A leading South Wales furniture company is celebrating another round of sustainable office refurbishments after completing work at two Swansea locations.
Baglan-based Ministry of Furniture, a well-established provider of furniture that creates inspirational working and learning places, undertook work at Swansea Council’s civic offices, providing the local authority with a range of desks and chairs, 90 per cent of which was remanufactured, old stock and upcycled for continued use. The work was done in parallel with Rhondda-based Greenstream Flooring, which provided the environmentally-sustainable flooring.
The office makeover, on Oystermouth Road, is part of a council-led pilot scheme, basing 130 members of staff at the Civic Centre, and comes amid moves to create modern, open plan and hot desking areas, making better use of the building’s space. Though the offices are set to be part of a new regeneration scheme, the Council confirmed that the agile furniture will be re-used in any new offices.
Commenting on the project, Councillor Clive Lloyd, Cabinet Member for Transformation and Performance, said: “Agile working of this nature will give officers better opportunity to work together, will release valuable office space to potentially generate income and will decrease the cost of running our estate.”
Across the other side of the city at its Matrix House base, Public Health Wales (PHW) benefitted from a delivery of 94 G64R task chairs. Remanufactured and brought back to life to reflect a modern office environment, the G64R chairs – a signature product of Ministry of Furniture and a staple item in any office – were brought back to Wales in partnership with global seating giant Orangebox, reupholstered with new fabric and cushioning, given new backs, and fitted with new castors, arms and levers. The remanufactured chairs boast substantial reductions in carbon and water footprints and are a fraction of the cost of the original. Programme Manager at PHW, Paula Walters, said: “We were really keen to build on the success of the G64R task chairs that have been used in our Cardiff headquarters. We are really pleased to work in partnership with Ministry of Furniture and Orangebox as they share our commitment to circularity as a means of promoting sustainability, benefits to our economy and our environmental approach.”
A business with social aims, Ministry of Furniture was formed in the wake of the Remploy factory closure in Port Talbot in 2013, and has offered innovative furniture solutions for education settings while expanding its presence in the workplace and leisure furniture markets They also support organisations committed to positive social impacts and sustainability as the remanufacturing market continues to grow.
Ministry of Furniture’s managing director, Graham Hirst, said: “We were excited to work with both Swansea Council and Public Health Wales to help deliver modern and agile workplace furniture. The vast majority of the work we completed focused on the reuse and remanufacturing of old stock and we are proud of the great and sustainable outcomes that have been achieved in working with both partners to create inspirational workplaces.”
A finalist at a recent awards ceremony in the collaboration and green/sustainable manufacturer categories, Ministry of Furniture is set to expand its business and will soon be opening a new site in Ystalyfera as demand for remanufactured office furniture increases.