Innovation Awards profile: Foldeaze – assembly system

Anyone who has ever struggled to put together so called easy-to-assemble furniture will give a warm welcome to a new invention from company Foldeaze.

The new BRIAR clipping system will put an end to the hours of frustration and the howls of derision from watching children experienced by countless people each year as they attempt to make sense of dozens of different types of screws, bolts and fixings and interpret near incomprehensible instructions.

The concept is a plastic clipping system that allows two pieces of material to join together easily without the use of tools, glues, nails or screws.

All you have to do is press them together and wait for a clicking noise which indicates that the join has been made.

It is an invisible solution with one element embedded in the material while the interlocking, self-clamping clip forms a tightly held bond between the two pieces of material being joined.

No more screws, nails, dowels, glue or anything else.

"The mechanical properties of the clip material used ensure a consistent pressure along the joint to always ensure a close-fitting flush finish," explains Foldeaze managing director and BRIAR clipping system inventor Sean Phillips.

Beginnings
An entrepreneur and qualified joiner, Phillips initially had the idea for the new system some years ago.

“I was constantly looking for new ways to join finished board products invisibly and I came up with this idea,” he says. “And then the downturn came and that gave me the opportunity to give it more attention and develop it.”

The response to the invention so far has been, unsurprisingly, enthusiastic.

Having filed a patent for the system in 2012, the company took a stand at a trade show in the UK and over four days received expressions of interest from more than 35 interior designers who saw and identified potential in the mid- to high-end bespoke furniture market; more than 40 furniture retailers who were keen to place orders and set up displays in their showrooms; other retailers who were interested in the potential of the innovation for shop fit-outs; and five of the most well-known agents in the furniture industry who were all keen to discuss ways to develop a timely commercial route map for the product.

This huge level of interest caused Phillips to re-evaluate the overall potential of his invention and he re-filed the patent to cover a wider variety of uses on the clipping device and then filed it under an international patent in Europe and the US.

An introduction to the Hoffman Machine Company – a global provider of wood working machinery and jointing systems – at the Intezum trade show in Germany in April 2013 has resulted in a partnership whereby Hoffman will develop and manufacture a handheld tool for use by furniture manufacturers using the BRIAR clipping system. This will bring the innovation within the reach of even the smallest manufacturers.

Simplicity and speed
According to Phillips, the main advantages of the system are simplicity and speed.

“Anyone can assemble the furniture and it is amazingly quick. One customer using the system was able to install a coffee bar, which would have taken two days using traditional methods, in just four hours with our system.

“I use a bookcase to demonstrate the system and I brought it home a while ago and my nine-year-old daughter was able to assemble it in less than a minute.”

The next steps for the company will see it working closely with the Hoffman Machine Company to utilise its global network of agents across 45 countries to launch the system internationally.

"We are already working closely with their Ireland and UK agents, and the initial reaction that has been received is overwhelmingly positive."