Fellowes announces structural changes
Fellowes, a global leader in workplace solutions, has announced a number of changes to a segment of its Contract Furniture division, formerly known as Trendway. Among the changes, will be the closure of its Holland-based production facility in 2024 and the discontinuation of a portion of its furniture product offering including systems, casegoods, filing, storage and tables. Fellowes will continue to accept orders of these discontinued products until June and ship orders through July 2024. Further communication is currently being provided to customers to support their transition.
In 2019 Fellowes acquired Trendway and provided significant investments and support with the goal of enabling needed systems, equipment, and process upgrades. Following disproportional investments and an ineffective ERP and WMS implementation in 2023, it was ultimately decided the business was in an unrecoverable condition.
“We are saddened by the impact this decision has on our customers and our valued employees. Unfortunately, Fellowes has now reached the point of exhausting its resources and support while still experiencing meaningful shortfalls to our brand promise and financial responsibility in this area of our business. As difficult as it is, we must face our reality and plan a future which confronts and definitively resolves these challenges”, said John Fellowes, CEO of Fellowes. “We are truly grateful for the many employees that have supported this operation, some for decades. The dedication of our employees has been displayed in many ways through these difficult times and I would like to express gratitude and appreciation from our entire Fellowes team. Despite our significant losses in this operation, in the coming months we will help our employees make their personal transitions in a way that is consistent with our values, and wish each employee impacted the best outcome possible.”
Fellowes will continue to serve the contract furniture industry with its full line of monitor arms, power solutions, height adjustable tables, desktop lighting, keyboard solutions, organizational products, networked air purification, air quality monitoring and modular walls.
Due to the nature of this announcement, Fellowes decided not to release forward looking plans in conjunction with this communication. In the following weeks, an announcement will be released, which will provide new developments and future plans.
About Fellowes
Celebrating its 107th year under the private ownership and executive leadership of the Fellowes family, Fellowes is a global leader and trusted partner that provides product solutions to fulfill a broad range of WorkLife needs. Throughout its history, Fellowes has been grounded in its purpose to “serve at the intersection of family, innovation, quality and care.” Headquartered in Itasca, Illinois, USA, Fellowes operates from 24 locations across the globe. For more information, please visit Fellowes.com.
