111 Navy Chair

Last updated

Emeco 111 Navy Chair
TypeFurniture
Inception2010
Manufacturer Emeco
AvailableYes
Website Official website

The Emeco 111 Navy Chair is a recycled plastic chair manufactured by Emeco. It is based on the Emeco 1006 chair originally built for Navy warships during World War II. [1]

Contents

History

In 2006, Coca-Cola sought a means to keep more of its plastic bottles out of landfills, and sought product applications via manufacturing partnerships. They approached chair manufacturer Emeco, best known for manufacturing chairs from aluminum. [2] [3] Emeco's leadership "jumped on the project." [1] The company saw it as an opportunity to develop an innovative, structurally sound material and keep plastic bottles out of the landfill. [4] The two companies began to talk about the possibilities of recreating the iconic Navy Chair using rPET. [5]

Development

A cafe using Emeco 111 Navy Chairs Emeco 111 Navy Chairs.jpg
A cafe using Emeco 111 Navy Chairs

At the time Emeco began working to create the chair out of rPET [ broken anchor ], other companies were making rPET products such as T-shirts, bags, caps and notebooks. [3] Soft recycled PET plastic was initially intended for short-lived fabric and textiles and Emeco needed to build a tough, one-piece, scratch-resistant chair for heavy-duty use. [6]

Emeco's engineering team spent four years developing a material made from recycled PET plastic, which is then formed into pellets. Those pellets are mixed with glass fiber and color pigment. [3] Each chair starts as 6 kilograms (13 lb) of plastic pellets that are melted down and then injection-molded into the shape of the 1006 Navy Chair. Craftsmen add the H brace to make the chair sturdier, and they smooth out any imperfections that result from the injection molding process. [3] [5]

The resulting 111 Navy Chair has the identical design of the 1006 Navy Chair. The one-piece design is scratch-resistant and suitable for heavy-duty use. [2]

Each 111 Navy Chair is made of at least 111 recycled PET plastic bottles—65% post consumer PET—with 35% glass fiber and pigment; this gives the chair its name. [7] The chair comes in six colors and passes all commercial requirements—it is structurally strong, fire retardant and cleanable. [7]

Results

As of late 2016, over 22 million plastic bottles have been kept out of the landfill and made into 111 Navy Chairs. Emeco CEO Gregg Buchbinder said in an interview with Forbes magazine, "We've turned something many people throw away into something you want and can keep for a long, long time." [1]

The chair is sold at a significantly lower price than the original aluminum version of the Navy Chair. [1] [3]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Hickman, Matt (April 14, 2010). "A Second Life For Coke Bottles". Forbes. Retrieved December 22, 2016.
  2. 1 2 Proctor, Rebecca (2015). The Sustainable Design Book. London: Laurence King. ISBN   978-1780674735.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Bolchover, Joshua (2012). Vitamin Green. New York: Phaidon Press. ISBN   978-0714862293.
  4. ↑ Kingswell, Tamsin (2016). "Materials Spotlight Rethinking Plastic". MIX. 39: 76–79.
  5. 1 2 "MADE TO LAST – DAMN° Magazine" . Retrieved December 22, 2016.
  6. ↑ Deppieri, Andrea (2014). "TETE DE BOIS". Pasajes Arquitectura (in Spanish). 133: 52–60. ISSN   1575-1937.
  7. 1 2 GmbH, iF International Forum Design, ed. (May 1, 2011). iF product design award yearbook 2011. Hannover, Germany: iF Design Media. ISBN   9783942776011.
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