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28th January 2021
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FIRA awards at the House of Lords
An event held by FIRA, the furniture industry's leading body, at the House of Lords last Friday, was a great success. Over 230 guests attended the prestigious annual event hosted by Lord Hoyle of Warrington which took place in the Cholmondley Room and on the terrace overlooking the Thames.
Phil Reynolds, FIRA's Chief Operating Officer, says: "The night was a great success, with thanks again to Lord Hoyle for hosting and to everyone involved in the organisation of the event. During the past year we have been focusing on consolidating our services and strengthening our team of experts. We have welcomed 40 new FIRA members, achieved a 9% rise in membership for The Furniture Ombudsman and FIRA Service Technicians added new clients.
"This event provides a fantastic opportunity to meet our new members and catch up with long-standing members, associates, clients and friends. I look forward to working with them in the coming months."
During the speeches by FIRA's Chief Operating Officer, Phil Reynolds, FIRA Council Chairman, Michael Powell, and Lord Hoyle of Warrington, it was also mentioned that FIRA has made several new appointments in testing, ergonomics, consultancy and marketing departments.
FIRA took the opportunity to present awards and certifications on the night, including the Innovation Award, Ergonomics Excellence, FIRA Gold Certification and the Furniture Industry Sustainability Programme (FISP) Certification.
Innovation Award winners:
* Blum UK - Clip Top Blumotion hinge
* Flute Office - FlutePRO Desk (cardboard desk)
* project:ff&e - Fortis range of Kitchen Products, Fortis Fascia Panels, Fortis Worktop Jointing Strip and Fortis Worktop Liquid Director
* Vita Cellular Foams (UK) with Westmeria Healthcare - Mattress and Cover treated with Microban
FIRA's Innovation Award offers companies a competitive advantage through differentiation, underlining the uniqueness and usability of the product. The award positions companies at the forefront of leading edge creativity in the furniture industry.
Ergonomics Excellence Award winners:
* Dataflex - Viewlite Plus monitor arm
* Ergonomic Cafe - Arrow Tablet Stand
* Humanscale - M/flex monitor arm
* Interstuhl - Movy chair
The FIRA Ergonomics Excellence Award identifies genuine ergonomic excellence in both domestic and workplace furniture products by clearly distinguishing those that are outstanding from other products in the marketplace. In order to receive the Award, stringent ergonomic criteria, safety, user-friendliness and the comfort and wellbeing of the user are considered, as well as whether the product is fit for purpose both structurally and ergonomically.
The Furniture Industry Sustainability Programme (FISP) Certification was awarded to:
Connection Seating
FISP, which is audited by FIRA International, was launched in 2006 by the industry to support and promote sustainable development. Today, FISP is the standard of sustainable excellence for companies across the furniture supply chain and is recognised as the industry's environmental benchmark.
FIRA Gold Installation Certification was awarded to:
Contract Kitchens (New Milton) - FIRA Installation Gold for kitchen, bedrooms and bathrooms (the first Independent Retailer Scheme member)
Chaucer Furniture Logistics - FIRA Installation Gold for office interiors (the first member in this new sector)
Mark Two Distributions - FIRA Installation Gold for kitchen, bedrooms and bathrooms
FIRA Gold Product Certification was awarded to:
* Symphony - Aquadi bathroom range (the first in this new sector)
* Wilsonart - Range of solid surface worktops called Earthstone
The FIRA Gold Certification scheme is a quality certification mark for a product or its installation within the furniture and kitchen industries and signifies that it has been assessed against specified performance levels through independent tests or evaluation. It indicates that products manufactured or installed will provide a consistent level of performance through integration with an approved quality management scheme. Consistency in production and installation quality is verified through regular audit testing and inspections.
Image: Blum UK receiving the FIRA Innovation Award: (from left) Michael Powell (FIRA Council Chairman), Lord Hoyle of Warrington, James Farmer (Blum UK), Jonathan Wan (Blum UK), and Phil Reynolds (FIRA's Chief Operating Officer).
T: +44 (0)1438 777 700
E: [email protected]
W: www.fira.co.uk
14th June 2013