the piece required manufacturing yet another prototype.

Today, Ameriwood uses Autodesk® VIZ and mental ray solutions to render its furniture design, creating digital, photo-realistic renderings, which give Ameriwood clients a virtual means to evaluate the furniture’s design and make changes if needed.

These advancements in the design process have helped Ameriwood increase sales and gain competitive advantage. Virtual renderings also bridge the geographic distance between Ameriwood staff in Wright City, Missouri, its global network of suppliers and the company’s three manufacturing facilities, says Ameriwood designer David Schwartz.

“Our customers are always surprised when we return changes to them so quickly,” Schwartz says. “One of our key customers recently shared with our (Ameriwood) team that we offer some of the most progressive designs of any company they work with. VIZ is a great tool that gives our designers a big creative edge,” Schwartz said.

Ken Christensen, Hagerman & Company, Inc. regional manager worked with Schwartz and other Ameriwood staff, to help the company move from an older, more primitive rendering package to a complete 3D rendering solution. In addition, Ameriwood now uses Autodesk Inventor® software for its designs, and shares and stores data using Autodesk Vault®.

While both Christensen and Schwartz say the transition brought with it the usual measure of heartburn involved in this type of transition, subscription-based services Ameriwood purchased from Hagerman & Company included training and implementation services to integrate the newly-added software with Ameriwood’s existing operating systems.

“I’d recommend the subscription route to anyone looking for a bundled option for design software,” Schwartz said.

 

 

This page last edited on Tuesday, October 24, 2006