Lead Forensics

Furniture trolley production helps companies move and store their furniture

Moving and storing furniture has its challenges. Chairs, sofas and other items have awkward shapes and are often heavy. Furniture trolley production is about designing and producing different types of furniture trolleys suitable for each item of furniture.

Major companies like IKEA, DFS and Furniture Village carry a large range of furniture. Office furniture stockists have specialist furniture for business. Obviously, one type of furniture trolley is not suitable for all different furniture items, so furniture trolley manufactures have to provide a versatile range of trolleys.

Chairs and sofas

Chairs come in all shapes and sizes so one furniture trolley is not suitable for all types. There are stackable chairs, dining chairs, easy chairs and ones that come with detachable cushions and seats. Chair manufacturers may need to store and move chairs using trolleys that hold separate components such as legs, cushions and seats.

To maximise storage space, trolleys need to be able to have several levels to store chairs and chair parts to at least four levels in height.

Sofas present particular challenges. You cannot safely stack sofas on top of each other. Sofas sold with three-piece suits need to be stacked with two easy chairs. Specialist trolleys are used to carry a sofa with another sofa or two chairs stacked on an upper level.

Mattresses

Mattresses are best stacked vertically to be economical with space. Trolleys can hold around eight mattresses together, with dividers between them to make it easier to remove a single mattress.

Some mattresses can be rolled up for storage and require furniture trolleys that hold several of them in a way so that any one of them can be easily removed.

Flat pack furniture

Many furniture items are sold flat packed. These are easy to transport with standard flat trolleys or sack trolleys, although large boxed items need box trolleys.

Tabletops and wide thin items can be stacked vertically on A-frame trolleys.

Awkwardly shaped items

Item like coffee tables, lamps and other unusually shaped goods not packed in boxes can be moved using a flat truck with two side pieces, one lengthways and the other widthway at the front. Unstable items can be leant against either side to prevent them from falling.

Bespoke solutions

Standard furniture trolley production is adequate for most companies in the industry, but sometimes they might have furniture that no standard trolley can handle. Fortunately, there is a solution – bespoke trolleys.

Most furniture trolley production is done in Britain in small batches, and much of the fabrication is performed by hand. Skilled metalworkers bend then weld tubular steel lengths to form trolleys. Strong swivel casters are added to make the trolley easy to move and steer. Simple bespoke options like changing the dimensions of the trolley are easy to do and should not add much extra cost to the job.

A redesigned trolley is more complex. The best way to do this is for a designer from the furniture trolley manufacture to visit the premises of the company to observe their moving and storing requirements. They will examine the item(s) that need special trolleys. After discussing possible solutions the designer will go back to the factory to create a prototype model that can be tested with the furniture. After any modifications are made the finished trolleys will be fabricated and delivered.

If you choose a manufacturer that does all the fabrication itself without outsourcing any of it, the whole process from initial discussions to finished trolleys should not take long.

What you need from furniture trolleys

Obviously, furniture trolleys should be fit for purpose, and they should do the job they are intended for well. You also want a trolley that is reliable and will last a long time. A trolley that breaks when moving can halt production or the delivery process.

Furniture trolleys made from tubular steel are best, as this is a lightweight but very strong material. It is important that trolleys have good quality casters that make the trolley easy to move and steer.

Trolleys should be made by skilled metalworkers whose welded joints are strong. A furniture trolley should last many years, even when used on a daily basis.

It helps to use a company that both manufactures and supplies furniture trolleys. Establish a long term relationship with them so that they get to know your furniture business and what trolleys you regularly use. You need a manufactured that is adaptable and is ready to modify their furniture trolley designs to better meet your requirements.

Safety

Furniture trolleys are generally a safe way to move and store furniture, but using them is not a zero-risk operation. Staff can suffer from musculoskeletal injuries if they do not follow correct safety procedures, and heavy items like sofas can cause muscle strain if not lifted properly by two people. A furniture trolley with a heavy load needs strength to initially start it moving.

All workers need to be trained in ways to safely lift, pull, and push. A documented risk assessment needs to be done in accordance with the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) guidelines. All staff using furniture trolleys should be physically fit, and not under the influence of drink or drugs.

The area where furniture trolleys are operated should be flat and free of debris and objects that could be a collision hazard.

No special workwear is a needed for furniture trolleys, but protective gloves are advisable if handling furniture with rough edges or sharp corners.

The future

The furniture industry is not without its challenges. Like all retailers, some furniture chains are doing well whilst others struggle. However, there is still a high demand for furniture, especially online. Those in the industry need to store large amounts of furniture and rely on quality furniture trolleys to move it from storage to dispatch.

In the future, automated driverless furniture trolleys may become the norm, but in the meantime, furniture trolley production continues to meet the demands of furniture manufacturers and retailers, and will no doubt evolve with future demands.

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