Oakland, CA (July 21, 2010)—Friant and Associates, manufacturer of high-quality, low-cost office furniture, is celebrating twenty profitable years of business this month. Founded by Paul Friant, the company has since expanded from a one-man repair and installation service to a global manufacturing company with international facilities and worldwide dealer representation. By offering innovative turn-key and customizable office furniture, including panel systems, reception stations, conference tables, chairs, desks and storage options, with a myriad of configuration, material and finish choices, Friant meets the needs of all types of businesses and, as a result, has thrived despite the industry’s downturn for the last three years.
“Since day one, we’ve been committed to a simple belief – quality and affordability can go hand-in-hand,” said Paul Friant, CEO/Founder of Friant and Associates. “We may be the industry underdog, but 20 years into it we’re a successful, hard-working company built on marrying the two, fully bootstrapped by the ever-increasing market demand for our products.”
One of the only office furniture manufacturers to grow during the recession, Friant is uniquely positioned in the industry with products that offer the triad of quality, design and affordability in these lean times. At the core of Friant’s business philosophy is that contract furniture needn’t be cost-prohibitive to hit design and quality benchmarks. In effect, Friant simply believes in making the most appealing furniture accessible to everyone. By streamlining the sales, manufacturing, ordering and installation processes – and having complete ownership over its facilities – Friant keeps overhead minimal and passes the savings on to its customers. Unlike other furniture manufacturers, Friant prices its products based on actual costs and not what the market will bear.
“When we first began working with Friant, they were one of many lines we carried,” says Thomas Michiels of T. Mark Interiors. “Today, we lead with their products. They simply meet every project need successfully; the quality they offer at their price point is unbeatable.”
With a recession-proof business model, Friant has been steadily growing while the contracting furniture industry sales have shrunk back to 1992 levels.
“We have a lot to celebrate, with sales on track for 30 percent growth in 2010,” affirms founder Paul Friant.
About Friant
Friant and Associates, manufacturer of high-quality, low-cost office furniture systems, offers five furniture lines – including the best-selling System 2 and highly flexible Tiles panel systems; Gitana casegoods, Willow reception stations, and Mesa conference tables – as well as chairs, desks and storage options. In addition, Friant meets individual office environment needs with custom manufacturing in their Oakland, California woodshop. The privately held company is headquartered in Northern California and serves the U.S. and international markets through a network of more than 500 dealers. For more information, please visit http://www.friant.com
