Richard Schultz Design: Creating a new Outdoor, Spa, & Garden Furniture Line the new Mateo™ Collection

Richard Schultz Design, which was recently acquired by Knoll, Inc.,  creates, produces, and markets high end outdoor furniture in the mode of classic modern design. Beautiful, clean and functional, the look of a Richard Schultz outdoor piece is iconic. Originally designed in the 1960s for Knoll International, it has since been manufactured and distributed independently by the Schultz Organization.

Richard Schultz Design is primarily a design shop. Their designs must be realized in ways that fulfill aesthetic intentions, ensure customer satisfaction and enable the company to be profitable. In all these things, a working partnership with MTS has been indispensable.

“They have a unique ability to bridge the gap between design and engineering,” said Peter Schultz, the firm’s president and owner. “They do more than solve technical problems. They get the gestalt, the philosophy behind our designs. And that extends through the work into all the details of what we do.”

A current example is the firm’s new MateoTM Collection. This line combines anodized aluminum frames and a proprietary outdoor elastomeric mesh. The appealing result brings ergonomic comfort and a refined modern look to seating in the garden.

MTS took an active part in maximizing the design-for-manufacture efficiency of the collection, as well as furnishing their advanced supply-chain/sourcing/manufacturing expertise. Peter Schultz says this participation has been pivotal in preparing the line for launch – and profitability. “They were obsessed with the details at every stage. We’ve developed a collegial relationship, and we’ve exploited ideas that they’ve come up with.” Schultz said his MTS working partners successfully addressed a welter of challenging details, all the while honoring the design integrity of the collection.

MTS also assumed full responsibility for sourcing the product, providing correctly selected, specified and priced materials, and also choosing over one half dozen vendors whose work had come together to manufacture the new MateoTM Collection. “Without MTS, we’d have a big coordination burden,” Schultz said. “They spare us having to bring together the work of aluminum extruders, benders, welders, anodizers, sandblasters, plastic molders and others.” This phase of the work required MTS to carefully manage and coordinate the entire outsourced manufacturing process to limit cost, create high quality products, and meet shipment schedules for the entire new line.

“No one source could possibly do all this,” Schultz said. “Trying to manage it ourselves was difficult and annoying. MTS value engineered the whole process. With them, we place a single purchase order, and their team does it all” – including the continuing management of critical quality concerns.

Before MTS became engaged, solutions to quality issues were frequently elusive and more often frustrating. “They’re enormously attentive and they understand our needs,” Schultz explained. “On the one hand, we want to find ways to use new materials that are suited to our design philosophy. On the other, it’s necessary to control costs. You can find people who handle product engineering and development, and you can find some who can take care of sourcing. MTS can do both, and that’s extraordinary.”