Necessity is the mother of invention, and it’s certainly true of Furnlink, a local supplier of furniture to the hospitality industry.
As COVID-19 restrictions were put in place, hospitality orders declined but a new market emerged – the supply of sanitiser stands.
Daniel Walshaw, Furnlink’s Marketing Manager, said they moved quickly to meet the market demand.
“During the pandemic we were approached by a business associate who had the idea of making a hand sanitiser stand for our bases,” Daniel said.
“We were unsure how this would work, however with the hospitality industry shut down we saw it as an opportunity to try and move some of our high stocks of table bases and provide the market with a stand that could be adjusted to suit the many bottle sizes of hand sanitiser becoming available.”
The Furnlink team was delighted with the demand.
“We have been blown away by the response.
“We sold hundreds within days of first releasing the unit.
“We’ve also been able to engage with a lot of new customers using this product and give our distributers something new to offer in their range.”
With restrictions now easing, Furnlink is seeing an increase in demand from the hospitality industry.
“The industry generally has risen to the challenge of taking advantage of relaxing restrictions, and we are seeing a lot more inquiry.
“Queensland is still subject to restrictions, as we are not seeing the tourists from New South Wales and Victoria that we would normally see in winter.
“With the borders set to open and further easing of restrictions for the hospitality industry promised for July, I am sure we will see a lot more movement.”
The last two years have been very successful for the local company.
“In 2018 we moved into our new warehouse in Kensington.
“12 months after that we had run out of space and needed more warehouse space so we began our second warehouse on the same site, which was completed earlier this year.
“There is room for a third warehouse as well to accommodate future expansion.
“Our aim is to keep our growing business located here in Bundaberg.
“Our furniture range is always expanding and with our newly created hand sanitiser stand manufactured entirely in Queensland, new doors are being opened.
“All except one component of this stand is made right here in Bundaberg and it has now got us exploring what other local products and services we can offer our distributer network.”
Furnlink is another example of a local company making the best of the situation over the past few months.
“While COVID-19 has made things difficult in some respects, it has also exposed new opportunities.
“The possibilities of local manufacturing of furniture are an example of this.”
Local companies are invited to get in touch with Furnlink to acquire a dispenser for their business and support local industry.
To find out more about Furnlink, visit their website.
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Well done. Great team to deal with. Their success is due to good people and great service.