LA-Z-BOY'S DEVELOPS EXCLUSIVE UNIBODY CONSTRUCTION

Furniture World Magazine

Consumers seeking reclining chairs offering strength and durability in addition to style and comfort need look no further than La-Z-Boy. Through extensive research and product development, the world's leading producer of reclining chairs has developed a formula for what has proven to be the strongest chair frame in the industry. First introduced in 1989 on La-Z-Boy's highly successful Reclina-Rest chairs, Unibody frame construction initially was developed to compete with other entry-level, competitively priced recliners. La-Z-Boy quickly learned that its Unibody frame offered much more than simply a less expensive product. Unibody frames far surpassed La-Z-Boy's stringent strength tests and beat the competition with regard to durability. In fact, the new design produced the strongest, most durable frame in the industry. "We monitored the performance of other recliner frames and identified spots that weakened over time or under pressure," explained Dave Westendorf, vice president of product development for La-Z-Boy Incorporated. " Then we set out to find ways to eliminate or strengthen those weak areas and create the most structurally sound frame available. Unibody was the result." La-Z-Boy's Unibody frames incorporate one-piece side panels made of hardwood laminates for maximum strength. There are no side panel joints, which means all potential breaking points are eliminated. Unlike other recliners that have wood and dowel construction, La-Z-Boy's Unibody construction process utilizes a heavy-gauge steel rear rail bolted directly into the chair frame for superior strength and added durability. Additionally, in a Unibody frame, the side panels are secured to the front end of the chair at four separate points with heavy-gauge steel brackets creating a box frame construction. Many other recliner manufacturers bolt the side panels in only two areas and use staples to secure them to the front and rear rails. Furthermore, the patented La-Z-Boy reclining mechanism is built into the Unibody frame making it an integral part of the frame for added strength and longer life. When tested against competitors' designs, La-Z-Boy's Unibody frame design outperformed them all. Where other designs failed, Unibody frames maintained their structural integrity and withstood even greater amounts of force. "We have been so pleased with the performance of our Unibody frames," said Westendorf. " Since the first Reclina-Rest chair was introduced with the new Unibody frame design, we've literally had no failures." That success gave La-Z-Boy the confidence to move forward and introduce the assembly process to its entire line of reclining chairs. Currently, all La-Z-Boy recliners are made with Unibody frames. Furthermore, La-Z-Boy has protected its Unibody frame from being copied by obtaining a patent on the design. "Let's face it. Consumers can be pretty tough on their recliners," commented Westendorf. " These chairs have to endure years of being sat in, reclined in and motioned back and forth. The strength and durability inherent in our Unibody frames means we can be confident that our chairs are going to stay together and provide consumers with comfort for a very long time." Headquartered in Monroe, Mich., La-Z-Boy Incorporated is the nation's largest manufacturer of upholstered furniture and the world's leading producer of reclining chairs. E-mail link: cwinkler@la-z-boy.com