Lectra, the world leader in integrated technology solutions dedicated to industries using fabrics, leather, technical textiles and composite materials, is pleased to announce the signature of a memorandum of understanding with KUKA, China’s leading furniture brand. Li Donglai, President, KUKA, and Edouard Macquin, Executive Vice-President, Sales, Lectra, convened at KUKA’s headquarters in Hangzhou, China to conclude the agreement.

Lectra will work with KUKA to transform its upholstered furniture manufacturing process, from design and product development through to production. In addition to providing the latest technology, Lectra will also provide its 30 years of expertise and premium services to ensure the success and continuous improvement of KUKA’s production processes.

“KUKA is seeking to explore transformation through process integration, digitization and automation. By leveraging Lectra’s experience and best practices in the CAD / CAM field, we will be able to create a complete solution for the upholstered furniture industry with Lectra," explained Li Donglai.

In recent years, China's furniture industry has suffered from rising labor and material costs. This is particularly troubling for China’s traditional furniture companies. To create a role model for Smart Manufacturing in China’s upholstered furniture industry, and to inject new ideas into China’s traditional furniture firms, Lectra will provide KUKA with cutting-edge solutions—including DesignConcept and Versalis ® automated leather cutting solution—for furniture design and product development, production and related processes.

Implementation of these solutions will provide KUKA with three strategic advantages. Firstly, the company will be able to create efficient and smart furniture design and production processes, thereby reducing the length of the new product design cycle and accelerating decision making processes. Secondly, accurate pre-costing and technological feasibility simulations will ensure project feasibility and product quality in the early stages of product development. And, lastly, physical prototyping needs and product development time will be significantly reduced. In addition, Lectra's Professional Services team will also provide KUKA with comprehensive skills training, best practices and process optimization consulting services that will enable KUKA to achieve operational excellence in the cutting room and enhance its overall competitiveness.

"In addition to its status as a leading brand in China's furniture industry, KUKA has been internationally renowned for years. This is closely related to its world-leading marketing philosophy and continuous exploration of digitization and automation. We are honored to work with an industry leader like KUKA. At the same time, the cooperation also provides Lectra with a great opportunity to verify its core design capabilities and product development solutions. In the future, we will help KUKA to fully implement the digitization and intelligent manufacturing from product design to development and production, so that KUKA can achieve their strategic transformation imperative and increase market penetration in China's ever-changing furniture market," says Edouard Macquin.

(Source: furnituretoday.com)