Surface & Panel dutifully tromped through Merchandise Mart this week, talking to industry connections and scouting trends. Attendance appeared to be up, and exhibitors reported being pleased with booth traffic. The overall mood seemed lighter and more optimistic than the past two years, when all anybody seemed to talk about were survival strategies. In fact, dealers and attendees alike were excited and engaged, talking projects instead of problems.

In the realm of office furniture, there are a few emerging trends that are guiding the industry. These ideas were evident at NeoCon from the permanent installation show rooms on floor ten, to the show exhibitors on seven and eight.

Bush Industries introduced two new product lines at NeoCon within the new BBF (Bush Business Furniture) commercial furniture brand. The modular desking and storage furniture solutions, Sector and Momentum, offer a product range geared toward mid-sized businesses that want high-quality office furniture at a reasonable price point. BBF’s modular design allows for flexibility in reconfiguring work stations. And Bush’s value-added service makes it easy for busy professionals to buy and install office furniture solutions that have enhanced communication, collaboration and cost control features.

“BBF recognizes office environments are evolving and new planning paradigms are gaining popularity,” said Mike Chefalo, vice president of product management, commercial products of Bush Industries, Inc. Here are some of the emerging trends in office furniture that are obvious in BBF’s new offerings.

Consolidation:

Businesses are moving more people into smaller spaces. In addition to reducing brick and mortar overhead, many companies find that close proximity helps with communication and idea generation. Flexible, modular systems that are lightweight and simple to reconfigure make it easy to share office spaces.

User Friendly Office Furniture

There is an inverse trend to consolidation that utilizes technology to keep far-flung colleagues communicating without spending resources to fly people around for face- to-face meetings. Growing usage of telecommunications and video conferencing has driven office furniture manufactures to create solutions for cord/device/power management.

Setting the Tone

Space drives function. Increasingly office spaces are becoming more open. Companies are creating spaces that are modern, clean, fresh and bright to convey the mood the organization is trying to cultivate within operations.

Hoteling

Designing an ideal office space to accommodate a business’ needs is commonly referred to as “officing.” An office with traveling consultants, sales reps or employees who work part time from home must plan accordingly. The need for occasional extra space drives a concept deemed “hoteling” by industry insiders. Rather than having a permanent installation of empty work stations, many companies employ furniture solutions that include extra storage/lockers where those on the go can store personal items. Additionally systems that are easy to rearrange help accommodate fluctuating in-house staff numbers.

Into the Now

Many office furniture companies used the recent lull in the economy to really study their market segment, and Bush is no exception. “Over the past year, Bush Industries has engaged in a significant undertaking focused on a new approach to the commercial office furniture market. We are proudly introducing this approach through the rebranding of our commercial division as BBF,” said Jim Sherbert, CEO of Bush Industries, Inc.  Look for an exclusive "Executive Perspective" interview with Mr. Sherbert in the summer issue of Surface & Panel.

“Our reasoning behind the BBF rebranding is pretty straightforward – we wanted to create a more flexible, contemporary brand that is well positioned for a changing economy, while designing products, services and programs that focus on growth opportunities in a dynamic market,” said Chefalo.