Futon Firm’s Transition Is Cushioned by Technology Center

ZAD Design & Manufacturing, along with its Futon Gallery retail stores, might well be defunct by now were it not for a timely change of direction in the company’s business strategy.

While streamlining the operation a couple of years ago, officials of the small Oxnard company decided it would be best to manufacture their own futon frames, rather than contract the work overseas as they had been doing.

“We realized that with our size, we would be killed if we depended on importing our frame business,” said Heewon Azad, general manager of the 8-year-old company and wife of owner Akim Azad. “If we had continued importing, I think we would be out of business.”

Company officials give much of the credit for the successful transition to assistance from the California Manufacturing Technology Center.

The Hawthorne-based nonprofit consulting group, funded by state and federal agencies, was formed five years ago to provide low-cost assistance to small- and medium-size businesses, helping them become more efficient and competitive in the marketplace and thus creating more jobs.

The center charges an hourly fee of about $50-$125, with charges varying based on services provided and the size of the company using them.

ZAD was among 44 Ventura and Santa Barbara county manufacturers to receive assistance through the technology center’s Thousand Oaks office in 1997. The number of local clients was nearly four times that of 1996.

“Ventura and Santa Barbara counties are making a major contribution to manufacturing--we have around 3,500 manufacturers in the area, more than many states--it’s a good area and it’s going to grow,” said David Braunstein, president and chief executive of the California Manufacturing Technology Center. “I think our number of [clients] will double this year.”

The manufacturing technology group assists in general areas of operation including management and business planning, operation planning, work force development, employee training and quality development.

Such services, Braunstein said, are in demand throughout the local manufacturing industry.

“We get businesses from furniture to electronics to medical technology,” he said.

“We have three stages of businesses we deal with,” he said. “One is the kind that has no choice; it has to improve. Another is the start-up company or the companies that are starting a new product, or want to get into a new area of sales. The third are the companies that are always looking to get better, to grow, to get more competitive, to increase their sales.”

The ZAD futon firm falls into several categories--contracting the manufacturing consultants three times over the past several years.

In addition to the original contract, ZAD worked with the technology center’s consultants to complete a Web site design in late 1997, and last week entered into a third contract, with the goal of expansion.

“Having the California Manufacturing Technology Center as a resource has helped us to minimize the time it takes us to do what has to be done,” Heewon Azad said. “We are a small company, and our weakest point is a lack of resources and a lack of executive-level people who can work our problems through.”

Consultants with the technology center have helped ZAD executives identify the company’s strengths, find their niche market, find funding and create more efficient production plans, she said.

Under the most recent contract, the technology center will help the futon maker expand into the traditional retail furniture market.

“We’re trying to revamp our retail stores to make them into more traditional furniture stores,” Heewon Azad said. “We are going to work with [the technology center] to identify our weaknesses and strengths, set the marketing strategy and find out what kind of funding we can get for our next phase.”