Related Object: School Desk
Ven-Rez Products Ltd.
Organization
Identifier
CU.ENT.00425
Display date
1948
(foundation)
History
"Like Walter Nugent, the cousins Archibald King and Balfour Swim built a business on the foundation of a single chair design—in their case, a school chair. The company continues to operate more than fifty years later.
After the Second World War, veterans King and Swim wanted to enter the plastics industry. Discouraged by experts, they focused on moulded plywood instead, which they were familiar with because it had appeared in Mosquito bombers. In 1947, with the help of the National Research Council of Canada in Ottawa, the pair designed veneered chair legs that could resist five tons of pressure before breaking—about the same strength as steel. The following year, they took over a former navy plant in Shelburne, Nova Scotia, and founded Ven-Rez Products (short for veneers and resins).
In addition to chairs, the company has also manufactured matching tables, desks and other furniture for the institutional and commercial markets, all shipped flat. Ven-Rez converted to steel and plastic furniture in the late sixties. A modern plant continues to serve institutional customers worldwide."
After the Second World War, veterans King and Swim wanted to enter the plastics industry. Discouraged by experts, they focused on moulded plywood instead, which they were familiar with because it had appeared in Mosquito bombers. In 1947, with the help of the National Research Council of Canada in Ottawa, the pair designed veneered chair legs that could resist five tons of pressure before breaking—about the same strength as steel. The following year, they took over a former navy plant in Shelburne, Nova Scotia, and founded Ven-Rez Products (short for veneers and resins).
In addition to chairs, the company has also manufactured matching tables, desks and other furniture for the institutional and commercial markets, all shipped flat. Ven-Rez converted to steel and plastic furniture in the late sixties. A modern plant continues to serve institutional customers worldwide."
History Source
Design in Canada (2004), p. 255
Domicile
Canada