ZEELAND, MI - OEM furniture manufacturer Industrial Woodworking Corp., which earned ISO 13485:2003 and ISO 9001:2008  for its quality management system, says the new certification may help it grow its export business.

"ISO 13485 certification may facilitate continued international sales growth,” says Jerome Alicki, sustomer service manager at the Zeelad, MI furniture maker. Seventy percent of its business is inmanufacturing health care offerings, including casegoods and over-bed tables.  

ISO 13485:2003 is a worldwide standard quality management system for the design and manufacture of medical devices. Some of the products Industrial Woodworking manufactures are regulated medical devices under U.S. Food and Drug Administration guidelines.

“Following the ISO standards and striving for continuous improvement has led us to create furniture that addresses critical issues facing healthcare environments such as employee satisfaction, infection control, and patient satisfaction surveys that affect reimbursements,” say Dave Stumpfig, director of business development at Industrial Woodworking.

Receiving ISO 13485 certification demonstrates a commitment from management for quality throughout product development and the product’s lifespan with customers, says Stumpfig. “This discipline is not limited to just healthcare furniture but has been implemented across all products we manufacture."

Industrial Woodworking reports $8 million in revenue, and management told the Michigan Business Journal it aims for $20 million in the next few years.

Vertically integrated, Industrial Woodworking manufactures using wood panel products, laminates, veneers, solid wood and thermofilm, as a tier 1 OEM furniture supplier serving the healthcare, hospitality, office, residential, retail, and educational markets. IWC also offers water borne and HAPS compliant wood finishing.

In 2011, La-Z-Boy Contract Furniture hired Industrial Woodworking to design and develop a healthcare casegoods product line. IWC's production team can integrate wood based components, glass, steel, hardware, aluminum extrusions, injection molded and thermoformed plastics to produce purchase complete, market ready products.