Bertolini Announced a New Consumer Education Initiative on Quality and Church Chairs

Chino, CA—July 31, 2013

“It only takes a minute online to discover that the market for church chairs has exploded with low-cost options for the consumer,” said Ray Wheeler, Director of Global Sales at Bertolini. “We understand the trend especially in light of the financial constraints many churches experienced in the last recession. However, we want churches to be aware of the pitfalls inherent in purchasing low-cost chairs.”

The videos and printed studies put together for churches by Bertolini discuss the dangers of formaldehyde and the cost of low-quality. The consumer education materials of Bertolini are free and verifiable.

The church chair market today is flooded with low-quality import chairs sold via the internet from poorly regulated factories in Asia. The most popular of the low-cost chairs arrive unassembled. A consumer has to install the backs prior to use.

Based on unsolicited consumer feedback, Bertolini has documented that the usable life of these low-cost chairs is less than four years. In pictures sent by consumers who purchased low-cost import chairs online the upholstery fabric appears to have literally disintegrated from the seat of the chair, thus exposing the raw foam.

“The usable life of a product is a critical factor to include when calculating the real cost of a chair purchase,” said Dr. Wheeler. “It does not mean anything to save five to fifteen dollars per chair if those chairs have to be replaced every three to four years.”

Bertolini listens to consumer feedback but the basis of their educational material actually stems from their own rigorous product testing. Bertolini established its own set of testing standards they call Bertolini Internal Standards and Compliance (BISC) testing. The BISC testing standards far exceed the Business and Institutional Furniture Manufacturer’s Association (BIFMA) minimum voluntary standards for safe, healthy and sustainable environments and products.

Bertolini subjects its competitor chairs to the same BISC tests it uses for its own product. Imported chairs tested by Bertolini fail the BISC tests.

Any congregation considering the purchase of church chairs should do themselves a favor by allowing the team at Bertolini to educate them about chairs prior to a purchase.

Bertolini is a design leader in the use of ergonomically correct chair design and its Flex fit seat design technology for churches. Their chairs are light and strong. Their expertise in the manufacture of quality stackable seating and commitment to superior customer service wins the appreciation of congregations worldwide.