INDUSTRY 4.0 FURNITURE ENTERS SINGAPORE HOMES: PICKET & RAIL INTRODUCES THE FUTURE OF FURNITURE

• New Range by Picket & Rail Uses 3D Design Software with Precision Engineering to Produce Purpose-Built, On-Demand, Custom-Sized Furniture
• Futuristic Furniture Designs for Homes Now Possible at Reasonable Cost

SINGAPORE, Nov. 27, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The future of furniture is here. Now in Singapore through Picket & Rail's new range developed using Industry 4.0 technology. Envision the space pod with a floating bed, neatly tucked away spaces that turn odd corners into useful storage, and furniture that fits 'just nice' in every room. Gone are the days of furniture hunting to find that one piece to fit into that space-restricting spot.

With time being an increasingly valuable commodity and a generation of homeowners who want it fast, want it exact and want it 'my way', Picket & Rail is pleased to launch Future Furniture and customized carpentry under Picket & Rail's new business unit, Picket & Rail Custom. Picket & Rail Custom will use this new technology to design and outfit homes with personalised storage, tables and cabinets. With the help of precision design and build technology and engineering, storage areas can be neatly tucked away and daily use areas be maximised to create more comfortable living spaces.

Engineered to Be Error-Free: Saves Material, Saves Cost, Saves Time

Gone are the days of manual carpentry where anything can go wrong from miscommunication to woodcutter and installation errors, Picket & Rail's customized carpentry and Future Furniture is designed to be error-free from the onset. Best of all, due to precision cut furniture with reduced errors and material wastage, it is also extremely cost-effective.

Upon ascertaining the homeowner's needs, Picket & Rail's Custom team will measure the home and input data into the Industry 4.0 design software. After a few rounds of design edits with the homeowner, a final furniture plan is derived for the homeowner's sign off. This design is then electronically transmitted to the factory where, using precision engineering, the furniture design is broken down by computers into individual parts for production and laser cutting. After which, the parts are automatically regrouped, packed and packaged for shipment, along with their associated components (handles, nuts, bolts, screws). When the packages arrive in Singapore, they are then delivered to homes and installed by Picket & Rail's trained installation team.

Furniture Designed for The Future, with Updated Technology

Using this same technology, Picket & Rail has also designed a Future Furniture range which may be added to complement the custom carpentry, or be standalone pieces.

Picket & Rail's Future Furniture range currently includes:

• the futuristic Floating Platform Bed (S$299 onwards)
• the Convertible Cabinet that assimilates various furniture pieces through a growing child's life stages (S$799 onwards)
• the Tatami Storage Bed which doubles up as a wardrobe on the floor (S$499 onwards)
• the Montessori Bed, the world's safest 'no-fall' bed (S$399 onwards)
• the Pedestal Dining Table, a 'legless', full legroom dining table (S$599 onwards)
• the Floating Coffee Table (S$599 onwards)

All Future Furniture products are 100% customizable to desired sizes, colours and finishes.

"As more customers opt for on-demand furnishing options, we anticipate a dramatic increase in demand for our customized carpentry and Future Furniture range, and a corresponding decline in loose furniture pieces," says Mr Jack Li, Picket & Rail's Chief Financial Officer. "By end of 2023, Picket & Rail intends to discontinue our loose furniture range. All will now be custom - custom dining tables, custom beds, custom cabinets, custom sofas."

With the focus on creating futuristic, functional furniture that fits 'just nice' into Singapore homes, Picket & Rail will also provide a higher level of personal service and consultancy to homeowners wishing to design their dream homes, using the latest technology in furniture design and construction.

Heavily Internet-Driven: Time and Cost Savings for Homeowners

This new direction is heavily internet-driven, with 'everything online' where customers can choose sizes and colours and get prices for their custom furniture. Furnishing a home is a large financial decision and it can get overwhelming. By making customisation available online, customers can make play around with sizes and materials to establish their budget first, before heading down to the Picket & Rail Custom showroom to touch and feel their material selections.

"With this new way of furniture buying, Picket & Rail has restructured our business in order to optimise this change in purchasing pattern with new available technology. With the reduced manpower and storage costs, Picket & Rail is now proud to launch Industry 4.0 for furniture and pass these savings on to Singaporean homeowners," adds Mr Li. "The new Picket & Rail Custom showroom is housed within an old furniture factory in the Chai Chee area. To preserve part of the factory's heritage, Picket & Rail has preserved some parts of the factory. We hope that customers will enjoy getting a glimpse into Singapore's furniture manufacturing past. Customers will get to see the platforms for leather colouring, and chair drying rails in our new premises." The new showroom opened on 15 November 2023.

Picket & Rail is Singapore's most complete furniture brand, with products for every room from the kitchen to the living, dining and the bedrooms. Besides its own furniture designs, manufactured under the Picket & Rail brand, Picket & Rail also manufactures a mattress range under the Inkagu brand, and is the exclusive distributor for other number one Asian brands.

SOURCE Picket & Rail