We have been lucky enough to work closely with our colleagues at Ton on numerous projects, so we took great interest in their ‘behind the scenes’ look at their manufacturing process on their website.

So much preparation and work goes in to the production of quality furniture and it’s great to get an insight into the process.

  • Timber drying and rods – wood is graded by colour and subsequently maintains a certain percentage of moisture content in them for a period of up to five months. In summer, Ton sprinkle the wood, while in colder weather they dry it in special chambers
  • Steaming in the kiln – beech timber offers the best bending capacity and is placed into saturated steam with a temperature of around 100 °C.
  • Bending process – the rod is placed into a former, sealed and a special flange is put onto it. This sounds simple but it takes more than a year to learn this process correctly.
  • Staining – separate pieces or chair assemblies travel to the staining room to be submerged in special tanks, if required.
  • Finalisation – when processed, the pieces are given their final shape by hand at a designated workstation. Experienced staff can put chair No. 14 together within 90 seconds.
    • Lacquer finish – lacquering is done manually on a special line, which guarantees a dust-free environment and ideal drying conditions
    • Oil finish – this procedure creates a fine film on the surface, using natural oils, and accentuates the wood grain.
  • Upholstery – customers can choose the colour, material and/or supply their own.
  • Testing – quality is a priority and products are checked at each manufacturing level.

Each product is the work of at least 20 pairs of hands. They are the hands of a team of craftsmen and craftswomen who for six generations have been endowing steamed wood with new shapes and forms. Once bentwood dries, our skilled hands set to work on sanding, staining, assembling, oiling, upholstering and packing.

In short, the story of your chair begins months before you are seated.