Tropitone Aims to Create Flexibility for Designers...
With an Array of New Distinctively Designed and Uniquely Functional Cafe Seating, Table Products and Shade Structures.
Irvine, Calif., April 2, 2004
As Tropitone Furniture Co. celebrates a 50-year presence in the casual furniture industry, the company plans to take an even more prominent place around the pool, at the café, in the garden, and on the verandah with a variety of additions to its stylish yet durable fine casual furniture collections as well as its umbrella and shade solutions.
According to Tropitone's Chief Executive Officer, Michael Echolds, these product additions combine contemporary innovations with long-standing Tropitone traditions. At the same time, they increase product selection and flexibility for the professional designers who create imaginative and inviting outdoor gathering places for the guests of the world's leading hoteliers and restaurateurs.
"Today's consumers are accustomed to entertaining and relaxing in gracious and intimate outdoor spaces at home, and they expect to experience the same dramatic and comfortable settings when away from home. Our goal is to make it easier than it has ever been for designers to achieve these appealing outdoor surroundings," Echolds said.
"One of our ongoing objectives," Echolds said, "is to increase flexibility for professional designers by offering them a wide array of distinctive products. For example, in addition to the nine different solid surface table top options offered in our recently introduced Stoneworks Collection, we are currently debuting our Patterned Aluminum Tables and Table Tops available in a wide variety of Tropitone finish colors and with the same charming old-world elegance of our cast tables, but at a lesser cost.
"The Impressions Café Seating Collection is a combination of exceptional functionality and creativity in design," Echolds said. "With its patterned aluminum back in three different contemporary patterns - Boulevard, Visions, and Prism - the Impressions Collection offers a stunning solution for designers seeking to create an elegant ambiance with the durability they expect in Tropitone products. The chairs in the collection are stackable to give hotels and restaurants the flexibility to reconfigure outdoor spaces to accommodate large social events or smaller intimate gatherings. Designers also can request custom designs for the patterned aluminum back, and the seats are available in stamped aluminum, strap, or tight seats."
For a more casual setting, the new Sorrento Collection with dining chairs, barstools and chaise lounges features a traditional vinyl "strap" construction - one of the original seating materials in casual furniture, and a favorite throughout the hospitality market since the 1950s. The Tuscano Collection, while built around the same design as the Sorrento, features woven riveted aluminum as design accents rather than the traditional heavy-vinyl straps. The vinyl straps in the Sorrento Collection are constructed with a double-wrap process pioneered by Tropitone years ago to allow for easy in-field replacement to ensure the furniture remains attractive and comfortable over time.
To complement its new tables and seating collections for the hospitality market, Tropitone is also re-introducing its Skyspan umbrella shade systems and the Amalfi Café Umbrella.
According to Echolds, Tropitone initially partnered with Skyspan Pacific in May 2003 to provide the contract market in the U.S. and the Caribbean a single source and expanded selection of these uniquely functional tension fabric shade structures as part of its Basta Sole product line.
"Skyspan's spacious and sophisticated designs are ideal for a variety of entertainment areas around pools, gardens, courtyards, public spaces, cafés and restaurants. In addition to their ability to be linked together to shade expansive spaces, they also create an alluring ambiance for relaxing under the sun or the stars," he said.
And the Amalfi Café Umbrella with its cast aluminum construction is engineered for extra strength and is available in 9-ft octagon and a 6-ft square shapes. The Amalfi also features replaceable arms to further extend the life of the product and can be ordered in over 50 different Tropitone fabric selections as well as a wide variety of Sunbrella fabrics.
Founded in 1954, Tropitone is based in Irvine, California, and is recognized throughout the casual furniture marketplace for its design leadership as well as its commitment to service and value. The company sells its products to retailers, designers and the hospitality trade under the Tropitone and Basta Sole trademarks. In addition to its headquarters and manufacturing plant in Irvine, the company operates a manufacturing facility in Sarasota, Florida.