La-Z-Boy West a Pioneer in Water-Borne Coatings and Water-Based Adhesives

La-Z-Boy West, part of the La-Z-Boy chain with 14 U.S. plants, established operations in Redlands, California in 1966. Today, the Redlands facility has 285 employees in a 190,000 square foot building that manufactures 675 pieces of furniture each day. In addition to the recliner chairs for which La-Z-Boy is famous, the firm also manufactures sofas, tables and office furniture. The Redlands plant manufactures 53 differenct styles in 30 different variants. The plant recently began making contract office furniture, a part of the business that is expected to grow substantially.

La-Z-Boy brings in the fabric, wood, metal and foam used to assemble the furniture. The Redlands operation includes three coating booths where a stain and one or two topcoats are applied. They also have several ashesive booths where adhesive is applied to bond foam-to-fabric. The primary fabric used is muslin but some dacron is employed as well. The foam is used to make chair seats, backs, arms and legrest parts.

In 1988, La-Z-Boy decided they wanted to convert from solventborne coatings and adhesives to water-based systems. They elicited the cooperation of their suppliers and also approached other suppliers and spent the next three years testing water-based coatings and adhesives. In July of 1992, the experimental work was complete and La-Z-Boy converted, in one shot, to a full water-based coating system and a one-part water-based adhesive system. "We worked very hard on the conversion and we're very happy with the results," says Bill Chaffee, Plant Superintendent. "We don't have to even follow South Coast Air Quality Management District deadlines any longer because we've made the full conversion."

In terms of the coating opertions, La-Z-Boy has gained something and lost something. According to Bill Chaffee the price of the water-borne coatings is somewhat higher but it is offset by a reduction in emission fees. The dry time on the conveyor between coatings and after the final coating step is longer and the firm had to adapt their line for this, particularly when the humidity is high. Rework of the coatings is more difficult with the water-borne system; the firm must be more careful to make sure the color is right from the beginning. "We gave up some quality in the coating operation. At times, it is muddy looking. There is also more color variation from piece to piece," comments Bill Chaffee. Cleanup with the water-borne system is easier and less costly, however. The spray guns can be cleaned with water; the filters are not classified as hazardous waste and can be disposed of in the trash when they are dry.

In terms of the adhesive operation, Bill Chaffee does not believe the firm lost anything in the conversion. For most of the bonding operations, the firm uses a one-part water-based system; in a few instances, like bonding dacron which is very porous, a two-part water-based system is more effective. The one-part system is easier to use, however, and Bill Chaffee would like to find a one-part system that works for dacron. The cost of the water-based adhesive process is about the same as it was for the solvent-borne system.

At first, the workers did not like the water-based adhesive. They were used to solvents which have a very short tack time. Workers are paid piecework and they did not want to wait between spray operations because it would reduce their pay. Gradually they figured out that they could spray up two stacks of foam and by the time they were finished, they could begin bonding the first stack. On balance, their throughput remained about the same even though the tack time of the water-based adhesives is much longer.

Other La-Z-Boy plants are using solvent-borne coatings and adhesives. "Corporate is pushing the plants to convert now, especially in the gluing operation because of the new OSHA regulation on methylene chloride," says Bill Chaffee. La-Z-Boy's aggressive early efforts to convert have put them in a good position. "The new processes are better from an environmental and worker standpoint. The important thing is that they also work," says Bill Chaffee.