Lilly Industries Continues Expansion Of Guardsman Woodpro® Program

Furniture World Magazine

Lilly Industries, Inc., the largest supplier of finishes for the North American furniture industry, is expanding its furniture care service programs. The impetus behind the company's expansion of its Guardsman WoodPro® repair services to manufacturers and retailers is to help maintain the integrity of Lilly finishes. Guardsman WoodPro is the premier provider of on-site furniture repair and restoration in North America. As such, WoodPro franchises provide furniture manufacturers, retailers and consumers with upholstery repairs and cleaning, fabric protection, kitchen cabinet refurbishing, deck cleaning and sealing, and an exclusive stripping and finishing program as well as finish and structural repairs for casegoods. "We identified some important incentives to start WoodPro five years ago," said Tony Ziegler, director of franchise operations. "From this process we decided to create a program that helps residential and commercial furniture owners maintain their furniture conveniently, and at reasonable costs." Each WoodPro franchise owner is a trained professional who supplies finish repairs for water marks, cigarette burns, moving damage, gouges, scratches or pet damage. They also provide structural repairs, from regluing frames and loose joints to replacing parts and addressing other structural issues. In addition, WoodPro representatives perform upholstery services such as panel replacement, frame and spring repairs, button and cushion replacement, chair seat reupholstering, and fabric protection application. Other WoodPro services include stripping and refinishing with Guardsman Enviro-Plus, environmentally friendly products; deck cleaning and sealing to obtain resistance to stain and mildew; furniture enhancement including polishing, rub-outs, surface scratch removal, gloss blending, and sheen restoration to dull or hazy finishes; and cabinet refurbishing for residential customers. "Our objective is to be a one-stop shopping experience for home and business owners who need any type of furniture repair or care," Ziegler said. "Within five to seven years, we expect to have 400 WoodPro franchises across the nation and in other countries." According to Ziegler, extensive consumer research was conducted prior to the introduction of WoodPro. "What we found was that over 80 percent of those surveyed within our ideal customer category had no idea that the service or technology existed to repair fine furniture," he said. "This showed us our opportunity, as well as our challenge, to educate the customer." Another conclusion reached through a recent consumer survey indicated that furniture buyers ranked high-quality repair and refinishing services as important as furniture care products or service and warranty programs. "We also found that there was increased market demand to repair furniture damaged during shipping," Ziegler added. Prospective owners are often drawn to the program because of the extensive training provided by Lilly and low start-up costs, which range from $12,000 to $22,000. The training program covers technical and business aspects as well as marketing support. Each franchisee serves about 50,000 households and businesses within exclusive territories, with approximately 65 percent of the business being residential. "Most importantly, the WoodPro program allows us to follow a piece of furniture from the factory floor to the customer's living room floor," Ziegler said. "It is a critical component in Lilly's plan to provide a full range of products and services to help manufacturers, retailers, and consumers maintain the like-new condition of their furniture." Lilly ranks among the largest North American manufacturers of industrial coatings and specialty chemical products. Founded in 1865 in Indianapolis, Lilly supplies customers worldwide from plant and sales offices located in North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. The company acquired Guardsman Products, Inc. in 1996. For more information about Lilly Industries, Inc. and its capabilities, call (800) 253-3957, extension 856, e-mail at baltrub@guardsman.com, or visit our web sites at www.guardsman.com or www.lillyindustries.com.